Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient WorldJohn G. Gager In the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was common practice to curse or bind an enemy or rival by writing an incantation on a tablet and dedicating it to a god or spirit. These curses or binding spells, commonly called defixiones were intended to bring other people under the power and control of those who commissioned them. More than a thousand such texts, written between the 5th Century B.C.E. and the 5th Century C.E., have been discovered from North Africa to England, and from Syria to Spain. Extending into every aspect of ancient life--athletic and theatrical competitions, judicial proceedings, love affairs, business rivalries, and the recovery of stolen property--they shed light on a new dimension of classical study previously inaccessible. Here, for the first time, these texts have been translated into English with a substantial translator's introduction revealing the cultural, social, and historical context for the texts. This book will interest historians, classicists, scholars of religion, and those concerned with ancient magic. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
Competition in Theater and Circus | 42 |
Sex Love and Marriage | 78 |
TongueTied in Court Legal and Political Disputes | 116 |
Businesses Shops and Taverns | 151 |
Pleas for Justice and Revenge | 175 |
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Common terms and phrases
ABRASAX Agora amulets ancient angels appears Aramaic Athenian Athens Attica Bibl binding spells bowl Cairo Geniza charaktêres Charias chariot charms Christian client common curse tablets D. R. Jordan daimones defixiones deity Demeter deposited discussion Egypt Egyptian ephesia grammata Faraone figures figurines Fluchtafeln formula fourth century B.C.E. gave birth goddess gods grave Greece Greek term hands Hekate Hermes holy horses inscribed inscription invocation invoked Jewish Kerameikos Latin Lead tablet measuring letters location not known Lord love spells magic Magika mentioned nail Naveh and Shaked original location Osiris palindrome papyri Peiraeus Persephone person phrase Picatrix pleas for justice Preisendanz probably recipes reference ritual Roman Rome second century C.E. Selinus Sethian Side sixth century C.E. slaves soul spirits target third century C.E. tion Tomlin tongue translation trierarch underworld verb Versnel voces mysticae woman words written Wünsch