Die Sortes Astrampsychi

FRANZISKA NAETHER
Die Sortes Astrampsychi
Problemlösungsstrategien durch Orakel im römischen Ägypten
[The Sortes Astrampsychi. Problem-Solving Strategies with Oracles in Roman Egypt.]
Published in German.
“You will marry your girlfriend, but you will be sorry.” “You will inherit from your wife, but you
will not be the sole heir.” These are the words of an oracle attributed to Pythagoras which
supposedly also helped Alexander gain world supremacy. The “Sortes Astrampsychi” were
transmitted on papyri from the Roman period and medieval manuscripts in Greek. Consisting
of 92 pre-formulated questions and 1030 matching answers from nearly all areas of daily life,
the oracle represents an important source for the social history of Egypt, for example its
demography, economy and jurisdiction. In this commentary on the “Sortes Astrampsychi,” the
author focuses on the background of its use in antiquity and the contextualization among the
religious, divinatory and magical practices of Egypt, in particular the “ticket” oracles in Demotic,
Greek and Coptic.
2010. XVIII, 491 pages.
ORA 3
ISBN 978-3-16-150250-7
cloth 109,00 €
Franziska Naether Geboren 1980; 1999–2004 Studium der Ägyptologie, Alten Geschichte und
der Kulturwissenschaften an der Universität Leipzig; 2005–07 Promotionsstipendiatin der
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung; 2008–09 Stipendiatin des Albertus-Magnus-Vereins; 2005–08
Mitarbeiterin am Projekt »Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Graeco-Roman Egypt« an der
Universität zu Köln; 2009 Promotion; derzeit wissenschaftliche Assistentin am Ägyptologischen
Institut der Universität Leipzig.
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