Talking heads:‎ Necromancy in Jewish and Christian Accounts ‎ from Mesopotamia and beyond

Abstract

Relations between Jewish and Christian communities in Late Antiquity involved interactions relating to a complex cultural and religious landscape. An intrinsic aspect of the exchange between Jews and Christians refers to attitudes towards pagan communities in their shared environment as a common discourse pertaining to a symbolic construction of the “Other”. More specifically, a persisting topos was the implication of “pagan” communities and their respective religious specialists in illicit magical practices including necromancy. In the following, a discussion of testimonies regarding variants of necromantic practices in ancient, rabbinic and Christian sources will explore the dissemination and special characteristics of the different necromantic accounts in Late Antiquity and contextualise this peculiar practice of a divinatory “talking head” as evidenced in contemporary Jewish and Christian traditions.