Philia magic was used by women to keep their male companion at bay and faithful. Several women resorted to philia spells as they believed it retained their beauty and kept peace of mind. As a result, many used any means necessary to maintain their marriages. In marriage, women were powerless, as men were legally permitted to divorce. Women used philia spells because they were more dependent on their husbands. The two types of spells can be connected directly to the gender roles of men and women in Ancient Greece. Christopher Faraone, a University of Chicago Classics professor specializing in texts and practices pertaining to magic, distinguishes between the magic of eros, as practiced by men, and the magic of philia, practiced by women. Erotic magic reflected gender roles in ancient Greece and dismissed modern conceptions about gender roles and sexuality. These magical practices continued to influence private rituals in Gaul among Celtic peoples, in Roman Britain, and among Germanic peoples. Spells of erotic attraction and compulsion are found within the syncretic magic tradition of Hellenistic Greece, which incorporated Egyptian and Hebraic elements, as documented in texts such as the Greek Magical Papyri and archaeologically on amulets and other artifacts dating from the 2nd century BC (and sometimes earlier) to the late 3rd century A.D. Similar rituals are attested in ancient Egypt, for instance, on an ostracon dated to the twentieth dynasty (twelfth-eleventh centuries BCE). Cuneiform tablets preserving rituals of erotic magic have been uncovered at Tell Inghara and Isin (present-day Iraq). It is attested to on cuneiform tablets from the ancient Near East, in ancient Egyptian texts, in the Greco- Roman world, in the Middle Ages, and up to the present day.Įarly examples of love magic may derive from the ancient Near East, dating to ca. It is believed that it can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as by written spells, dolls, charms, amulets, potions, or rituals. Love magic motifs are often used in literature such as fantasy or mythology. Love magic is an ancient belief that magic can conjure sexual passion or romantic love.
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