Possible Psychological Roles of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls: Therapeutic Functions of Belief in Demons and the Practice of Incantations

Markham Geller’s work on belief in ancient Mesopotamian demons draws on Freudian psychology to demonstrate that this belief may have had specific psychological benefits. It offers a promising perspective from which to study the Aramaic incantation bowls with a view to establishing the possible psych...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aramaic studies
Main Author: Walker, Harriet (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2015
In: Aramaic studies
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Demon / Freud, Sigmund 1856-1939 / Geller, Markham J. 1949- / Early Judaism / Mesopotamia / Psychology
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
BC Ancient Orient; religion
HD Early Judaism
NBH Angelology; demonology
Further subjects:B Beschwörungsschalen
B Demons Sigmund Freud Markham Geller incantation bowls early Judaism Mesopotamia psychology
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Markham Geller’s work on belief in ancient Mesopotamian demons draws on Freudian psychology to demonstrate that this belief may have had specific psychological benefits. It offers a promising perspective from which to study the Aramaic incantation bowls with a view to establishing the possible psychological roles played by these texts. This article develops Geller’s work and applies the resulting understanding of belief in demons to the Aramaic incantation bowls. Through a textual analysis it suggests possible meanings for some features of the texts and argues that these incantations may have had empirically effective therapeutic functions.
ISSN:1745-5227
Contains:In: Aramaic studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/17455227-01301008