In classical antiquity, there was great interest in necromancy—the consultation of the dead for divination. People could seek knowledge from the dead by sleeping in tombs, visiting oracles, and attempting to revive corpses and skulls. Spanning many of the countries where Greek and Roman civilizations flourished, including Egypt, from the Greek Archaic period to the late Roman Empire, this book is the first comprehensive study of the subject published in any language. Daniel Ogden explores the places, displays, and techniques of necromancy, as well as the reasons that led people to it. He examines the cavernous necromancy oracular sites at Heraclea Pontica and Taenarum, as well as the oracles at Acheron and Avernus, which likely included shore sites. He argues that the oracle of Acheron has long been misinterpreted and examines in detail the traditions associated with each place.

Readers encounter the personnel of ancient necromancy: ghosts, zombies, the earliest vampires, enchanters, sorcerers, shamans, Persian magi, Chaldeans, Egyptian figures, Roman emperors, and witches from Circe to Medea. Ogden explains the technologies used to invoke or revive the dead and compel them to divulge their secrets. He concludes by examining ancient beliefs about ghosts and their wisdom—beliefs that underpinned and justified the practice of necromancy. First of its kind and full of information, this edition will be of central importance to those interested in the rapidly growing, inherently fascinating, and intellectually stimulating topics of ghosts and magic in antiquity.