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Dionysia Gialamas has combed old legal records to glean information about the trials of Greek women who were accused of witchcraft in Venice between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Her enthralling account traces the background of the women of Greek origin and connections who were denounced to the Inquisition, and sets out the social and historical context in which those denunciations took place. Her overview of the phenomenon in other parts of Europe shows that the Inquisition was not as fierce in Venice. However, there – as in other places – women who did not hew to social convention were often accused of practising magic. Unmarried women and those alleged to have used spells to procure a husband or seduce a married man would fall under suspicion. Gialamas explains the process used to deal with the women, and the ideological arsenal employed to suppress what was perceived as witchcraft.
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