The notion of witches through history and their representation in popular culture

Žarišna točka ovoga rada jest usporedba vještica iz doba najvećih progona s prikazima unutar popularne kulture, tj. koliko se njihovi fizički i psihički atributi podudaraju. Ovaj rad počinje s opisom nove pojave – pojave vještica – u doba renesanse iako korijeni vjerovanja sežu u razdoblja prije nove ere. Kasnije se kroz poglavlja opisuje početak, sredina i kraj progona vještica, koji su razlozi progona te ima li sličnosti u prikazima popularnih vještica s onima „stvarnim“. Ključne riječi:The focal point of this paper is to compare witches from the time of the biggest persecutions with their display within popular culture, that is, how much their physical and psychological attributes coincide. This work begins with the description of a new phenomenon – appearance of witches – at the time of the Renaissance, altough the roots of the belief come to life before the new era. Later on, throught chapters I describe the beginning, the middle and the end of the witch's persecution, what are the causes of persecution, and whether there are similarities in the depictions of popular witches with the „real ones“