Night Battles: How the Benandanti Fought Witches During the Sabbath
The benandanti were an agrarian fertility cult in Northern Italy in the 16th-17th centuries who claimed they would leave their bodies and fight witches 4 times each year.
Witches are practitioners of magic who can allegedly call upon the supernatural to perform spells or curses. In Early Modern Europe, witchcraft associated with consorting with the Devil, leading to witch hunts in Protestant Europe and later in America. Modern witchcraft is associated with the Wiccan movement. Read articles about witches below.
How Political Shifts Led To The Reformation and Witch Craze
Europe underwent a number of political shifts and social transformations between 1000-1700 leading to the Protestant Reformation and the witch craze.
Nectanebus, the Amateur Witch of Theocritus, Dido, and Canidia
Profiles of four sorcerers and magicians from antiquity.
Medea
Medea was known as a sorceress who used her magic to fight a monster called Talos during Jason's quest to obtain the Golden Fleece.
Circe the Titan
Circe, the daughter of the Sun, one of the Titans, is a beautiful seductress similar to Calypso.
What is a Sorcerer?
A sorcerer is someone who can manipulate higher powers for his or her specific goals.
General Overview of Magic vs Religion
From a modern perspective, witchcraft is not only a science, but a way of explaining and making sense out of the world.
Greco-Roman Curses: Belief in Magic
During antiquity, there was a widespread belief in magic. Rome went so far as to outlaw harmful magic. So, did curse tablets and voodoo dolls actually work?
Greco-Roman Curses: Curse Tablets
In the Greco-Roman world, curse tablets are small, thin sheets, intended to influence the actions or the welfare of persons or animals against their will.
Greco-Roman Curses: Voces Magicae (Words of Power) & Alphabets
Voces Magicae were mysterious words that have no obvious or immediate meaning in Greek or any other language
Greco-Roman Curses: Protection against Curses
With Voodoo Dolls or Curse Tablets abound, how did one go about protecting themselves if they suspected someone placed a curse on them?
African Witchcraft and Vampirism
Two of the many types of vampires in Africa, the obayifo and the asasabonsam.