Przerażające i satyryczne obrazy czarownic w literaturze łacińskiej
Terrifying and Satirical Representations of Witches in Latin Literature

Summary/Abstract: This article shows the most important and the most powerful images of witches in the literature of Ancient Rome. The problem of magic and magic practitioners was very common in antiquity. People believed that during the night black magic was practiced, magic which was prohibited by law and the gods, and that harmed living creatures and even caused their death. Interestingly, it was women who predominantly practiced magic in antiquity. Needless to say, they were portrayed in an extremely negative way: witches were ugly, old and lascivious, but at the same time powerful and frightening. It is no wonder that the writers of Ancient Rome willingly touched upon the topic of spells, and presented witches in two ways: either to frighten or amuse the reader. Looking at the works of Apuleius, Lucan, Petronius and Horace, we in the first place see that both modes of representations were equally popular. We also realize how popular this motif was and how ot en it had been used and transformed.

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