Moon folklore in the Greek world: between agriculture, medicine and metamorphosis

Presentation of a research project as part of the "Jeudis de la Maison Suger", a residents' research seminar.

Giulia Freni holds a master's degree from the University of Siena. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Basilicata (Italy) and a visiting researcher in the framework of her research at Sorbonne University, in the 'Greek Medicine and Technical Literature' team, UMR CNRS 'Orient and Mediterranean'.

Her research project concerns a new critical edition, translation and commentary of the Carmen de viribus herbarum, an ancient Greek poem devoted to plants and their magical and medicinal uses.

Presentation

In the Greek world the moon had a marginal and popular role, being worshipped by barbarians as it emerges from Herodotus' Historiae and Aristophanes' Pax. But some other sources, for example the Homeric Hymn to Selene and the Greek Magical Papyri, show the spread of the lunar cult. In particular, the moon was considered both a goddess and a planet, and it was invoked in magical rituals, especially the erotic ones. Moreover, the moon was said to influence agriculture, and especially the phases of sowing and harvesting: indeed, some plants were  used to treat conditions such as epilepsy or insanity, linked to the moon. Also other affections were connected to this goddess (or planet): think about lycanthropy and the metamorphosis into a wolf in Petronius' Satyricon. Whether the moon was perceived as a deity or a planet, there were a number of traditions linked to his cult, some of which still survive today. Starting from the marginality of the moon in the Greek world, this contribution aims to highlight some aspects of lunar folklore, trying at the same time to trace the survivals of such ancient beliefs.

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