Ubaldo Lugli, Magic in Ancient Rome , 2025
This book is a re-elaboration of an academic monograph I wrote a long time ago. My intention here is to provide an accessible (and updated ) version of that work for a general audience. To this end, most Latin and Greek terms and expressions have been eliminated or translated, and the texts of classical authors are provided only in translation. For the same reason, the general bibliography has been reduced to the essentials.
The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the practice of magic in ancient Rome (V B.C.E.- V C.E. ), with a focus on the social evolution of the phenomenon. It comprises two main part, the first provides a diachronic overview of Roman magic, the second is structured thematically with each chapter covering a different type of magic practice and magic worker in ancient Rome.