Amor, furor et magicae artes: En studie av romerska ”häxor” och deras kärleksmagi

Författare

Olivia Peukert Stock

Summary, in English

Love, witches and magic has attracted the attention of humans since the dawn of time – clearly, during some periods more than others. This essay concentrates on one period of time when such an interest peaked, namely the Augustan era, when a wave of witch representations emerged in Roman literature. By discussing texts written by the famous poets Horace, Vergil and Ovid, alongside the less well-known Propertius and Tibullus, this study provides an overview of the Roman ‘love-witch’. Since no equivalent general term for ‘witch’ exists in Latin, an effort has been made to sort out the widespread Latin terms used by these authors to describe women with magical abilities and/or powers: saga, venefica, sacerdos, lena and anus. Furthermore, these witches’ ascribed abilities and/or powers are categorized and discussed in the essay, as well as their practice of calling upon the spirits of the dead and nightly goddesses. The investigation culminates in an analysis of the poets’ own attitude towards ‘love-witches’ and love magic, but also whether their portrayal of ‘love-witches’ are influenced by their selected genre.

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