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Christian Use of Magic in Late Antique Egypt
- Journal of Early Christian Studies
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 2012
- pp. 31-57
- 10.1353/earl.2012.0003
- Article
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Determining the contours of late antique Christian use of magic involves two variables: (1) the religious affiliation of the user and (2) the content of the magic. The presence or absence of Christian motifs does not provide a clear-cut solution to a user's personal religious identity since Christian and non-Christian elements are often found side-by-side. This paper proposes that an onomastic analysis of user names from applied magical texts can provide a possible solution. An analysis of those results in comparison with the content of the texts reveals some significant patterns in the type of magic used and its chronological distribution.