Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate's Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature (Society for Classical Studies American Classical Studies)

An indispensable survey of Hekate's role in the "Chaldean Oracles" & as a sublunar mediating figure in platonic/neoplatonic cosmologies. The extensive footnotes and bibliography point the way to deeper study through classical sources & modern anthropological studies. In particular, Johnston provides disambiguation of Hekate's classical role as celestial sublunar mediator and her function/hypostasis as Physis, whose associations with wandering dead and "daemon dogs" would attribute Hekate with "witchcraft" and maleficent magic in later periods (including the present).The discussion of iynx wheels as theurgical tools was another critical success of this study. Johnston did a great survey of classical thought to consider the application of the device along w "symbola" (ie sympathetic natural materials a la Agrippa) to evoke the epiphany of Hekate.Essential.

If you are looking for a resource on Hekate as viewed in the ancient text, this is an excellent one. It is definitely a scholarly work, not a "religious" view so you have to be prepared for that flavor of the writing. I found it well sourced and extremely informative. What with all the claptrap being passed around the internet through copy and paste these days, it is refreshing to find someone who has SOURCED her interpretations. I would say this is a good jumping off point for anyone who wants to study Hekate starting from the bare bones of things.I gave this one less star simply because there are a lot of words written in Greek that are not immediately translated for the reader. I understand this being a scholarly work it is written for a specific audience, one that probably knows those words without translation into English. But I am not such a person so for me, I took off the star simply because I would have liked those words translated (Perhaps in parenthesis next to the word or in footnotes) for my own ease of reading. Other than that, I'd say this is a five start work. Definitely worth the money and a great resource for anyone studying Hekate.

While this is certainly written from the scholarly vantage point with plenty of footnotes and a healthy bibliography - it's exactly the place I wanted to start. Exactly what I was hoping for and more. Covers the Chaldean Oracle and Platonic World Soul ideas with absolute splendor. Well written, with all the right references.There's no shortage of books on Hekate - most focus on the least interesting aspects. This is an enigmatic deity, one of the most important of antiquity. Do yourself the favor of learning the how and why. Read it three times for good measure. But don't look back after you put the book down!

I bought this book because I wanted to gain more insight into the Goddess Hecate. I had already read works by contemporary "occult" authors who I respect, but I wanted a more anthropological and historical approach, written from an academic perspective. This book is that, but has a drawback for me. Many passages, quotes, and allusions are written in Greek or Latin, and I understand neither. So I feel that I have been denied quite a chunk of information by this lack of translation. Perhaps the author assumes that anyone who wants to read her work is a fellow academic. Perhaps the publisher does not publish for the non-academic and expects everyone with interest to be able to read Greek and Latin. However, as I expected, this book is an academic approach to the available information about the Goddess Hecate, and I don't regret buying it.

Fantastic book! Some of it can be hard to interpret for a beginner like me, but great insight!

Fantastic book and it came within a week of purchase

Well researched. Good footnotes.

Thanks

Finalmente un libro che raccoglie un sacco di informazioni sulla dea Hekate. Cercavo un testo così completo da un bel po'. Qualità di manufazione ottime.

impeccable

Very well researched.

Thanks