Conference on Magic

By a note in Facebook I became aware of an interesting conference to be held in Bonn this summer:
Egyptian and Jewish Magic in antiquity
Bonn 5-9 July. The Venue of the Conference will be the site of the Universitätsforum, Heussallee 18-24, 53113 Bonn.

The main goals hoped to be attained with the EJMA Conference are:

• isolating a magico-technical vocabulary, which characterizes ancient texts of magic and, possibly, achieve a common and intercultural terminology on ancient magic.
• following some linguistic and ritualistic developments in magical texts, both within a specific culture as well as cross- culturally,
• understanding some of the magical names and nomina barbara we find in later texts, most of which still remain incomprehensible to us.
• reconstructing the ritual dynamics of different magical practices on the basis of textual and material comparisons within the same culture or between different cultures – and especially those which dwelt in Egypt – both from a synchronic and diachronic perspective.

The Program and list of speakers can be seen here.For further info, see here.

Reading Philo review

Ken Schenck had a brief note on ‘Reading Philo’: A Handbook to Philo (Eerdmans, 2014), in the beginning of May (see here). Iit looked like the first part of a review , but it has not been followed up, as far as I have been able to observe. I consider Schenck a reader well versed in Philo; hence a review from his pen would have been interesting. But a full review of the volume is still something I am looking for… 🙂

SNTS 2015 Amsterdam

Now finally, I have signed up for participation at the SNTS General Meeting in Amsterdam 28-31 July. I should thus be able to participate in the Philo Seminar listed below too, as well as some other interesting lectures and events.

I just have to find some hotel like place to stay ………:)