Resumen de The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times by Christopher A. Faraone (review)
The proliferation of "magical" images and texts on a variety of media during the Roman Empire was not, as he puts it, "a result of any alteration in the Zeitgeist or a tidal wave of 'oriental' influence" (1); rather, it was the result of changes in the way long-standing "magical" remedies were given shape, image, and text. Faraone discusses several groups of pendants in more detail: weapons (the club of Heracles was a favorite), seashells, animals, parts of real animals, and depictions of human body parts (the frontal eye, female and male genitalia, an obscene hand gesture representing the vulva). The presence of an element associated with the domestic cult, such as the base of a statue, in the miniature version worn as an amulet or engraved on a gem betrays the connection between the two instances of popular practice.
