ENCIRCLEMENT, THE OUROBOROS, AND CLUES OF RITUAL ACTIVITY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF IN THE MAGICAL GEMS
ENCIRCLEMENT, THE OUROBOROS, AND CLUES OF RITUAL ACTIVITY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF IN THE MAGICAL GEMS

Summary/Abstract: Ancient magic is a newer area of study and for the longest time it was ignored, considered to be nothing more than superstition. Its already scant archaeological record was treated as curiosities, a matter not helped by how easily many of them were traded and transported, losing their archaeological context.Recent studies have shown that magic is far more complex. In fact, it is an important source for understanding the true complexity of religion in Antiquity, on how it impacts individuals and interacts with their personal issues. Magic is not inherently on the fringes of society and it was most likely not defined the same. The lines between an amulet worn for magical, medical or religious reasons were blurred. This paper aims to continue this by analysing an iconographical element on the most readily available magical artefact, the magical gems, widespread in the Hellenistic and Roman world. This is the ouroboros, the snake that bites its own tail, which can be connected to the Greek Magical Papyri and to Egyptian theological concepts that go back to the Old Kingdom. This exploration reveals clues regarding the rituals that accompanied the artefact through the technique of encirclement and furthers our understanding of the religious beliefs of the people who made use of them. Furthermore, it dispels the idea that magic is solely individualistic. That is an element of it, but the religious connotation of the ouroboros and the context it is used in show a concern for the community too.

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