Solomonica Magica: Solomon, Sisinnius, and the Holy Rider on Greek-Inscribed Amulets from Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium - by Juraj Franek

About the Book

Solomonica Magica is the first comprehensive survey of 'Solomonic' or 'Holy Rider' amulets, collating and editing over 350 magical objects with Greek inscriptions, preserved on a wide variety of material supports.

Book Synopsis

Solomonica Magica is the first comprehensive survey of 'Solomonic' or 'Holy Rider' amulets from the Mediterranean of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. Hundreds of magical gems, leaf-shaped pendants, circular medallions, and other apotropaic objects--many of which were previously unpublished--are presented against the backdrop of a parabiblical tradition involving Solomon the Magician and Sisinnius the Demon-Hunter. All Greek texts have received fresh critical editions and English translations. The text of the monograph is richly illustrated with over 700 images, many newly commissioned specifically for this volume.

About the Author

Juraj Franek, Ph.D. (1984), is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Classical Studies at the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences. He is the author of Naturalism and Protectionism in the Study of Religions (Bloomsbury, 2020) and the principal author of Performative Adjuration Formula in Greek and Latin Inscriptions (Narr, 2025).