ABSTRACT
The custom was widespread in antiquity, its centre being, in Hellenic times, the sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros. Of special apotropaeic power is human spittle, hence the widespread custom of spitting to avert an evil omen or the effects of a curse or of the evil eye. The body of customs and rites may be divided into three classes: rites connected with definite days and seasons of the solar year; rites observed on definite occasions such as birth, marriage, and death; and special rites of aversion and avoidance. The noise made by the guests, according to a well-established custom of Central Europe, on the eve before a wedding, is meant to drive away evil spirits. Examples of ritual combat live on in many parts of Western and Central Europe, to say nothing of the Orient. The ritual ablutions common among many religious systems have grown out of the ritual lustration or purification.
