Revista MHNH

Three quarters of a century have passed since the first volume of Preisendanz´s Papyri Graecae Magicae was published, and more than one hundred years since the French scholar Bouché-Leclerq´s Astrologie Grecque saw the light. Both revealed as utterly wrong the almost universal scorn of classical scholars and ancient historians to Magic and Astrology, two pseudo-sciences which, after all, bear witness to the irrational but lively strain pervading and stimulating ancient Graeco-roman culture.

Since then, classical scholars have studied both subjects with different success explaining enigmatic passages or alerting their readers to direct or veiled allusions in the ancient texts to the stars and to the superior powers supposedly controlled by humans.

The editorial activity on Greek and Latin manuscripts, inscriptions and, above all, papyri has opened new perspectives for ancient texts in the twentieth century AD and has put in our hands a load of material belonging to the very epoch in which these texts were written. They have brought about too the editing of monographs, general surveys and articles on treatises, authors and, more often, on technical details relating to Magic and Astrology. The whole of it reveals on the part of classical scholars a strong current of interest towards these practices or doctrines which cannot be obliterated.

In spite of this interest, the very absence of a scientific Journal focused exclusively on these two so narrowly related subjects is surprising. This has implied, as a matter of fact, a wide dispersion of articles, little documents and critical notes on content and interpretation about magical and astrological texts. Up to now, most of them -specially those on Magic- have found their way into Greek Religion Journals; others -mostly on Astrology- have occasionally entered into the realm of Science Journals. And to tell the truth, owing to the generosity of classical scholars at large, very many of them have been welcomed into general Journals on Literature; History, Epigraphy, Papyrology, etcetera.

In spite of -or, rather, because of- it all, a specific Journal on both subjects is missing –a Journal which may canalize the interest towards these fields of ancient culture, and, at the same time, may stimulate the curiosity in them of a society, like ours, so akin in a way to the hellenistic-roman in which the flourishing of magi and astrologers took place.

But, why the name MHNH? Why this old name which, as Varro and Cicero told us, gave origin to the name of the month, mensis? We, the Editors, thought of this goddess, female and mother par excelence, Selene-Luna –Mene since the Homeric Hymns- as an adequate homage to those pioneers of Magic like homeric Kirke, tragic Medea or the thessalian women of Aristophanes and Plato; or their hellenistic and roman heirs Acantís, Canidia, Dipsas, Aglaonike and so many others. With her phases Mene ruled Greek months and women menstruation; she controlled weather and aroused animal sensibility; she excited the imagination of the poets and the thinking of the philosophers. Above all, she was always the Queen of night, the Mistress of the stars, and a torch for magic rites and spells.

It is this special power of Mene as well as her privileged role in the texts -mainly of poetic character- relating to Magic and Astrology the very fact that justifies her presiding over the pages which we are trying now to open.

It is Mene-Moon (even to a larger extent than Helios-Sun) the divinity who presides over magic activities. The Homeric singer evokes her under this name:

With her Doric name -Mena- (the same name that was to have the roman goddess of women diseases) she stares at us from above the verses of Pindar:

And, in a way, the goddess who in Apolonius´ Argonautica recalls the doom of Endymion caused by her (a warning of ills to come to Jason) links herself to Magic:

τὴν δὲ νέον Τιτηνὶς ἀνερχομένη περάτηθεν

ἁρπαλέως. καὶ τοῖα μετὰ φρεσὶν ἧσιν ἔειπεν· [2]

The magician deems her a powerful Queen when he is invoking her circle: χαῖρε. νυκτιφαοῦς μήνης ἀνισολαμπὴς κύκλος [3]. But there is no passage which might convey more powerfully the strength of her name than the following one: in Mag. Pap. IV the magician, assuming the identity of older Hermes, the father of Isis, tries to awaken her and put her under his will:

ἔγειρε σεαυτήν, ἡλιωτίδος τροφοῦ, χρῄζουσα Μήνη, νερτέρων ἐπίσκοπε, ἐνεύχομαί σοι, Ξείνη τ΄Αὔγη, παρθένε, ἐνεύχομαί σοι, δαιδάλη καιπή, θοή, λογαίη, ὁλκῖτι φασγάνων, θυμάνδρεια, παιωνία, προμηθική, πολυκλείτη, νύσσα, ποδάρκη, ἀλκίμη, πορφυρέη, σκοτείη, Βριμώ, ἄμβροτε, ἐπήκοε, Περσία, νομαῖε, Αλκυόνη, χρυσοστεφή, πρέσβειρα, φαεννώ, πελαγίη, εἰδωλίη, ἰνδαλίμη, δείχτειρα, βαριδοῦχε, εὔστοχε, αὐτοφυής, μιτρίη, ἀνδρείη, στρατηλατί, Δωδωνίη, Ἰδαῖα, νεοπεθής, λυκώ. στηλῖτι, οὐλοή, ἀκρίη, χαροπή, ὀξυβόη, Θασία, Μήνη, πύματ΄, ἠγκαλισμένη ἀκτίνας, ἡ σώτειρα, πανγαίη, κυνώ, Κλωθαίη, πανδώτειρα, δολίχη, κυδίμη, ἄνασσα, ἀρηγέ, ἀγλαή, εὐρύστοχε, αἰζηίη, ἁγία, ἡμέρη, ἀφθίτη, λιγεῖα, λιπαροπλόκαμε, θαλία, ζαθείη, χρυσῶπι, τερψίμβροτε, Μινῴα, λοχιάς, Θηβαία, τλητή, δολόεσσα, ἀτασθάλη, ἀκτινοχαῖτι, ἰοχέαιρα, παρθένε [4].

Having such powers and the prestige due to her Homeric past, the name Mene recurs, as we said above, in poetical texts of Astrology: Dorotheus Sidonius, Antioch, Ps.-Manetho use this name whenever they allude to her astrological role. Naturally, later technical treatises about Astrology, boring and confusing as they often are, were not able to feel the strength of this epithet and they just allude to the moon by her vulgar and usual name –Selene, Luna. But we are not concerned about this, and, with the title of this new Journal we want to pay tribute to the power of the old magae who undoubtedly invoked her with this name -the Thessalian women who were able to take control of not only the power, but the astral reality of Mene Helikôpis, as Doroteus calls her, the one who illuminates night.

We´d like to close these introductory words with the Sidonians´s lines in which the fundamental role of the moon, as well as that of the sun, are emphasized for the interpretation of astrological places:

The Editors of MHNH, on our own behalf and on that of the Scientific Committee invite all scholars who might be interested, whether directly or not, in the subjects of ancient Magic and Astrology to collaborate in this new enterprise. Our pages are open to any scholar who has something to say about any of the aspects of this field of research, be it about contents or about the material aspects, such as epigraphic, papyrological, codicological or linguistic of magic or astrological texts. The prestige of the members belonging to the Scientific Committee, who are going to control the quality of the manuscripts, will be guarantee enough. But the authors and collaborators will be responsible for their views or ideas -except in case of errors or omissions arising during the process of composition and editing.

Each number –except the first one- will contain three permanent sections which, nevertheless, will be subject to change according to the contributions in each case. These are the following:

1. Studia. This section will contain long articles on cultural, historical, technical, linguistic, textual or archaeological aspects relating to ancient Magic and/or Astrology. We set as chronological limit the sixth century AD which will only be obviated in the case of a study clarifying -by means of later texts- ancient magic or astrological questions. Approximately 100 pages will be devoted to it.

2. Notabilia This section will contain brief notes and information on the basic subjects of the Journal, such as textual or archaeological novelties. It will also contain the editing of brief documents from manuscripts, papyri or inscriptions, or the revision and reediting of others already published. Translation and Commentary on the text will be included. About 50 pages will be given over for this section.

3. Reviews and critical surveys, either short or long, of new books on Magic and Astrology received by the Editors of MHNH. Again, about 50 pages will be kept for this section.

[1] O. 3.19-20.

[2] IV 53-56. En III 533 se habla de los κέλευθοι μήνης ἱεράς en relación con los astros. También Euforión, fr. 20 CLÚA, se refiere a ella como Mήνη, con referencia a su hijo, el león de Nemea. En Orph., frg. 245. 2 y 247.3 KERN se habla de ella como madre de Museo y aparece también en fr. 271.2 y 274.2. Nonn., 44.191ss. utiliza el nombre para identificación con Hécate, Ártemis y Perséfone; también en 44.227.

[3] PMG, IV 1132, vol. I, p. 110 PREISENDANZ..

[4] PMG IV 2265-2286, vol. I, p. 142 PREISENDANZ.

[5] Doroth., V5.16-17, p. 386 PINGREE.