Love magic was an ancient belief that magic can conjure sexual passion or romantic love. Love magic motif is often used in literature, such as fantasy or mythology, and it is believed that it can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as by written spells, dolls, charms, amulets, potions, or rituals. It is attested to on cuneiform tablets from the ancient Near East, in ancient Egyptian texts, in the Greco-Roman world, the Middle Ages, and up to the present day. It is used in the story of Heracles and Deianeira and in Gaetano Donizetti's 1832 opera The Elixir of Love (L'Elisir d'amore), Richard Wagner's 1865 opera Tristan and Isolde, and Manuel de Falla's 1915 ballet El amor brujo (The magic of love). Ancient love magic in Cuneiform Early examples love magic derive from the ancient Near East, dating to ca. 2200 BCE. Cuneiform tablets preserving rituals of erotic magic have been uncovered at Tell Inghara and Isin (present-day Iraq). Similar rituals are attested in ancient Egypt, for instance on an ostracon dated to the twentieth dynasty (twelfth-eleventh centuries BCE). Hellenistic love magic Spells of erotic attraction and compulsion are found within the syncretic magic tradition of Hellenistic Greece, which incorporated Egyptian and Hebraic elements, as documented in texts such as the Greek Magical Papyri and archaeologically on amulets and other artifacts dating from the 2nd century BC (and sometimes earlier) to the late 3rd century A.D. These magical practices continued to influence private rituals in Gaul among Celtic peoples, in Roman Britain, and among Germanic peoples. Erotic magic reflected gender roles in ancient Greece and dismissed modern conceptions about gender roles and sexuality. Christopher Faraone, a University of Chicago Classics professor specializing in texts and practices pertaining to magic, distinguishes between the magic of eros, as practiced by men, and the magic of philia, practiced by women. The two types of spells can be connected directly to the gender roles of men and women in Ancient Greece. Women used philia spells because they were more dependent on their husbands. In marriage, women were powerless, as men were legally permitted to divorce. As a result, many used any means necessary to maintain their marriages. Several women resorted to philia spells as they believed it retained their beauty and kept peace of mind. Philia magic was used by women to keep their male companion at bay and faithful. Basic beliefs