Dr. Ager’s Academic and Personal Websites
Academia: https://asu.academia.edu/BrittaAger
Humanities Commons: https://hcommons.org/members/brittaager/
Twitter: Personal
Twitter: Fasti Romani
On this episode of the Peopling the Past podcast, we are joined by Dr. Britta Ager, an assistant professor of Classics at Arizona State University. Her research centres on Greco-Roman magic, religion and sensory studies, which is the subject of her forthcoming monograph The Scent of Ancient Magic.
Listen in, as Dr. Ager talks about the various forms of magic that are used in the ancient Roman world, especially spells and curses. She also tells us about the role of scents and smellscapes in the practice of ancient rituals.
Interested in learning more? Check out these related articles by Dr. Ager:
“Necromancy, Divine Encounters, and Erotic Magic in Cupid and Psyche,” American Journal of Philology 140.2(2019): 317-43.
“Magic Perfumes and Deadly Herbs: The Scent of Witches’ Magic in Classical Literature,” Preternature 8.1 (2019): 1-34.
“Magic and Genre in Columella’s Caterpillar Charm,” Classical Philology 114.2 (2019): 197 -217.
“Drag Her by the Hair and Heart: The Manosphere and Ancient Love Curses,” Eidolon May 14, 2018
Looking for a transcript of this episode? Click here.
Additional Resources Related to this Podcast
Betz, Hans D., ed. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells, 2nd ed. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1992.
Collins, Derek. Magic in the Ancient Greek World. Blackwell, 2008.
Gager, John. Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World. Oxford Univ. Press, 1999.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A sourcebook, 2nd ed. Oxford Univ. Press, 2009.
A Twitter thread by Dr. Ager demonstrating how to make ancient incense
No Bears: Greek Magical Papyri – A blog post on the making of Greek magical papyri
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