{"id":2482,"count":23,"description":"This Temporary exhibition hosted by the Virtual Museum of Human Ecology on magic and women in the Greco-Roman explains some of the divine and other human characters that represented the power of magic in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the procedures they had to access magic. In the ancient world, the divinities of magic are all female and linked to darkness, especially the goddess Hecate. In addition, several mortal women became famous for the criminal use of their special knowledge, either to take revenge, to fall in love, or fall out of love with their lovers, of which the most famous case is, without any doubt, that of Medea. These special skills may have consisted of technical knowledge (i.e. of plants, potions, ointments, spells, and incantations), usually transmitted from mothers to daughters, as it was associated with women, and linked to the poorest strata of society\u2014an alliance that provided a support network as well as a strategy of resistance to poverty and male oppression. Hence, being a midwife, a healer, and a sorceress was all part of the same profession; and so, the same woman could cure fevers while invoking the forces of the underworld. Prostitution could be added as another activity associated with this world of feminine practices, perceived by men as dangerous, harmful, and repugnant forms of knowledge, the result of the ignorance and misogyny common in the ancient world: although these practices were central and absolutely necessary for the lives of ordinary people, they were relegated, in patriarchal societies, to the margins and to illegality.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs a result of this rejection, ancient literature, masculine and elitist, has transmitted terrible portraits of women like these, such as the Horatian poems dedicated to Canidia and her friends, but also the brutal portrait of the witch Erichtho and her necromantic practices in Lucan\u2019s epic poem <\/span>Pharsalia,<\/span><\/i> not forgetting the evil sorceress in Apuleius\u2019 <\/span>Golden Ass<\/span><\/i>, who has the ability to transform herself and her enemies into animals (just like the goddess Circe). All these portrayals have proved fatal to the women\u2019s reputation and are at the origin of important misogynistic stereotypes, such as the <\/span>femme fatale<\/span><\/i> or the wicked witch in fairy tales. They have also damaged the image of certain animals, such as snakes, dogs, roosters, and rodents, as will be seen throughout the exhibition.<\/span>\r\n\r\nMagic permeated the everyday life of ordinary people, who turned to it when seeking a certain remedy, to protect themselves from the evil eye, and to achieve an effective intervention of a deity in some more delicate matter (love, inheritance, travel). It could be said that the Greeks and Romans were superstitious and tried to defend themselves from the negative gaze (invidiousness) by means of amulets and incantations. Resorting to this magic as a form of physical and psychic protection was cheap; it was also easy and sometimes the only way for normal and (mostly) poor and vulnerable people \u2014children, women, and slaves\u2014 to have access to a therapeutic cure. We are facing a historical moment when medical or biological knowledge did not allow a distinction between medicine, religion, and magic; in other words, when magical thinking coexisted with scientific\u2014or perhaps even better\u2014with experimental thinking. At least, they had this resource.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe have put together this exhibition as part of the research project \u00ab<\/span>Marginalia Classica<\/span><\/i>. En los m\u00e1rgenes de la Tradici\u00f3n cl\u00e1sica<\/span>\u00bb<\/span><\/a> of the Madrid Autonomous University (<\/span>Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Madrid<\/span><\/i>, Spain, UAM) and the UAM research group <\/span>Litterae. <\/span><\/i>In addition, three researchers from the Complutense Univerity of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid<\/em>, UCM) <\/span>research group \u00abTextos religiosos de la Antig\u00fcedad y del Pr\u00f3ximo Oriente\u00bb<\/em> (\u00abTexts of Antiquity and the Near East\u00bb) and researchers from other centers have collaborated in the project<\/span>. Our scientific interest is focused on the popular practices of Antiquity and the use of classical references in contemporary popular culture.<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRosario L\u00f3pez Gregoris<\/b><\/a>, exhibition coordinator, is professor of Classical Philology at the UAM and coordinator of the <\/span>Litterae<\/span><\/i> research group, member of the <\/span>Marginalia Classica<\/span><\/i> group. Project hosting this exhibition: PID2019-107253GB-I00\/AEI\/10.13039\/501100011033.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe following have collaborated in the realization of this Exhibtion: Berta Gonz\u00e1lez Saavedra<\/strong> (UCM), Ana Gonz\u00e1lez-Rivas<\/strong> (UAM), Alejandra Guzm\u00e1n Almagro<\/strong> (UB), Paula Avenda\u00f1o Rom\u00e1n<\/strong> (UAM), Carlos S\u00e1nchez P\u00e9rez<\/strong> (UAM), Mercedes Aguirre Castro<\/strong> (UCM), Bego\u00f1a Ortega Villaro<\/strong> (U. Burgos), Sara Palermo<\/strong> (UAM), Zoa Alonso Fern\u00e1ndez<\/strong> (UAM), Raquel Mart\u00edn Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong> (UCM), Miriam Blanco Cesteros<\/strong> (UCM), Araceli Striano Corrochano<\/strong> (UAM), Mar\u00eda Isabel Jim\u00e9nez Mart\u00ednez<\/strong> (UAM), Viviana Diez<\/strong> (U. de La Plata), Luis Unceta G\u00f3mez<\/strong> (UAM), Sarah Tolfo<\/strong> (UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul<\/em>) and Lydia Barbosa<\/strong> (UAM).\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFurther reading:<\/b>\r\n\r\nCampbell, Gordon Lindsay (ed.) (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life<\/em>, Oxford\u2013New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.\r\n\r\nCharro Gorgojo, \u00c1ngel (2004). \u201cSerpientes: ni dioses ni demonios\u201d, Revista de Folklore<\/em> 283: 3-12<\/a>.\r\n\r\nChristopher A. Faraone (2018). The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times. Empire and after<\/em>. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.\r\n\r\nFern\u00e1ndez Uriel, Pilar (1996). \u201cMales y remedios II. La evoluci\u00f3n de la medicina en la Historia del Mundo Griego\u201d. Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua<\/em> 9: 195-219.\r\n\r\nGir\u00f3n Anguiozar, M.\u00aa de Lourdes (2021). \u201cHistoria versus realidad: \u201cEl patriarcado historiado\u201d y la simbolog\u00eda de la serpiente antes y despu\u00e9s del cristianismo\u201d, Revista De Estudios Socioeducativos. <\/em>ReSed <\/em>9: 194-205<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n\r\nInnes, Alison (2011). \u201cTo Help or to Harm: Female Practitioners of Pharmaka<\/em> in Ancient Greece\u201d (pp. 56-66). In April Anson (ed.), The Evil Body<\/em>, Leiden: Brill.\r\n\r\nJudge, Shelby (2023): \u201c\u2018Men make terrible pigs\u2019: Teaching Madeline Miller's Circe and the New Feminist Mythic Archetype\u201d, The Classical Outlook <\/em>98\/3: 108-118.\r\n\r\nLecouteux, Claude y Boyer, Regis (1999): Hadas, brujas y hombres lobo en la Edad Media: historia del doble<\/em>. Medievalia 6. Palma de Mallorca: Jos\u00e9 J. de Ola\u00f1eta\r\n\r\nMadrid, Mercedes (2009). \u201cMedea: hechicera y madre asesina<\/a>\u201d, Dossiers Feministes<\/em> 13: 29-44.\r\n\r\nMcIntyre, Gwynaeth\u00a0& McCallum, Sarah (2019): Uncovering Anna Perenna. A Focused Study of Roman Myth and Culture<\/em>, London\u2013New York: Bloomsbury.\r\n\r\nMolina-Venegas, Rafael & Verano, Rodrigo (2024): \u201cThe Quest for Homer's Moly<\/em>: Exploring the Potential of an Early Ethnobotanical Complex\u201d, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine<\/em> 20\/11.\r\n\r\nOlson, Kelly (2009). \u201cCosmetics in Roman Antiquity: Substance, Remedy, Poison\u201d, CW <\/em>102: 291-310.\r\n\r\nP\u00e9rez Gonz\u00e1lez, Jordi (2017). \u201cElaboraci\u00f3n y comercializaci\u00f3n de perfumes y ung\u00fcentos en Roma. Los unguentarii<\/em>\u201d, Revista de Estudos Filos\u00f3ficos e Hist\u00f3ricos da Antiguidade<\/em> 31: 81-110.\r\n\r\nPiranomonte, Marina (2010) \u201cReligion and Magic at Rome: The Fountain of Anna Perenna\u201d (pp.191-214). In Richard L. Gordon & Francisco Marco Sim\u00f3n (eds). Magical Practice in the Latin West<\/em>, Leiden\u2013Boston: Brill.","link":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/","name":"Magic and women in the Classical World","slug":"magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world","taxonomy":"espacio","parent":2483,"meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMagic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Magic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This Temporary exhibition hosted by the Virtual Museum of Human Ecology on magic and women in the Greco-Roman explains some of the divine and other human characters that represented the power of magic in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the procedures they had to access magic. In the ancient world, the divinities of magic are all female and linked to darkness, especially the goddess Hecate. In addition, several mortal women became famous for the criminal use of their special knowledge, either to take revenge, to fall in love, or fall out of love with their lovers, of which the most famous case is, without any doubt, that of Medea. These special skills may have consisted of technical knowledge (i.e. of plants, potions, ointments, spells, and incantations), usually transmitted from mothers to daughters, as it was associated with women, and linked to the poorest strata of society\u2014an alliance that provided a support network as well as a strategy of resistance to poverty and male oppression. Hence, being a midwife, a healer, and a sorceress was all part of the same profession; and so, the same woman could cure fevers while invoking the forces of the underworld. Prostitution could be added as another activity associated with this world of feminine practices, perceived by men as dangerous, harmful, and repugnant forms of knowledge, the result of the ignorance and misogyny common in the ancient world: although these practices were central and absolutely necessary for the lives of ordinary people, they were relegated, in patriarchal societies, to the margins and to illegality. As a result of this rejection, ancient literature, masculine and elitist, has transmitted terrible portraits of women like these, such as the Horatian poems dedicated to Canidia and her friends, but also the brutal portrait of the witch Erichtho and her necromantic practices in Lucan\u2019s epic poem Pharsalia, not forgetting the evil sorceress in Apuleius\u2019 Golden Ass, who has the ability to transform herself and her enemies into animals (just like the goddess Circe). All these portrayals have proved fatal to the women\u2019s reputation and are at the origin of important misogynistic stereotypes, such as the femme fatale or the wicked witch in fairy tales. They have also damaged the image of certain animals, such as snakes, dogs, roosters, and rodents, as will be seen throughout the exhibition. Magic permeated the everyday life of ordinary people, who turned to it when seeking a certain remedy, to protect themselves from the evil eye, and to achieve an effective intervention of a deity in some more delicate matter (love, inheritance, travel). It could be said that the Greeks and Romans were superstitious and tried to defend themselves from the negative gaze (invidiousness) by means of amulets and incantations. Resorting to this magic as a form of physical and psychic protection was cheap; it was also easy and sometimes the only way for normal and (mostly) poor and vulnerable people \u2014children, women, and slaves\u2014 to have access to a therapeutic cure. We are facing a historical moment when medical or biological knowledge did not allow a distinction between medicine, religion, and magic; in other words, when magical thinking coexisted with scientific\u2014or perhaps even better\u2014with experimental thinking. At least, they had this resource. We have put together this exhibition as part of the research project \u00abMarginalia Classica. En los m\u00e1rgenes de la Tradici\u00f3n cl\u00e1sica\u00bb of the Madrid Autonomous University (Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Madrid, Spain, UAM) and the UAM research group Litterae. In addition, three researchers from the Complutense Univerity of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) research group \u00abTextos religiosos de la Antig\u00fcedad y del Pr\u00f3ximo Oriente\u00bb (\u00abTexts of Antiquity and the Near East\u00bb) and researchers from other centers have collaborated in the project. Our scientific interest is focused on the popular practices of Antiquity and the use of classical references in contemporary popular culture.   Rosario L\u00f3pez Gregoris, exhibition coordinator, is professor of Classical Philology at the UAM and coordinator of the Litterae research group, member of the Marginalia Classica group. Project hosting this exhibition: PID2019-107253GB-I00\/AEI\/10.13039\/501100011033. The following have collaborated in the realization of this Exhibtion: Berta Gonz\u00e1lez Saavedra (UCM), Ana Gonz\u00e1lez-Rivas (UAM), Alejandra Guzm\u00e1n Almagro (UB), Paula Avenda\u00f1o Rom\u00e1n (UAM), Carlos S\u00e1nchez P\u00e9rez (UAM), Mercedes Aguirre Castro (UCM), Bego\u00f1a Ortega Villaro (U. Burgos), Sara Palermo (UAM), Zoa Alonso Fern\u00e1ndez (UAM), Raquel Mart\u00edn Hern\u00e1ndez (UCM), Miriam Blanco Cesteros (UCM), Araceli Striano Corrochano (UAM), Mar\u00eda Isabel Jim\u00e9nez Mart\u00ednez (UAM), Viviana Diez (U. de La Plata), Luis Unceta G\u00f3mez (UAM), Sarah Tolfo (UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) and Lydia Barbosa (UAM).   Further reading: Campbell, Gordon Lindsay (ed.) (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life, Oxford\u2013New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Charro Gorgojo, \u00c1ngel (2004). \u201cSerpientes: ni dioses ni demonios\u201d, Revista de Folklore 283: 3-12. Christopher A. Faraone (2018). The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times. Empire and after. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018. Fern\u00e1ndez Uriel, Pilar (1996). \u201cMales y remedios II. La evoluci\u00f3n de la medicina en la Historia del Mundo Griego\u201d. Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua 9: 195-219. Gir\u00f3n Anguiozar, M.\u00aa de Lourdes (2021). \u201cHistoria versus realidad: \u201cEl patriarcado historiado\u201d y la simbolog\u00eda de la serpiente antes y despu\u00e9s del cristianismo\u201d, Revista De Estudios Socioeducativos. ReSed 9: 194-205. Innes, Alison (2011). \u201cTo Help or to Harm: Female Practitioners of Pharmaka in Ancient Greece\u201d (pp. 56-66). In April Anson (ed.), The Evil Body, Leiden: Brill. Judge, Shelby (2023): \u201c\u2018Men make terrible pigs\u2019: Teaching Madeline Miller’s Circe and the New Feminist Mythic Archetype\u201d, The Classical Outlook 98\/3: 108-118. Lecouteux, Claude y Boyer, Regis (1999): Hadas, brujas y hombres lobo en la Edad Media: historia del doble. Medievalia 6. Palma de Mallorca: Jos\u00e9 J. de Ola\u00f1eta Madrid, Mercedes (2009). \u201cMedea: hechicera y madre asesina\u201d, Dossiers Feministes 13: 29-44. McIntyre, Gwynaeth\u00a0& McCallum, Sarah (2019): Uncovering Anna Perenna. A Focused Study of Roman Myth and Culture, London\u2013New York: Bloomsbury. Molina-Venegas, Rafael & Verano, Rodrigo (2024): \u201cThe Quest for Homer’s Moly: Exploring the Potential of an Early Ethnobotanical Complex\u201d, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 20\/11. Olson, Kelly (2009). \u201cCosmetics in Roman Antiquity: Substance, Remedy, Poison\u201d, CW 102: 291-310. P\u00e9rez Gonz\u00e1lez, Jordi (2017). \u201cElaboraci\u00f3n y comercializaci\u00f3n de perfumes y ung\u00fcentos en Roma. Los unguentarii\u201d, Revista de Estudos Filos\u00f3ficos e Hist\u00f3ricos da Antiguidade 31: 81-110. Piranomonte, Marina (2010) \u201cReligion and Magic at Rome: The Fountain of Anna Perenna\u201d (pp.191-214). In Richard L. Gordon & Francisco Marco Sim\u00f3n (eds). Magical Practice in the Latin West, Leiden\u2013Boston: Brill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"CollectionPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/year-2024\\\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/year-2024\\\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\\\/\",\"name\":\"Magic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/year-2024\\\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/year-2024\\\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"MUSEO\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/home-museo-ecologia-humana\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Temporary exhibitions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Year 2024\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/en\\\/espacio\\\/temporary-exhibitions\\\/year-2024\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Magic and women in the Classical World\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\",\"description\":\"Museo Virtual de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/logo-meh.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/logo-meh.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/museoecologiahumana.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Magic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Magic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","og_description":"This Temporary exhibition hosted by the Virtual Museum of Human Ecology on magic and women in the Greco-Roman explains some of the divine and other human characters that represented the power of magic in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the procedures they had to access magic. In the ancient world, the divinities of magic are all female and linked to darkness, especially the goddess Hecate. In addition, several mortal women became famous for the criminal use of their special knowledge, either to take revenge, to fall in love, or fall out of love with their lovers, of which the most famous case is, without any doubt, that of Medea. These special skills may have consisted of technical knowledge (i.e. of plants, potions, ointments, spells, and incantations), usually transmitted from mothers to daughters, as it was associated with women, and linked to the poorest strata of society\u2014an alliance that provided a support network as well as a strategy of resistance to poverty and male oppression. Hence, being a midwife, a healer, and a sorceress was all part of the same profession; and so, the same woman could cure fevers while invoking the forces of the underworld. Prostitution could be added as another activity associated with this world of feminine practices, perceived by men as dangerous, harmful, and repugnant forms of knowledge, the result of the ignorance and misogyny common in the ancient world: although these practices were central and absolutely necessary for the lives of ordinary people, they were relegated, in patriarchal societies, to the margins and to illegality. As a result of this rejection, ancient literature, masculine and elitist, has transmitted terrible portraits of women like these, such as the Horatian poems dedicated to Canidia and her friends, but also the brutal portrait of the witch Erichtho and her necromantic practices in Lucan\u2019s epic poem Pharsalia, not forgetting the evil sorceress in Apuleius\u2019 Golden Ass, who has the ability to transform herself and her enemies into animals (just like the goddess Circe). All these portrayals have proved fatal to the women\u2019s reputation and are at the origin of important misogynistic stereotypes, such as the femme fatale or the wicked witch in fairy tales. They have also damaged the image of certain animals, such as snakes, dogs, roosters, and rodents, as will be seen throughout the exhibition. Magic permeated the everyday life of ordinary people, who turned to it when seeking a certain remedy, to protect themselves from the evil eye, and to achieve an effective intervention of a deity in some more delicate matter (love, inheritance, travel). It could be said that the Greeks and Romans were superstitious and tried to defend themselves from the negative gaze (invidiousness) by means of amulets and incantations. Resorting to this magic as a form of physical and psychic protection was cheap; it was also easy and sometimes the only way for normal and (mostly) poor and vulnerable people \u2014children, women, and slaves\u2014 to have access to a therapeutic cure. We are facing a historical moment when medical or biological knowledge did not allow a distinction between medicine, religion, and magic; in other words, when magical thinking coexisted with scientific\u2014or perhaps even better\u2014with experimental thinking. At least, they had this resource. We have put together this exhibition as part of the research project \u00abMarginalia Classica. En los m\u00e1rgenes de la Tradici\u00f3n cl\u00e1sica\u00bb of the Madrid Autonomous University (Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Madrid, Spain, UAM) and the UAM research group Litterae. In addition, three researchers from the Complutense Univerity of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) research group \u00abTextos religiosos de la Antig\u00fcedad y del Pr\u00f3ximo Oriente\u00bb (\u00abTexts of Antiquity and the Near East\u00bb) and researchers from other centers have collaborated in the project. Our scientific interest is focused on the popular practices of Antiquity and the use of classical references in contemporary popular culture.   Rosario L\u00f3pez Gregoris, exhibition coordinator, is professor of Classical Philology at the UAM and coordinator of the Litterae research group, member of the Marginalia Classica group. Project hosting this exhibition: PID2019-107253GB-I00\/AEI\/10.13039\/501100011033. The following have collaborated in the realization of this Exhibtion: Berta Gonz\u00e1lez Saavedra (UCM), Ana Gonz\u00e1lez-Rivas (UAM), Alejandra Guzm\u00e1n Almagro (UB), Paula Avenda\u00f1o Rom\u00e1n (UAM), Carlos S\u00e1nchez P\u00e9rez (UAM), Mercedes Aguirre Castro (UCM), Bego\u00f1a Ortega Villaro (U. Burgos), Sara Palermo (UAM), Zoa Alonso Fern\u00e1ndez (UAM), Raquel Mart\u00edn Hern\u00e1ndez (UCM), Miriam Blanco Cesteros (UCM), Araceli Striano Corrochano (UAM), Mar\u00eda Isabel Jim\u00e9nez Mart\u00ednez (UAM), Viviana Diez (U. de La Plata), Luis Unceta G\u00f3mez (UAM), Sarah Tolfo (UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) and Lydia Barbosa (UAM).   Further reading: Campbell, Gordon Lindsay (ed.) (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life, Oxford\u2013New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Charro Gorgojo, \u00c1ngel (2004). \u201cSerpientes: ni dioses ni demonios\u201d, Revista de Folklore 283: 3-12. Christopher A. Faraone (2018). The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times. Empire and after. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018. Fern\u00e1ndez Uriel, Pilar (1996). \u201cMales y remedios II. La evoluci\u00f3n de la medicina en la Historia del Mundo Griego\u201d. Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua 9: 195-219. Gir\u00f3n Anguiozar, M.\u00aa de Lourdes (2021). \u201cHistoria versus realidad: \u201cEl patriarcado historiado\u201d y la simbolog\u00eda de la serpiente antes y despu\u00e9s del cristianismo\u201d, Revista De Estudios Socioeducativos. ReSed 9: 194-205. Innes, Alison (2011). \u201cTo Help or to Harm: Female Practitioners of Pharmaka in Ancient Greece\u201d (pp. 56-66). In April Anson (ed.), The Evil Body, Leiden: Brill. Judge, Shelby (2023): \u201c\u2018Men make terrible pigs\u2019: Teaching Madeline Miller’s Circe and the New Feminist Mythic Archetype\u201d, The Classical Outlook 98\/3: 108-118. Lecouteux, Claude y Boyer, Regis (1999): Hadas, brujas y hombres lobo en la Edad Media: historia del doble. Medievalia 6. Palma de Mallorca: Jos\u00e9 J. de Ola\u00f1eta Madrid, Mercedes (2009). \u201cMedea: hechicera y madre asesina\u201d, Dossiers Feministes 13: 29-44. McIntyre, Gwynaeth\u00a0& McCallum, Sarah (2019): Uncovering Anna Perenna. A Focused Study of Roman Myth and Culture, London\u2013New York: Bloomsbury. Molina-Venegas, Rafael & Verano, Rodrigo (2024): \u201cThe Quest for Homer’s Moly: Exploring the Potential of an Early Ethnobotanical Complex\u201d, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 20\/11. Olson, Kelly (2009). \u201cCosmetics in Roman Antiquity: Substance, Remedy, Poison\u201d, CW 102: 291-310. P\u00e9rez Gonz\u00e1lez, Jordi (2017). \u201cElaboraci\u00f3n y comercializaci\u00f3n de perfumes y ung\u00fcentos en Roma. Los unguentarii\u201d, Revista de Estudos Filos\u00f3ficos e Hist\u00f3ricos da Antiguidade 31: 81-110. Piranomonte, Marina (2010) \u201cReligion and Magic at Rome: The Fountain of Anna Perenna\u201d (pp.191-214). In Richard L. Gordon & Francisco Marco Sim\u00f3n (eds). Magical Practice in the Latin West, Leiden\u2013Boston: Brill.","og_url":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/","og_site_name":"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"CollectionPage","@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/","url":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/","name":"Magic and women in the Classical World archivos - Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/magic-and-women-in-the-classical-world\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"MUSEO","item":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/home-museo-ecologia-humana\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Temporary exhibitions","item":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Year 2024","item":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/espacio\/temporary-exhibitions\/year-2024\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Magic and women in the Classical World"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/","name":"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","description":"Museo Virtual de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#organization","name":"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana","url":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/logo-meh.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/logo-meh.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Museo de Ecolog\u00eda Humana"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/espacio\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/espacio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/espacio"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museoecologiahumana.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/espacio\/2483"}]}}