Expelling and Avoiding Harmful Spirits

Two main attitudes towards spiritual beings can be distinguished in the material. The negative attitude is related to the standard opinions of the Church and Judaeo-Christian traditions: Spirits cause harm, and for this rea­son they are repelled and exorcised.

The negative attitude is prevalent in the treatises that are close to natural magic. In Kyranides, demons are mentioned approximately ten times, usually as something harmful from which one must be protected. The root of the erin- gius (eryngo), for example, protects humans from the deceits of demons, and a twig of ramnos (buckthorn) expels demons from a house.^{[819] [820] In another example, an evanthus stone carved with the image of the goddess Venus and attached to the root of eruca (perhaps colewort or rucola) together with the tongue of a nightingale creates a talisman that not only makes its bearer beloved, well- known and sweet-voiced, but also expels men, demons and beasts.23}