Classics

Franziska Naether

Die Sortes Astrampsychi

Problemlösungsstrategien durch Orakel im römischen Ägypten

[The Sortes Astrampsychi. Problem-Solving Strategies with Oracles in Roman Egypt.]

2010. XVIII, 491 pages.

Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 3

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Published in German.
In this commentary on the »Sortes Astrampsychi,« the author focuses on the background of its use in antiquity and the contextualization among the religious, divinatory and magical practices of Egypt, in particular the »ticket« oracles in Demotic, Greek and Coptic.
»You will marry your girlfriend, but you will be sorry.« »You will inherit from your wife, but you will not be the sole heir.« These are the words of an oracle attributed to Pythagoras which supposedly also helped Alexander gain world supremacy. The »Sortes Astrampsychi« were transmitted on papyri from the Roman period and medieval manuscripts in Greek. Consisting of 92 pre-formulated questions and 1030 matching answers from nearly all areas of daily life, the oracle represents an important source for the social history of Egypt, for example its demography, economy and jurisdiction. In this commentary on the »Sortes Astrampsychi,« the author focuses on the background of its use in antiquity and the contextualization among the religious, divinatory and magical practices of Egypt, in particular the »ticket« oracles in Demotic, Greek and Coptic.
Authors/Editors

Franziska Naether Geboren 1980; 1999–2004 Studium der Ägyptologie, Alten Geschichte und der Kulturwissenschaften an der Universität Leipzig; 2005–07 Promotionsstipendiatin der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung; 2008–09 Stipendiatin des Albertus-Magnus-Vereins; 2005–08 Mitarbeiterin am Projekt »Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Graeco-Roman Egypt« an der Universität zu Köln; 2009 Promotion; derzeit wissenschaftliche Assistentin am Ägyptologischen Institut der Universität Leipzig.

Reviews

The following reviews are known:

In: Les Études Classiques — 78 (2011), S. 380–382 (Nancy Duval)
In: Medioevo greco — 11 (2011), S. 303 (Luigi Silvano)
In: Journal of Ancient Judaism — 2 (2011), S. 134–135
In: Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists — 48 (2011), S. 293–295 (Willy Clarysse)
In: Bryn Mawr Classical Review — http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010–08–43.html (08/2010) (Pieter W. van der Horst)
In: Archiv für Papyrusforschung — 58 (2012), S. 127–129 (Günter Poethke)
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