I. History of Religions

Lat. amuletum (etymologically “giver of power”; Gk φυλακτήριον/phylaktḗrion) is a term borrowed by religious studies from Patristic usage (e.g. Severus of Antioch, PO 29, 1, 79) to denote objects that people attach to their bodies, clothing, or dwellings to maintain harmony between themselves and the world around them. Therefore, amulets are thought to be endowed with aversive (apotropaic) or attr…