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Amulets
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words. Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism, whereas amulets or sacred objects of formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to the bearer who does not have an appropriate disposition. Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meanings. Amulets refer to any object which has the power to avert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed permanently in architecture. Talismans are closely linked with amulets, fulfilling many of the same roles, but a key difference is in their functions. An amulet protects a person or possession against evil forces while a talisman provides good fortune. Talismans have been used in many civilizations throughout history, with connections to astrological, scientific, and religious practices; but the theory around preparation and use has changed in some cultures with more recent, new age, talismanic theory. Talismans are used for a wide array of functions, such as: the personal protection of the wearer, loved ones or belongings, aiding in fertility, and helping crop production. Etymology The word ''talisman'' comes from French , via Arabic (, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic In The Graeco-Roman World
Magic in the Greco-Roman world – that is, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the other cultures with which they interacted, especially ancient Egypt – comprises supernatural practices undertaken by individuals, often privately, that were not under the oversight of official priesthoods attached to the various state, community, and household cults and temples as a matter of public religion. Private magic was practiced throughout Greek and Roman cultures as well as among Jews and early Christians of the Roman Empire. Primary sources for the study of Greco-Roman magic include the Greek Magical Papyri, curse tablets, amulets, and literary texts such as Ovid's '' Fasti'' and Pliny the Elder's ''Natural History''. Terminology Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, ''mágos'', "Magian" or "magician", was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek '' goēs'' (γόης), the older word for a practitioner of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankh
The ankh or key of life is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol used to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself. The ankh has a T-shape topped by a droplet-shaped loop. It was used in writing as a triliteral sign, representing a sequence of three consonants, ''Ꜥ-n-ḫ''. This sequence was found in several Egyptian words, including the terms for "mirror", "floral bouquet", and "life". The symbol often appeared in Egyptian art as a physical object representing either life or related life-giving substances such as air or water. Commonly depicted in the hands of ancient Egyptian deities, sometimes being given by them to the pharaoh, it represents their power to sustain life and to revive human souls in the afterlife. The ankh was a widespread decorative motif in ancient Egypt, also used decoratively by neighbouring cultures. Copts adapted it into the ''crux ansata'', a shape with a circular rather than droplet loop, and used it as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eye Of Horus
The Eye of Horus, also known as left ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye, specular to the Eye of Ra (right ''wedjat'' eye), is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from the Osiris myth#Conflict of Horus and Set, mythical conflict between the god Horus with his rival Set (deity), Set, in which Set tore out or destroyed one or both of Horus's eyes and the eye was subsequently healed or returned to Horus with the assistance of another deity, such as Thoth. Horus subsequently offered the eye to his deceased father Osiris, and its revitalizing power sustained Osiris in the afterlife. The Eye of Horus was thus equated with funerary offerings, as well as with all the offerings given to deities in Egyptian temple, temple ritual. It could also represent other concepts, such as the moon, whose waxing and waning was likened to the injury and restoration of the eye. The Eye of Horus symbol, a stylized eye with distinct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heliotrope (mineral)
Heliotropes () (also called ematille, Indian bloodstones, or simply bloodstones) are aggregate minerals, and a cryptocrystalline mixture of quartz that occurs mostly as jasper ( opaque) or sometimes as chalcedony (translucent). The "classic" bloodstone is translucent to opaque green chalcedony and red jasper that contains inclusions of hematite. The red jasper may resemble spots of blood, hence the name ''bloodstone''. Other colors of chalcedony may also occur in Indian bloodstone, such as white, yellow, or blue. This semiprecious stone should not be confused with other ornamental stones that contain red jasper. Setonite, also called African bloodstone, is composed of red jasper, grey chalcedony, and pyrite. Dragon's Blood, sometimes called Australian bloodstone, is composed of red jasper and green epidote. The name ''heliotrope'' derives from ancient beliefs about the manner in which the mineral reflects light. Such notions are described, for example, by Pliny the Elder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khepri
Khepri (Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced Egyptian pantheon, god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also represent creation and the renewal of life.van Ryneveld, Maria M. ''The Presence and Significance of Khepri in Egyptian Religion and Art'', University of Pretoria (South Africa), Ann Arbor, 1992''. . Etymology The name "Khepri" appeared in the Pyramid Texts, Pyramid texts and usually included the scarab hieroglyph as a determinative or ideogram as a potential means to make any allusions to the god clear. Khepri is also mentioned in the Amduat, as the god is intrinsically linked to cycle of the sun and Ra's nightly journey through the Duat, the Egyptian underworld. Khepri (''ḫprj'') is derived from the Egyptian language verb ''ḫpr,'' meaning to "develop" or "create".Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egyptian Faience
Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process "covered [the material] with a true vitreous coating" as the quartz underwent vitrification, creating a bright lustre of various colours "usually in a transparent blue or green isotropic glass". Its name in the Ancient Egyptian language was , and modern archeological terms for it include sintered quartz, glazed frit, and glazed composition. is distinct from the crystalline pigment Egyptian blue, for which it has sometimes incorrectly been used as a synonym. It is not faience in the usual sense of tin-glazed pottery, and is different from the enormous range of clay-based Ancient Egyptian pottery, from which utilitarian vessels were made. It is similar to later Islamic stonepaste (or "fritware") from the Middle East, although that generally includes more clay. Egyptian faience is considerably more porous than glass proper. It can be cast in molds to create small vessels, jewelry and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylactery
Phylactery may refer to: * Amulet, an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor * Phylactery (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' element * Reliquary, a container for relics * Speech scroll, an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound * Tefillin, a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah See also * Hunping, translated as soul jar or soul vase, a type of Chinese ceramic funerary urn * List of Mandaic manuscripts This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean ... * '' Phylactery Factory'', a 2008 album by Casey Dienel {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World History Encyclopedia
World History Encyclopedia (formerly Ancient History Encyclopedia) is a nonprofit educational company created in 2009 by Jan van der Crabben. The organization publishes and maintains articles, images, videos, podcasts, and interactive educational tools related to history. All users may contribute content to the site, although submissions are reviewed by an editorial team before publication. In 2021, the organization was renamed from the Ancient History Encyclopedia to World History Encyclopedia to reflect its broadened scope, covering world history from all time periods, as opposed to just ancient history. Original articles are written in English and later translated into other languages, mainly French and Spanish. Organization history The Ancient History Encyclopedia was founded in 2009 by van der Crabben with the stated goal of improving history education worldwide by creating a freely accessible and reliable history source. The nonprofit organization is based in Godalming, Unit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (50927 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic peoples, Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilating the Greece, Greek culture of southern Italy (Magna Graecia) and the Etruscans, Etruscan culture, and then became the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. At its hei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
