Power in the Name

How do divine names channel power? This project analyzes, first of all, the invocation of particular divine names (e.g., Jesus, Aphrodite) to access power for activities like healing, protecting, and harming. In so doing, it focuses on texts and artifacts (e.g., amulets) from ancient Mediterranean communities, including both early Christian documents and Greek magical papyri. Additionally, it compares these materials with empowered names from a very different context: 10th-century Tibet, where n