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The late antique Mediterranean was an enchanted world where the dead were not silent or distant, but active participants in everyday life. This week, historian Michael L. Satlow joins the podcast to explain why cemeteries, saints’ bones, and the spirits of the dead were seen as powerful points of contact with the divine, and why early Christians were especially drawn to them. We'll explore how practices that feel strange or forbidden today were completely normal.
👉Dr. Satlow helps us explore:
– What it meant to live in an “enchanted world”
– Where the dead fit within the supernatural hierarchy
– Why Christians were drawn to the dead (and what Jesus has to do with it)
– Why necromancy crossed a line when other contact with the dead did not
📚 Reading Recommendations:
📖 An Enchanted World: The Shared Religious Landscape of Late Antiquity
✨ Become a Bible & Archaeology patron on Patreon.
✉️ Send us your questions: [email protected]
🔗 Want to watch the show? Find us on YouTube to see a video recording of this show.
🌐 Everywhere you can find us: Linktree
🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Michael Satlow
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Additional contributions by Mary Kathryn Lichty
The Bible & Archaeology podcast is made with support from Amanda Stone
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
By Bible and Archaeology4.1
3434 ratings
The late antique Mediterranean was an enchanted world where the dead were not silent or distant, but active participants in everyday life. This week, historian Michael L. Satlow joins the podcast to explain why cemeteries, saints’ bones, and the spirits of the dead were seen as powerful points of contact with the divine, and why early Christians were especially drawn to them. We'll explore how practices that feel strange or forbidden today were completely normal.
👉Dr. Satlow helps us explore:
– What it meant to live in an “enchanted world”
– Where the dead fit within the supernatural hierarchy
– Why Christians were drawn to the dead (and what Jesus has to do with it)
– Why necromancy crossed a line when other contact with the dead did not
📚 Reading Recommendations:
📖 An Enchanted World: The Shared Religious Landscape of Late Antiquity
✨ Become a Bible & Archaeology patron on Patreon.
✉️ Send us your questions: [email protected]
🔗 Want to watch the show? Find us on YouTube to see a video recording of this show.
🌐 Everywhere you can find us: Linktree
🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Michael Satlow
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Additional contributions by Mary Kathryn Lichty
The Bible & Archaeology podcast is made with support from Amanda Stone
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.

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