Description
The Evil Eye is a folk concept that the hostile glance of certain people, gods, animals or mythological figures (depending on the culture) can result in injury, illness or even death. Usually, the victim is unaware of it happening to them and only in hindsight is said “to have received the Evil Eye”. Therefore, the best means of protection is to wear charms that will divert the evil gaze in the first place.
Some cultures believe that the Evil Eye can be cast accidentally (e.g. by a dead animal, as above). This belief might have contributed to the ancient and modern custom of closing the eyes of the dead. But when it is intentional, it is often considered to be caused by envy and therefore the envious gaze from a hostile person or god. It is a common theme in Greek and Roman mythology that prosperous individuals are brought down by the envy of the gods. In a particularly ironic moment from Greek tragedy, for example, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon seals his own destruction by treading on some sacred tapestries, saying: “may no envious glance cast me down from afar.
