Greek Magic. Magic Gems. Defixionis Tabellae. Lamellae. Comminatory Language In Magic Acts and Exorcism

This work critically examines every one of the spells and rites translated in Hans Dieter Betz's "Greek Magical Papyri in Translation" and Daniel & Maltomini's "Supplementum Magicum" (plus texts drawn from a number of other lamellae, amulets, etc) with a view to identifying the precise magical technique used in each case. This categorisation is done on the basis of the original Greek or Demotic headwords or key words rather than upon the translation or later imprecise descriptions. The result is an identification of 40+ magical techniques such as autoptos, systasis, agoge, niketikon, oneiropompos, etc, rather than a simple but unhelpful identification each passage as a 'spell' or 'charm'. This is fully tabulated with line count for every single rite, presenting the full panorama of Graeco-Egyptian magic in the form, and with the structure, that the original scribes or magicians would have used. This enables ready access to all of the passages relevant to any one technique. It also removes the difficulties presented by varying translations of a specific Greek technical term by a range of different English approximations (such as 'love spell' for more than 7 different processes). Each of these techniques is then expanded upon showing where they influenced later systems of magic or remained unique in the Graeco-Egyptian world.

In the 1690s, a series of enthusiastic episodes rocked Pietist circles. Scholars have often pointed to Pietism's "heart religion" to explain these events. This essay demonstrates, however, that such experiences belonged to an older, firmly established cultural pattern in an Early Modern Europe in which a magical world view prevailed. Martin draws on dozens of texts, most previously overlooked by historians of Pietism, that document the continuity of this tradition from the sixteenth century into the Pietist era . She traces the integration of ecstatic events into Pietist conventicles and shows how Pietists adapted and transformed these older patterns to fit the new context of Pietism.

Max Weber said that the curse of the poor is the weapon of democracy. In 2011 a lead curse tablet inscribed in Greek was discovered in an immense peristyle building in Jerusalem from the late Roman period. A certain Kyrilla deployed the 24 line tablet against her adversary Iennys (Iannēs) which invokes Greek, Mesopotamian, and Gnostic gods of the underworld to strike seven vulnerabilities of her opposition. " I strike and strike down and nail down the tongue, the eyes, the wrath, the ire, the anger, the procrastination, the opposition of Iennys… " This preemptory juridical malediction, inscribed by a professional, parallels imprecations from Kourion, Cyprus and was probably motivated by a legal or business dispute. Kore-Persephone executes the curse, reopening the possibility of a Kore cult in Jerusalem. The discovery of this text and others like it raises broader implications for how the diffusion of curses influenced legal and economic mechanisms in Mediterranean cultures. The force behind performative speech is that the proper person utters appropriate words in specific social contexts. Yet written curse texts like this one notoriously complicate matters, blurring magic and religious practices, private and public enacted rituals, oral and written curse acts, and conventional and unconventional juridical procedures. Ancient blessings and curses are often delineated as magical phenomena, but the relationship between magic and religion has historically been notoriously slippery to pin down. Some argue that the dichotomy between magic and religion is merely a product of western monotheism, the enlightenment, or both…little more than a semantic trap to avoid at all costs. James Frazer famously drove a wedge between magic and religion. For Frazer, magic was a kind of religious parasite, a wholesale perversion of a great religious tradition, involving rituals driven by completely natural forces that emerged from a primitive worldview. 1 Religion, on the other hand, emerged from the supernatural world of faith. Seasoned specialists and general readers alike can immediately detect problems with this simplistic dichotomy. Max Weber reduced somewhat the absolute separation of magic and religion, but still held to the belief that magic and religion were opposites. 2 Marcel Mauss proposed a social Durkheimian definition of magic, where any rite that is not a part of an organized cult is considered privatized folk religion and thus derives from the realm of magic.

A vulture tied to the neck of a mummy gave it the strength of the goddess Isis … Women in Central Africa ate a frog to have large families … A serpent head amulet could ward off venomous snakes … Ethiopians wore stones to keep the Evil Eye away … Abracdabra healed a man suffering from fever … Hebrew women wore stones to prevent miscarriage … Emeralds cured diseases of the eye … Garnets protected man from terrifying dreams and skin diseases … Melitites warded off infantile diseases … Moonstones protected men against epilepsy … Rubies protected men from witchcraft, plague, and famine …
By far the most thorough, most fascinating coverage of amulets and superstitions is the present book by Dr. E. Wallis Budge. In it he presents a wealth of information on the origins of amulets and talismans of many cultures and traditions: Arab, Persian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Gnostic, Hebrew, Mandaean, Phoenician, Samaritan, and Syriac. He discusses ring amulets, terra cotta devil-traps; stones and their prophylactic and therapeutic qualities; the importance of color, shape, and form in amulets; the Swastika; the cross; the crucifix; the evil eye; the Kabbalah; astrology; the seven astrological planets; theories about numbers (good and bad luck numbers, sequences, magic squares); divination by water, earth, or sand; lucky and unlucky days; the hand of Fatimah; contracts with the devil and envoûtement. The text is profusely illustrated, with many reproductions of amulets, stones, prayers, crosses, numbers, seals, gods, rings, signs of the zodiac, and much more.
Dr. Budge of the British Museum was one of the foremost Egyptologists of the twentieth century. Dover also published many of his other works: The Dwellers on the Nile, Egyptian Magic, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, and The Gods of the Egyptians.

By Sir Budge, (1857-1934), curator of the Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum, who also translated the "Egyptian Book of the Dead." From the book's preface: "I have described the principal amulets which were used by the Semitic peoples of Western Asia, Egypt, Nambia and Ethiopia. I have added a series of short chapters in which I have tried to set forth the principal theories about the powers of 'working' amulets, and the meaning of the inscriptions and symbols inscribed on them, and to indicate the beliefs concerning them which were held by the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian magicians, and by the later Kabbalists, Gnostics, both pagan and Christian, and astrologers. And I have incorporated in the many of the views of the astrologers, makers of horoscopes, casters of nativities, diviners, crystal gazers, palmists and fortune-tellers with who I came in contact in Egypt, the Sudan and Mesopotamia." The author discusses: the Evil Eye, and amulets used by: Arabs, Persians, Babylonians, Coptics, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Gnostic, Hebrew, Mandaeen, Phoenician, Samaritan, Syriac; the Ring amulet; beliefs concerning Divination by water or animal's livers or sand; the Hand of Fatima; Babylonian demon Humbaba, god Khepera, Rd, Thoth; the Seven Seals; and much, much more. Many photographs and illustrations. Originally published in 1930.

Here are the contents to this Amazing Unknown of our Age

THE UNIVERSAL USE OF AMULETS DUE TO MAN’S PAGE BELIEF IN THE EXISTENCE OF DEMONS EVIL SPIRITS.
AND 1 II. ARAB AND PERSIAN AMULETS AND TALISMANS 33 III. BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN AMULETS ... 82 IV. COPTIC AMULETS . ... 127 V. EGYPTIAN AMULETS . ... 133 VI. ETHIOPIAN (ABYSSINIAN) AMULETS ... 177 VII. GNOSTIC AMULETS . ... 200 VIII. HEBREW AMULETS . ... 212 IX. MANDAEAN (MANDAITIC) AMULETS ... 239 X. PHOENICIAN AMULETS. 250 XI. SAMARITAN AMULETS . ... 258 XII. SYRIAC AMULETS . • • • 272 XIII. BABYLONIAN TERRA-COTTA DEVIL-TRAPS • • • 283 XIV. THE RING AMULET .
• • • 291 XV. STONES AND THEIR PROPHYLACTIC AND THERA- PEUTIC QUALITIES . 306 XVI. THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR, SHAPE, AND FORM IN AMULETS . 326 XVII. THE SWASTIKA OR SVASTIKA. 331 XVIII. THE CROSS 336 XIX. THE CRUCIFIX .

350 IV CONTENTS  PAGE
THE EVIL EYE ... ... ... ... ... 354 XXI. KABBALAH... ... ... ... ... ... 366 XXII. ASTROLOGY ... ... ... ... ... 380 XXIII. THE KABBALISTIC NAMES AND SIGNS, AND MAGICAL FIGURES, AND SQUARES OF THE SEVEN ASTROLOGICAL STARS OR PLANETS... 390 XXIV. THE STARS OR SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND THEIR INFLUENCES, THE HOUSES OF HEAVEN AND THE DEKANS. ... ... 406 XXV. THE STONES OF THE PLANETS AND THEIR INFLUENCES . 423 XXVI. THEORIES ABOUT NUMBERS AND THEIR MYSTIC AND SACRED CHARACTER 
427 XXVII. DIVINATION .
443 XXVIII. DIVINATION BY WATER. 445 XXIX. DIVINATION BY MEANS OF THE LIVER OF AN ANIMAL ... ... ... ... 450 XXX. THE INSCRIBED BRONZE DIVINING DISK OF PERGAMON . 458 XXXI. DIVINATION BY EARTH OR SAND (GEOMANCY) 460 XXXII. LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS. 464 XXXIII. THE HAND OF FATIMAII. 467 XXXIV. CONTRACTS WITH THE DEVIL. 472 XXXV. ENVOUTEMENT. 481 XXXVI. MISCELLANEOUS. 487 INDEX ... . ...
497 V LIST OF PLATES PLATE PAGE I.—1. Arabic amulet made of the skin of the unborn kid
35 2. Arabic amulet made of paper
35 II. Silver amulet case inscribed on both sides with a series of short texts from the Kur’an ...
37 III. Silver necklace with plaques and tubes to hold small amuletic rolls .
41 IV. Mirza Khan’s Kur’an amulet
57 V. Persian agate amulet inscribed with texts from the Kur’an
. 63 VI. Persian agate amulet inscribed with texts from the Kur’an
65 VII.—1. Mother-of-pearl amulet, Christ baptized by John
2. Mother-of-pearl amulet for a girl. From the Falls of the Jordan ... ... ...
71 VIII.—1 & 2. Two silver Indian pregnancy amulets...
75 3. Brass amulet of a soldier
75 4. Silver Hebrew amulet with the hexagon of Solomon
75 5 & 6. Two silver pregnancy amulets inscribed in Arabic
75 IX.—1. Amulet armlet of a Turkish soldier.
77 2. Slate amulet inscribed with Arabic letters as numerals
77 X. Ten archaic Babylonian and Assyrian amulets
83 XI. Seven Babylonian cylinder-seal amulets ...

VI LIST OF PLATES PLATE PAGE

XII. Eight Babylonian and Assyrian amulets .
93 XIII. Three Babylonian amulets .
95 XIV. Bronze Pazuzu-Nergal plaque .
105 XV. Lamashtu plaque—obverse
.107 XVI. Lamashtu plaque—reverse . Ill XVII. The amulet of’Absara Dengel
181 XVIII. Extract from a Mandaean amulet in the British Museum
243 XIX. Extract from a Mandaean amulet with magical drawings
245 XX. Extract from a Samaritan phylactery in the British Museum
263 XXL The metal case which held the same
265 XXII. A group of five crosses in gold, Limoges enamel and steel ,

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE
Face of the Babylonian demon Humbaba... ... ... 2 The god Khepera in his phantom boat ... ... ... 7 Ra, the Sun-god ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 Thoth, the Word-god... ... ... ... ... ... 9 Specimens of Arabic magical writings ... ... ... 39 The Seven Seals and the Hexagram ... ... ... 40 Magical number squares ... ... ... ... 45 and 46 The Kur’an amulet and its case with a magnifying lens ... 53 The Ayat al-Kursi ... ... ... ... ... ... 54 The Ayat al-’Arsh ... ... ... ... ... ... 56 The Fatihat al-Kitab ... ... ... ... ... 59 The Surah of the Unity of God ... ... ... ... 61 The animal amulets inscribed on their bases ... ... 86 Cylinder-seal engraved with a figure of the naked goddess 92 A Babylonian house-amulet . ... ... ... 97 Two prophylactic figures ... ... ... ... ... 100 Two prophylactic figures ... ... ... ... ... 101 The Sirrush ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 102 Two men beating a drum ... ... ... ... ... 103 Fish amulet ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 103 Pazuzu, son of Hanpu, king of the air devils ... ... 110 Two Achaemenian seals ... ... ... ... ... 125 Six Pehlevi seals ... ... ... ... ... ... 126 Saint George of Lydda ... ... ... ... ... 131 The amulet of the Sun-god at sunrise and sunset. 134 The Prayer-spell of the Heart-scarab ... ... ... 139 The Baboon, the associate of Thoth " ... ... ... 141 The Cat slaughtering the Serpent of Darkness . 145 The Vulture-goddess Mut ... ' ... ... ... 150 The Divine Goose ... ... v ... ... ... ... 151 Amuletic figures of Egyptian gods and goddesses... 156-158 The Shabti Spell 159 The Metternich Stele—obverse .166
The Metternich Stele—reverse Egyptian Amulets The magical forms of the Cross in Ethiopia The Divine Face The Chariot of Elijah The Net in which Solomon caught devils ...
AND THE REST FROM PAGE 190 ONWARD-
Solomon and his wife...
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden The Cross with the Divine Face The Cross of’Abu Fara Chnoumis above a Bacchic altar Anubis and the goddess of Truth ...
Horns the Child in the boat of Iao The god Abrasax The three-headed Hecate, the Queen of Hell A god in the form of Osiris as a mummy ...
The Arch-demon Set, ass-headed Amulet from a magical papyrus Hebrew child-bed amulet Hexagram amulet from the Book of Raziel Two triangles amulet from the Book of Raziel Amulet to secure success in business Three amulets in the secret writing Portrait of Cornelius Agrippa Seven seal amulets inscribed in Hebrew, etc.

Il saggio narra di Girolamo Menghi, teologo ed esorcista che visse tutte le vicissitudini religiose dovute al tumultuoso periodo della Controriforma e che venne direttamente coinvolto nelle dinamiche di quegli anni. L’analisi della sua vita e del suo pensiero riflette tutte le difficoltà che doveva affrontare chiunque decidesse in quegli anni di intraprendere l’attività di esorcista.

The essay is about Girolamo Menghi, a theologian and exorcist who lived during the Counter - Reformation, directly involved in the religious dynamics that characterized those years. The analysis of his life and thought reflects the difficulties anyone would encounter when undertaking the hard job of the exorcist.

This article focuses on the social and professional contexts of the producers of Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls. Based on the vast amount of legal terminology deployed in the bowls, as well as a reference to bowl writers as 'writers of books' in bowl AMB6, I argue that bowl scribes were part of a professional guild of scribes (soferim) that engaged in a variety of forms of Jewish writing. Furthermore, I suggest that the scribal context of the practitioners of the magic bowls was different from the professional context of the contemporaneous corpus of Jewish metal amulets. Identifying the unique Sitz im Leben of the bowls reveals that for Jews in Sasanian Babylonia the line between magic, law and religion was not rigid, and perhaps non-existent. Further work on the context of ancient Jewish magic may therefore lead to new perceptions of ancient Jewish society.




https://doi.org/10.18647/3458/jjs-2020

** This is a title page - for full article, email: avigail.manekin@mail.huji.ac.il

Le defixiones nel mondo etrusco, in: Forme e strutture della religione nell’Italia mediana antica / Forms and Structures of Religion in Ancient Central Italy (Atti del III Convegno Internazionale sugli Antichi Umbri, Perugia-Gubbio, 21-25 settembre 2011), a cura di A. Ancillotti, A. Calderini, R. Massarelli (Studia Archaeologica, 215), Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider, 2016, pp. 517-532.

Was the individual in Ancient Egypt completely at the mercy of demons, illnesses or other threats? Or could various practices be called upon to keep the likes of these at bay? Christoffer Theis examines written and archaeological sources, which verify the magical protection of various rooms and spaces in Ancient Egypt. He presents a detailed analysis and commentary of evidence available for the protection of the land of Egypt, its temples, houses, sleeping chambers, and graves. Legacies from other contemporary cultures, such as Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Syria-Palestine region are also dealt with. Going a step further, the author compares these with Greek, Coptic, Arab and Hebrew material. The currently available sources show clearly inter- as well as trans-cultural homogeneity and identification characteristics through the local and temporal spaces.

The Getty Hexameters preserves a 5th century BCE set of incantations, written on lead, from ancient Selinous, in Sicily.  They describe, among other things, a ritual narrative related to the ancient Mysteries, magical syllables from the celebrated "Ephesia Grammata," and instructions for protection of both individual household and the Polis. [N.B.  For a properly formated version of this file click on the TITLE of the article, rather than the DOWNLOAD.  Then click on "FILES" and click the second (URL) link.  This will bring you to the "PAGE NOT FOUND" of the OCD page. Type "GETTY HEXAMETERS" in the search box (upper right), and click on the TITLE itself to open the article. Enjoy, it's free].

This paper deals with some questions concerning the iconography, iconology and date of execution of the famous mosaic pavement from Sheikh Zoueide in Sinai, now exibited in the Ismailiya Museum. The author analyses both the mythological mosaic with the representation of various subjects, like Dionysiac procession, Nilotic theme, Hippolytos and Phaedra, and another geometric mosaic. The iconological study of all symbolic elements sheds light on the mentality of Nestor who lived in this house and of other inhabitants of the city.  The author sees the great influence of Egypt probably of Alexandria, in the mosaic's style. He also discusses stylistic problems and suggests a date of its execution in the first half of the 5th century.
On the iconological study of the mosaic see also: M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), published in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.
M.T.Olszewski, Two Late Antique synonymous mosaics from Sheikh Zuweid (Egypt) and Vinon (France) (translated) / Deux  mosaïques  synonimiques  de l’antiquité tardive: Cheikh  Zouède  (Egypte)  et  Vinon  (France) / Dwie późnoantyczne mozaiki synonimiczne z Szeikh Zued (Egipt) i Vinon (Francja) - (in Polish), Światowit IV-A, 2002, pp. 99-105.

Object study of a pottery amulet, ostensibly from Israel/Palestine, which came to light in a deceased estate. While it seems to date from Late Antiquity, almost every aspect of this pendant is unexpected. Its shape – a three-armed star – lacks amuletic precedents. Its surfaces bear crude figurative images which seem to have been incised after the clay was fired. On one face, three male anthropomorphic figures – reminiscent of figurae magicae from the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) in their crudeness, disposition and ambiguity – surround a central five-pointed star. On the other face appears another male anthropomorph together with two horned deer or antelopes, two canine or feline predators, and a fish; the man and the animals all seem at peace together. The bucolic scene continues onto one edge thickness, where an additional stag-like beast appears with two more of the predators. The scenes do not conform to known templates, such as the repertoire from magical gems, and resist interpretation. The two other edge thicknesses contain pseudo-inscriptions.

The mosaic from Sheikh Zuweid on the western coast of North Sinai, discovered in 1913, as well as the mosaic brought to light in 1919 at Vinon near Aix-en-Provence in southern France had to wait until the end of the 20th century for scholarly studies to focus again on their iconography, but also their iconological program. It is the reading of this program that one can truly call sensational. The mosaic from Sinai consists of three panels: Hippolytus and Phaedra, a Dionysian cortege and an inscription surrounded with motifs referring to the fauna and flora of a Nilotic landscape as well as to iconography of the seasons of Spring and Fall. The mosaic from Vinon also consists of three pictures: Dionysus offering Ikarios the grapevine, the Three Graces and a panel depicting a voracious goat defiling the gift of Dionysus. Inscriptions accompany both the mosaics, in Latin at Sheikh Zued and in Greek at Vinon.
Numerous apotropaic symbols and inscriptions are known, but never before has a mythological picture been interpreted as apotropaic. The latest research has shown that the owners of the respective estates had chosen mythological themes in order to protect them and their property from the Evil Eye and Hatred. Dionysian motifs are associated with the putative function of the rooms, where banquets with music and dancing must have been held, and wine must have flowed in abundance. The allusion to the abundance of the Nile was meant to ensure the prosperity and wealth of the house, in similarity to the Dionysian motifs as a matter of fact. Dionysus, Heracles and Venus were patrons of the houses. The interpretation of the two mosaics takes advantage of studies in the field of the history of mentality of the communities standing on the threshold of post-classical times. At the same time, it constitutes a huge step forward in the understanding of this category of finds. The two mosaics confirm what Artemidoros of Daldis (2nd century AD) had to say about the status of pictures: that they could be synonymous in meaning (see: M.T. Olszewski, Le statut de l'image selon Artémidore et l'art romain, in: Morlier, H. ed., IXe Colloque international pour l'étude de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Roma 5.11.2001-10.11.2001, Collection de l'Ecole Française de Rome 352/2, Rome 2005, pp. 859-880).
See also: M.T. Olszewski, La mosaïque de style naïf de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï, Archeologia (Warsaw) 53, 2002, pp. 45–61, pls III+VI; M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.

La célèbre mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède, situé au nord-ouest du Sinaï, ainsi que celle de Vinon dans la Gaule Narbonaise ont été découvertes dans les années dix du XXe siècle. Depuis leurs mises à jour jusqu’à la fin du siècle dernier, elles devaient attendre deux réexamens scientifiques qui ont apportés une analyse iconographique plus complète ainsi que deux nouvelles lectures iconologiques que l’on peut sans doute considerer comme sensationelles !
La mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède est composée de trois tableaux superposés. Deux panneaux représentent des scenes mythologiques: procession dionysiaque et Hippolyte et Phèdre. La troisième image comporte une inscription de bienvenue bordée au-dessus et au-dessous d’animaux et de plantes; une allusion aux scènes nilotiques et à la symbolique printanière et automnale.
La mosaïque de Vinon est également composée de trois tableaux qui sont cependant juxtaposés. Ils représentent, au centre, les trois Grâces et deux scènes à caractère dionysiaques. Celle de gauche représente le don de la vigne (grappes de raisins) par Dionysos à Icarios et celle de droite, le sacrilège de la vigne par un bouc. Les deux mosaïques sont accompagnées par des inscriptions en grec et latin. Elles sont datées à la première moitié du Ve siècle.
On connais plusieurs inscriptions, images et symboles de caractère apothropaïque. C’est pourtant la première fois que des images mythologiques ont dévoilées aux chercheurs leurs sens prophylactique et apotropaïque. Les propriétaires de ces deux résidences ornées de belles mosaïques ont choisis ces thèmes mythologiques pour protéger et écarter le Mauvais Œil et l’Envie. Les sujets dionysiaques dans les salles à manger évoquent probablement des fêtes joyeuses arrosées de vin où la danse et la musique constituaient des éléments essentiels. Par contre, l’abondance nilotique évoquait sans doute le bonheur et l’opulence des dons de la Nature sur les tables de la maison; cette signification concernait certainement aussi les scènes dionysiaques. Les maisons ont été protégées par Dionysos, Héraclès et Vénus.
Pour interpréter ces deux œuvres, les auteurs ont utilisé des recherches sur “l’histoire de la mentalité” des sociétés administrées par les Romains. La lecture de ces deux mosaïques confirme ce que l’on vient de découvrir en étudiant le célèbre texte d’Artémidore de Daldis (IIe siècle) sur les images synonimiques (cf. M.T. Olszewski, Le statut de l'image selon Artémidore et l'art romain, in: Morlier, H. ed., IXe Colloque international pour l'étude de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Roma 5.11.2001-10.11.2001, Collection de l'Ecole Française de Rome 352/2, Rome 2005, pp. 859-880).
Voir M.T. Olszewski, La mosaïque de style naïf de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï, Archeologia (Warsaw) 53, 2002, pp. 45–61, pls III+VI; M.T. Olszewski, Mauvais œil et protection contre l'envie dans la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï (IV-Ve siècle), in: Paunier, D., Schmidt, Ch (ed. by), la Mosaïque gréco-romaine VIII. Actes du  VIIIe Colloque international de la mosaïque antique et médiévale, Lausanne 1997 (2001), pp. 276-301.

Découverte par Louis Carton en 1918, puis dégagée sous sa direction en 1919, la "Fontaine aux 1000 amphores" est aujourd'hui inaccessible sous le palais présidentiel de Carthage. On peut cependant l'étudier grâce à différents textes, un plan et une coupe parus dans un guide touristique ainsi que des cartes postales des années 1920-1935. Il s'agissait d'une source sacrée, probablement aménagée en nymphée, qui a connu plusieurs aménagements successifs. On y trouva notamment des monnaies et des tabellae defixionis.

On the basis of the preserved evidence, corpse daemons were practically employed in two specific fields: in love magic and in chariot racing. In this respect, the material of our sources seems significant: in Egyptian papyri the daemons are primarily used in erotic magic, whereas in lead tablets they are meant to manipulate chariot races. The study examines all known occurrences of nekydaimones, analyz- ing their functions and names, whenever referred to in the sources.

This is a Byzantine era Orphic text, its authorship is unknown but the translator believes it was written by the same person who wrote the Orphic Argonautica. This is a poetic translation, found in Natural History of Precious Stones and Gems by Charles William King, so that while it is not literal, it is the only English translation I know of.  This text is only found in some editions of the book by King, and is rather hard to find online so that I thought I should post it here.

The text deals with the magick or occult use of gems and stones, though various plant references suggest it may be code for entheogen use.  On the last page is a table of gems which the translator believes corresponds to the particular sections/verses.

Ricerche su Ostia e il suo territorio a cura di Mireille CébeillaC-Gervasoni †, niColas laubry e Fausto Zevi Ricerche su Ostia e il suo territorio a cura di Mireille CébeillaC-Gervasoni †, niColas laubry e Fausto Zevi Il volume raccoglie gli Atti del Terzo Seminario Ostiense, tavola rotonda internazionale ormai divenuta annuale presso l'École française de Rome, articolata, come nei seminari precedenti, in due sezioni. La prima, tematica, ha come oggetto Ostia e la riva destra del Tevere, e si apre con contributi che vanno dall'età protostorica (Bronzo recente e finale) all'età arcaica. Per il periodo romano, accanto alla presentazione di scavi recenti si segnala la ripresa delle ricerche nella Necropoli di Porto all'Isola Sacra, col riesame di alcune categorie di materiali, determinanti ai fini della cronologia, provenienti dalle esplorazioni sistematiche condotte alla fine degli anni '80 del secolo scorso. La seconda sezione accoglie contributi di vario genere, alcuni dei quali approfondiscono aspetti del vastissimo, e ancora solo parzialmente esplorato, patrimonio epigrafico ostiense, nonché i risultati di scavi e di sondaggi stratigrafici recenti nel contesto della città, interessanti anche per chia-rire meglio l'attitudine e il programma operativo degli archeologi al tempo del Grande Scavo del 1938-42. Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni, già membro dell'École française de Rome, è stata direttrice del Centre Jean Bérard di Napoli e, successivamente, direttrice di ricerca al CNRS (UMR 8210, ANHIMA). I suoi lavori hanno riguardato in particolar modo le élites e le città dell'Italia romana, ma anche, fin dagli inizi, l'epi-grafia e la storia di Ostia antica. È stata autrice, insieme a Maria Letizia Caldelli e Fausto Zevi, del volume Ostia. Cento iscrizioni in contesto (Roma, 2010), e una delle promotrici dei «Seminari Ostiensi» all'École française de Rome. Nicolas Laubry, già allievo dell'École normale supérieure (Parigi) e membro dell'École française de Rome, maître de conférences in storia romana all'Università di Paris-Est Créteil, è attualmente direttore degli studi per l'Antichità presso l'École française de Rome. Tra i suoi principali interessi vi sono l'epigrafia dell'Occidente romano (Italia, Gallia) e la storia religiosa, istituzionale e sociale delle pratiche funerarie tra la fine della Repubblica e gli inizi della Tarda Antichità. Fausto Zevi, perfezionatosi in Archeologia classica fra Roma e Atene, per quasi 25 anni ha lavorato nelle Soprintendenze archeologiche, dapprima a Ostia, poi come Soprintendente a Napoli e Pompei e a Roma; in seguito ha avuto la cattedra di archeologia nelle Università di Napoli e poi di Sapienza Università di Roma. Tra le sue numerose pubblicazioni su vari aspetti dell'Italia antica, molte sono state dedicate a Ostia. È accademico dei Lincei.

The study of ancient magical female practitioners takes us, unavoidably, into the intersection of gender studies, ancient socio-political discourse and the problem of defining magic in the ancient world. Due to the scarcity of non-literary testimonies about women experts in sorcery, the information about ancient witches has to be inferred from indirect sources, that is, from literature. However, many scholars have rejected the validity of literary portrayals of sorceresses because of the undisputable interference that their gender and magic as a discourse of alterity has on the literary construction of these characters . Obviously, the real women who practiced magic could not "bring down the moon" as the ancient authors claimed but wasthere a real basis behind the ancient stereotypes? Were there actually women who practiced magic for a living? What were the sorceresses of the Greco-Roman world really like?
Following an area of research conducted by scholars who accept the existence of a substantial number of magical purveyors of both sexes who offered ritual services of various kinds in the ancient world, my aim in this article is to analyse the literary depiction of ancient witches in contrast with the information offered from direct sources in order to clarify the image of these ancient women. On this occasion,  in accordance with the nature of the volume in which this article is published, I will especially focus on those passages in which women appears involved not in the practice of magic, but in the transmission of magical lore in ancient literature with a special mention to the only testimony of PGM in which a woman appears as addresse of the magical knowledge (PGM IV 478-482).

Faerie Stones explores the Faerielore and Folklore associated with different stones and various crystal formations, from the ancient Neolithic arrows known as Elfshot to magical Faerie dusted geodes known as Fairy Cavern Quartz. It deals with the metaphysical aspects of the stones, their traditional uses and healing qualities, and discusses which types of Faerie and which Deities/Faerie Monarchs are associated with each stone. It also offers practical tips and two meditations for working with Faeries and stones for spiritual development. Aimed at all those who love Faeries and Crystals, it is ideal for the beginner or the more experienced practitioner

Cheikh Zouède est un village localisé sur la côte ouest du Sinaï, entre Rafah (19 km au sud) et El' Arîche et quelques dizaines de kilomètres de Gaza (54 km au S.-O. de Gaza et 144 km de Jérusalem). Il est identifié avec Bitulion, une ville épiscopale au VIe siècle dont l'histoire remonte à l'époque sémitique avec quelques fondations. A l'époque ptolémaïque existe un bourg, Bytyl, témoigné par la céramique rhodienne (amphores estampillées).
La fouille de 1913 n'était qu'un dégagement rapide des vestiges archéologiques sans méthode au sens actuel du terme. La mosaïque figurative (4,75 x 3 m), très bien conservée, occupe la partie Est d'une grande pièce rectangulaire (7,25 x 6,60 m). A l'ouest de cette mosaïque est juxtaposé un panneau géométrique (1, 72 x 1,65 m). Ces deux mosaïques polychromes contrastent avec le sol monochrome en tesselles blanche.
Le visiteur se trouvait d'abord en face d'une longue inscription, le panneau central déroulé en deux registres figurait un thiase dionysiaque, enfin le dernier illustrait le mythe de Phèdre et d'Hippolyte accompagné au-dessus d'une inscription et couronné d'une autre.
L’auteur analyse trois inscriptions et trois images figurées du point de vue du vocabulaire utilises, de  l’iconographie ainsi que de l’iconologie en suivant leurs apparitions depuis la tragédie grecque jusqu’ à l’époque tardive.
Nous nous demandons si l'inscription contre le Mauvais Œil et l'Envie est placée intentionnellement près du mythe de Phèdre et d'Hippolyte. Il fait allusion aux conséquences destructrices d'un regard maléfique, malheur à celui qui tenterait d'entrer avec de semblables intentions. l'hypothèse nous semble défendable. Nous connaissons toute une série d'inscriptions exprimant l'idée : « Que l'on souhaite du bien ou du mal, il sera rendu au double ».
Dionysos et Héraclès sont associés dans les écrits théologiques de Julien. Le premier veille que la vie ait un sens et le deuxième est un dieu <<gardien>> et <<protecteur>> du monde. Ces caractéristiques attribuées à Dionysos et à Héraclès expliquent leur présence sur cette mosaïque.
Il serait tout à fait justifié de comparer le programme de la mosaïque de Cheikh Zouède avec celui de la villa gauloise de Vinon en Narbonnaise interprétée d'une façon excellente par Henri Lavagne. Nous voyons aussi quelques parallèles avec des inscriptions saluant le visiteur (HAIREI) et l’avertissant (KAISU) en même temps. C'est le cas de la maison de Dionysos à Néa Paphos qui a fait l’objet d’une très bonne étude de Ch. Kondelon. Les mosaïques du vestibule de la maison du Mauvais Œil ont également le pouvoir protecteur comme Doro Levi l’a justement expliqué.
Ce pavement du Sinaï d'une vaste propriété nous laisse penser que ses habitants devaient être hellénisées et profondément païens. Ils se servent de la mythologie pour décorer leur demeure et se protègent contre l'intrusion des forces maléfiques. Le propriétaire est un homme cultivé et le filokalos. Le choix des sujets mythologiques pour représenter des idées qui sont exprimées sur d'autres mosaïques d'une façon beaucoup moins sophistiquée témoigne de son goût raffiné. La date de l'exécution de la mosaïque reste discutable, malgré quelques analogies iconographiques et stylistiques suggérant plutôt la période entre les premières moitiés du IVe et du Ve siècles ( sur la datation et le style de la mosaïque cf. M. T. Olszewski, La mosaïque de style naïf de Cheikh Zouède au Sinaï , Archeologia (Warsaw) 53, 2002, pp. 45–61, pls III+VI).

This article contends that despite the resurrection recently seen among popular horror genres, a number of concerns arguably remain consistent including problematic notions about the home, marriage and the family. In these films, normality is invariably destabilized by the figure of the monster that is often coded as the Other.  In a more precise sense, the conflict between normality and the Other constitutes an expression of Western society’s fear of difference. In the American horror film, it is often the case that this encounter between normality and the Other is communicated via the social and historical construction of gender identity within Western society. In particular, these films are frequently concerned with femininity’s uncomfortable position within patriarchal structures of dominance.

This article will examine the Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli, 2007 – on-going) franchise with reference to gendered representations within the horror genre (and ensuing subcategories of the genre) with specific focus on hysteria and the domestic space. Furthermore, I locate the female protagonists of the series as part of the horror genre’s wider anxieties surrounding the position of women within the patriarchal order and psychological understandings of hysteria.

The franchise came about as a result of the surprising success of the original made in 2007. Produced for $15,000, Paranormal Activity went on to gross over $107,000,000 worldwide.  Since then, the films have become a regular part of the Halloween season with one released consecutively for the past two years and a fourth scheduled for 2012. Unlike many critics, I consider the Paranormal Activity franchise as a complex metaphor for Freud’s theory of hysteria. In particular, I argue that the series engages with what Andrew Britton has labelled the ‘Freudian-Feminist melodrama.’