gems, early lapidaries, Damigeron, magical properties, medicine

In this nearly 2000-year-old book, the ancient author Damigeron presents more than 70 healing stones along with their beneficial (or sometimes harmful) effects. The application examples introduce us to kings and servants, homeowners and burglars, athletes and addicts, gladiators and robbers, masters and slaves—but above all to women and children, whose social realities are rarely addressed in other ancient texts. The book offers a unique insight into the world of everyday life in antiquity and, for the first time in translation, introduces an important source text of modern esotericism.