Pliny the Elder on Magic and Religion

Rituals, Beliefs, Objects and Practices in the Naturalis Historia

Paolo Garofalo, Giorgio Ferri, Gabriel Silva (eds)

Pages: approx. 370 p.
Size:156 x 234 mm

Language(s):English, Italian, French
Publication Year:2026

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By gathering a diverse range of articles, this volume seeks to delve not only into Pliny’s perspectives, methodologies, and sources regarding magic and religion, but also into the impact and reception of his work on ancient and modern scholarship.

Subject(s)

BIO

Paolo Garofalo (U. Lisbon) is currently Assistant Researcher at the Centre for Classical Studies, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon. Currently, he is engaged in a project focusing on the transmission of Latin and Greek inscriptions in manuscripts of the Portuguese humanist Achilles Statius Lusitanus (Aquiles Estaco). He is the author of numerous articles and three books focusing on historical and archaeological aspects related to the communities of Latium vetus et adiectum.

Giorgio Ferri (Sapienza U. Roma) is currently MSCA Fellow at the SARAS Department of Sapienza University of Rome with the project RITMO. The place-making function of ritual movement in Roman religion (GA n. 101024439). He is author of two books and several articles and essays published on international peer-reviewed journals. In 2021 he organized the international conference Ritual Movement in Antiquity (and beyond), whose proceedings were published in 2022.

Gabriel A. F. Silva (U. Lisbon) is currently an Invited Assistant Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. His recent publications include: “Ut cecinit poeta: The presence of Virgil in Rodrigo de Castro’s De uniuersa mulierum medicina” (Graeco-Latina Brunensia), “Erichtho the Doctor? Medical Observations on Lucan’s Necromantic Episode” (Classical Quarterly), and an edited volume in partnership: Gynecia: Studies on Gynaecology in Ancient, Medieval and Early-Modern Texts (Lisbon, 2022).

Summary

The volume explores the numerous references to magical and religious content found in the encyclopaedic work of Pliny the Elder. Cults, apotropaic rituals, superstitions, magical recipes, wonders, and much more: the extraordinary repertoire collected by Pliny is investigated through different and innovative approaches. A clear picture emerges of the great importance of Pliny's work and the immense influence it had in the Renaissance and modern era.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

First Part. Magic: Practices, Objects, People
Pliny’s Natural History as a Source for Oral Versions of Greek Incantations Inscribed on Later Amulets (Christopher Faraone)
Le ‘gemmae’ dei magi: Plinio e la magia delle pietre preziose (Chiara Ballestrazzi)
Amuletum and Amulets in Pliny’s Natural History (Patricia Gaillard-Seux)
Una ‘sociologia dei maghi’ in Plinio il Vecchio? Immagini della magia e dei maghi nella Naturalis Historia (Silvia Stucchi)
Frogs, Women and Faithlessness: “Magical” Notes on Pliny NH 32.49 (Celia Sánchez Natalías)
Deux animaux chez Pline l’Ancien et à Pompéi: le phénix et la salamander, entre resuscitation, resistance au feu et apotropaïsme (Françoise Lecocq)
Nihil facile reperiatur mulierum profluvio magis monstrificum (NH 7.64): Prodigious Properties of Menstrual Blood and Agrarian Rituals (Paolo Garofalo)
Summam litterarum claritatem: magia y poesía en la Historia Natural de Plinio el Viejo (Diego Meseguer González)
L’astrologia nella Naturalis Historia di Plinio il Vecchio (Matteo Rossetti)

Second Part. Religio(n): Rituals, Representations, Symbols
A Recipe of “Democritus” in Pliny for Speaking with Birds (Attilio Mastrocinque)
La percezione pliniana della divinità di Augusto (Anna Pasqualini)
Pliny and the Imperial salutatio (Mads Lindholmer)
Human Weakness and Divine Fragmentation in Roman Polytheism: A Case Study in Pliny, NH 2.5.14-15 (Laura Bevilacqua)
When Stars Sweat: Pliny, Honey and the Gods (Adrien Coignoux)
From the Hearth to the Crossroads: The Birth of Servius Tullius and the Institution of Compitalia (Gianluca De Sanctis)
Solitum a Romanis evocari deum cuius in tutela… Evocatio as a Customary or Exceptional Ritual Practice? (Giorgio Ferri)
De fulgurum vi dubitare num possumus? I fulmini (e l’arcobaleno) nel secondo libro della Naturalis Historia di Plinio il Vecchio. Tra religio, superstitio e natura (Francesco Scozzaro)
Squarci di vita cittadina a Roma Antica fra prodigi e credenze secondo la tradizione di Plinio il Vecchio (Viviana Capelli)
Il valore religioso delle ginocchia a Roma (Silvia Testone)

Index locorum
Index rerum et nominum