Abstract

This article discusses several aspects of the divinatory spells included in the Greek magical papyri of Roman Egypt. First, it is argued that in these texts the boundaries between magic and divination are blurred – divination is but one of a variety of magical practices. An analysis then follows of the complexity of elements that shape these divinatory spells and recipes, as well as the practice of magic as a whole: priests and the activity of the temples, the risks of a hostile environment, the positive consideration of these priests throughout the centuries in particular “milieux”, the new profile of the “lector-priests”, and the types of divination practiced. Some observations are also made concerning the distinctive features of two complex texts, the “Mithras Liturgy” and the “Leiden Kosmopoiia”.