Medicine and Religion in the Magical Gems The magical gems (2nd-4th CE) are engraved semi-precious stones showing both various types of iconography deriving from different traditions and inscriptions of a « magical » type in the conventional meaning of this term. The study of ancient lapidaries, medico-astrological treatises, and magical papyri discloses the religious universe from which the gems emanated. It deals with an ideology relied upon the notion of "sympatheia". In a high-structured cosmos, domined by the movements of the stars and semi-paralyzed by the Necessity's law, magic was not only a defensive means against the troubles deriving from such situation, but also a way to know the cosmic machine and its ruling powers.
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María Grazia Lancellotti (2001) studied this question.
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