Abstract
AbstractThis last chapter of the book offers an overview of the argument made across the book as a whole, and then puts forward an additional psychoanalytical interpretation of the factors that brought about the trials of Theoris, Ninon, and Phryne. Drawing on anthropological studies of political violence, and theories of cultural trauma, it argues that these trials occurred within a society in which a sense of unity had been severely and catastrophically disrupted by the events of the Peloponnesian war and its aftermath. These cases were shaped by local concerns: by means of gossip the Athenian community would have identified the activities that it found threatening and deserving of social censure. In turn, these cases can be argued to have helped shape longer-term historical attitudes to ‘magical’ activities.
Publisher
Oxford University PressOxford
Reference877 articles.
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2. Akrigg, B. 2007. ‘The Nature and Implications of Athens’ Changed Social Structure and Economy’, in Osborne 2007: 27–43.