If you’ve listened to the latest Ancient History Hound podcast on ghosts then you’ll have heard me mention that I’d post some bits from the episode which I mentioned. These sources I read and mentioned, maps, links, pictures and podcasts (including the one on ghosts).
Maps.
I referred to both Mesopotamia and Assur in the beginning. Mesopotamia is a tricky place to describe, so here it is.
Cyrene is next up (thanks to The History Hub).
And then Selinus in Siciliy (modern day Selinunte). It’s the city highlighted in the west on the south coast of the island.
Pictures.
The image I spoke about on the lekythos which shows Hermes and those ghosts-a-drinking is below.
What’s worth noting is that Hermes is guiding the souls in some way (top right) with a wand. One of his roles was to guide the dead to where they needed to be. Lekythoi were small narrow pieces which were often found at graves and tombs.
The image is attributed to the Tymbos Painter and can be found at the University of Jena.
The pumpkins above are some which I’ve done and mentioned at the beginning of the podcast. You can find more here (including some guides I put together on youtube) and I’ll be tweeting the one I do this year as well. Why not give it a go? If nothing it will get the neighbours talking.
Podcasts.
Here’s the Ghost episode but I have also included some which I refer to in the podcast.
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Human sacrifice in Antiquity – Part One.
In fairness this one examines Mesopotamia and Carthage, but you might be interested. If the Death Pits of Ur sounds intriguing then go for it.
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Part Two focuses on Greece and Rome. The Argei (the straw dolls) certainly have a dubious background. But then any dolls near Halloween are by definiton spooky.
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Reading.
I spend a lot of time reading and researching and the below helped me put the podast together. I haven’t included ancient sources (Pliny, Tactitus etc) as I mention them by name in the podcast. I can always dig through my notes if you want to know where I found the a reference in the ancient source.
Magico-Medical Means of Treating Ghost Induced Illness in Ancient Mesopotamia, JoAnn Scurlock (this is brilliant, incredibly detailed, niche but invaluable).
Magic and Magicians in the Greco Roman World, Matthew Dickie.
Advances in Mesopotamian Medicine from Hammurabi to Hippocrates, ed. Annie Attia and Gilles Buisson.
Demon Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament, Robert M. Johnston.
The Exrocists Manual, M.J. Geller
A Solomonic Exorcism, David R Jordan, Roy D. Kotansky
Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament and Early Christianity, Eric Sorensen.
The Exorcist’s Manual: Structure, Language, Sitz im Lebem, Eckhart Frahm.
Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World, ed Paul Mirecki and Marvin Meyer.
Necromancy, Fertility and the Dark Earth: Thuse use of Ritual Pits in Hittite Cult, Billie Jean Collins
