Anatolia Antiqua

Revue internationale d'archéologie anatolienne

XXII | 2014
Varia

Abrasax: A Magical Gem in the Istanbul

Archaeological Museums
Sencan Altınoluk and Nilüfer Atakan

Electronic version
URL: http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/303

Publisher
IFEA

Printed version
Date of publication: 1 January 2014
Number of pages: 219-223
ISBN: 9782362450136
ISSN: 1018-1946

Electronic reference
Sencan Altınoluk and Nilüfer Atakan, « Abrasax: A Magical Gem in the Istanbul Archaeological
Museums », Anatolia Antiqua [Online], XXII | 2014, Online since 30 June 2018, connection on 10 May
2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/303

Anatolia Antiqua
 TABLE DES MATIERES

Emma BAYSAL,
A preliminary typology for beads from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic levels of Barcın Höyük 1

William ANDERSON, Jessie BIRKETT-REES, Michelle NEGUS CLEARY,

Damjan KRSMANOVIC et Nikoloz TSKVITINIDZE,
Archaeological survey in the South Caucasus (Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia):
Approaches, methods and first results 11

Eda GÜNGÖR ALPER,

Hellenistic and Roman period ceramic finds from the Balatlar Church excavations in
Sinop between 2010-2012 35

Ergün LAFLI et Gülseren KAN ŞAHİN,

Hellenistic ceramics from Southwestern Paphlagonia 51

Oğuz TEKİN,
Weights of Lysimachea from the Tekirdağ Museum and various collections 145

Oğuz TEKİN,
Three weights of Lampsacus 155

Julie DALAISON et Fabrice DELRIEUX,

La cité de Néapolis-Néoclaudiopolis : histoire et pratiques monétaires 159

Martine ASSENAT et Antoine PEREZ,

Amida 4. Constance II et Amida 199

Sencan ALTINOLUK et Nilüfer ATAKAN,

Abrasax: A magical gem in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums 219

Bahadır DUMAN,
A group of local production Middle Byzantine period pottery from Tripolis:
‘Micaceous White Painted Ware’ 225

CHRONIQUES DES TRAVAUX ARCHEOLOGIQUES EN TURQUIE, 2014

Jean-Charles MORETTI,
avec la collaboration de Nicolas BRESCH, Isabel BONORA, Jean-Jacques MALMARY et
Olivier RISS,
Claros, le Temple d’Apollon : travaux réalisés en 2013 237

Suat ATEŞLİER,
On the excavations of the Zeus Temple of Alabanda 247
Olivier HENRY,
avec Ayşe Güliz BİLGİN ALTINÖZ, Jesper BLID, Ömür Dünya ÇAKMAKLI, Andrew DUFTON,
Agneta FRECCERO, Linda GOSNER, Ragnar HEDLUND, Pascal LEBOUTEILLER,
Vasilica LUNGU, Felipe ROJAS, Fredrik TOBIN, Baptiste VERGNAUD et
Andrew WATERS,
La mission Labraunda 2013 - Rapport préliminaire 255

Dominique BEYER, Isabelle CHALIER, Françoise KIRNER,

Françoise LAROCHE-TRAUNECKER et Aksel TİBET,
Zeyve Höyük - Porsuk. Rapport préliminaire sur la campagne 2013 327

Çiğdem MANER,
Preliminary report on the first season of the Konya-Ereğli (KEYAR) survey 2013 343
Anatolia Antiqua XXII (2014), p. 219-223

Sencan ALTINOLUK* and Nilüfer ATAKAN**

ABRASAX
A MAGICAL GEM IN THE ISTANBUL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS

1. FIND PLACE AND PRESERVATION 2. THE REPRESENTATION OF ABRASAX

The following gem (Fig. 1) – a red jasper with The gem shows the god Abrasax (or Abraxas) in
black ribbons, measuring 17 x 13 x 3 mm and his usual iconography4 as an armoured anguipede
weighing 1.26 g – is preserved in the Istanbul Ar- giant with the head of a rooster, a whip in his right
chaeological Museums1. It was found during a rescue hand and an oval shield in his left. The shield is
excavation in the Province of Istanbul, district of decorated with a magical sequence of letters, of
Eminönü, in the quarter of Cankurtaran, in Akbıyık which some are identifiable with the names of gods
Hamamı Street (map sheet 60, parcel 57)2. The gem and demons, some are cryptic.
was apparently trimmed in antiquity, so that the an- Abrasax is the god of the solar year and the
guipede god’s legs may be missing3, as well as letters of his name have the isopsephic value of 365
some letters of the inscriptions; otherwise the gem (A = 1, B = 2, P = 100, A = 1, Ξ = 60, A = 1, C =
is well preserved, all its details are clearly identifiable. 200)5. Abrasax was thought to be a mighty tutelary
The stonecutter tried to avoid round forms of letters deity. People imagined him as a kind of sun god
which were quite difficult to engrave. Therefore the similar to the Greek Helios, who could protect
omikron and theta are composed of four diagonal people all of the year – i.e. 365 days – and who was
strokes, alpha is written as a minuscule letter with able to see everything that happens on earth6. A.
three strokes; the curve of rho is formed by two di- Barb explains the appearance of Abrasax – an an-
agonal strokes. guipede giant with rooster head – by the fact that

*) Sencan Altınoluk, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Department of Archaeology, 17100 Çanakkale. E-mail: zsencan@hotmail.com
**) Nilüfer Atakan, retired archaeologist from Istanbul Archaeological Museums. E-mail: nilatakan@gmail.com
1) Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Department of Metal Objects, inv. no 02.8 M.
2) We are very grateful to the director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Zeynep Kızıltan, who gave permission for its
publication, as well as Gülbahar Baran Çelik, archaeologist and vice director of the museum, and Mine Kiraz, archaeologist, for their
strong support and advice during our studies in the museum, and Sefer Arapoğlu who was the head of the excavations at Eminönü
when the gem was found.
3) The god’s anguipede legs are sometimes not represented, cf. e.g. Gonzalez and Prieto 1993: 130: “Die Mittelfigur hat einen
Hahnenkopf mit seitwärts gerichtetem Schnabel; sie hält einen halbmondförmigen Schild in ihrer Rechten; in der Linken hat sie eine
Peitsche, deren Geißel fehlt. Es sind keine Beine zu sehen, weder menschliche noch schlangenförmige, was vermuten läßt, daß der
untere Teil der Figur Federn darstellt und nicht ein kurzes Röckchen. Im unteren linken Teil der Platte gibt es sieben Sterne, die die
sieben Planeten darstellen und wie ein Mond im letzten Viertel angeordnet sind”.
4) Cf. Zazoff 1965: 102: “Über den Gott Abraxas ist viel geschrieben worden. Der mit Gigantenbeinen versehene, also mit
Schlangen endende Körper ist muskulös, meistens bedeckt ihn der Panzer eines römischen Legionärs, wie auch der Schild zur Soldate-
nausrüstung gehört: die irdische Macht nach Vorstellung der römischen Spätantike. Der Hahnenkopf dürfte einerseits durch den Bezug
des Tieres zum Licht und zum Helios, andererseits durch ein Wortspiel zum Bestandteil des Abraxas geworden sein. Die Geißel ist
einmal Attribut des Lichtgottes, zum andern ein Symbol zum Abwehren des Bösen. Die Bedeutung der schlangenbeinigen,
hahnenköpfigen Gestalt und ihre Verbreitung innerhalb der magischen Glyptik war so groß, daß den Gemmen seit dem 17. Jh. der
Name Abraxas-Gemmen gegeben wurde.”; Philonenko 1979 and especially Le Glay 1981.
5) E.g. Merkelbach and Totti 1990: IX.
6) For this ability of Helios cf. Nollé 2007: 252.
220 SENCAN ALTINOLUK and NİLÜFER ATAKAN

the Hebrew root GBR may be vocalized GiBoR, costume. So, for example, a bronze statuette represents
which means ‘warrior, good soldier’ as well as Sarapis in the costume of the Imperator with the
GeBeR, what is the Hebrew word for ‘rooster’. globe in his left hand, a spear in his right; on his head
GiBoR was used as the Hebrew synonym for the are traces of the disc of the sun. He is the god who
Greek γίγας/giant7. In Greek and Roman belief the rules the world. The best known example is the
Syrian god Jupiter Dolichenus. The soldiers were
rooster was generally considered to be a protector wont to pay cult to gods in military costume, their
from evil8, as the rooster guards the farm where it emperors, and the people of the provinces worshipped
lives, and as the Greek name of the animal was con- the emperors for they knew that the overwhelming
nected with the verb éαλέξοµαι, ‘to ward off, to power of the Romans depended on their weapons,
avert’. Furthermore, this animal was very often as- and so they clad their gods in the Roman military
sociated with the sun9, as roosters are wont to crow costume to express their power”12.
at sunrise, which was interpreted as a kind of greeting
to the rising sun. Roosters are widely used in magic Besides the depiction of Abrasax there are four
practices and rituals10. The whip and the shield are stars. As the god is assimilated with the sun, the
thought to be used for warding off demons. Therefore ruler of the cosmos, very often we find seven stars
such gems are applied for the purposes of protecting which represent the seven planets orbiting the sun.
their wearers from any sort of evil. Also the whip But sometimes there are only three or five of them13,
assimilates Abrasax to the sun god who uses his so that we cannot be sure how many stars were
whip to drive his horses on. In the case of Abrasax originally depicted on this gem.
the whip is a symbol of the god’s power to prevent
3. THE INSCRIPTIONS
demons from attacking the owner of such a gem.
Abrasax’s shield is an instrument to protect men On the obverse, in the left margin, in the first
from demons and all kinds of evil. The idea that a vertical line, it reads [ëAβ]ρασ̣[άξ]
god shields men may be traced backed to the Jewish On the obverse, in the left margin, in the second
Old Testament (Genesis XV 1), where the mighty vertical line, it reads [ëA]κ̣ραµµαχα|µά[ρει]; ‘µα’ is
god is called ‘Abrahams shield’11. For this reason it found over the head of the figure and it is placed
is not very surprising that the name of the Jewish upside down while the ‘ρει’ is off gem. Many
god Iahwe is frequently written on Abrasax’s shield. scholars have tried to explain [éα]κραµµαχαµά[ρει],
Also on this gem Abrasax is clad in Roman mil- which is found in many magical papyri and on
itary uniform. Martin Persson Nilsson has very pre- magical gems. Gershom G. Scholem, who discussed
cisely discussed the background and meaning of some older interpretations, thought that
this costume which expresses Abrasax’ power: éακραµµαχαµάρει is to be understood as a Greek im-
perative form that was composed of the Aramaic
“In the age under discussion foreign gods, Egyptian, expressions for ‘uproot, destroy’ and ‘net’14. In the
Syrian, etc., appear frequently in Roman military magical sphere the special meaning of ‘net’ is ‘evil

7) Barb 1957: 77.

8) Orth 1913: 2531; Lacroix 1965: 122 f.: “De même que le serpent protège l’autel de l’Hypsas, le coq veille sur l’autel du
Sélinous. A cause de son chant qui annonce de lever du jour, on prête, en effet, à cet animal le pouvoir de chasser les esprits malfaisants
et d’écarter les mauvaises influences. Ce pouvoir aurait valu au coq le nom d’éαλέκτωρ ou éαλεκτρçυων, que l’on rattache au verbe
éαλέξω, ‘défendre’. Les vertus prophylactiques du coq sont du reste attestées de diverses manières. Ce volatile combat le mauvais œil,
son image est utilisée comme amulette, elle figure en épisème sur les boucliers et elle apparaît sur les vases auprès des yeux
apotropaïques. La puissance magique du coq a permis de l’associer au rituel funéraire et de lui confier la garde du tombeau : sur la stèle
d’Antiphanès, un coq était peint à la partie supérieure, au-dessus du nom du défunt.”; cf. Michel 2004: 106-110.
9) Orth 1913: 2531; Dölger 1920: 43; Fauth 1995: 143.
10) Güntert 1930/1.
11) Barb 1957: 78: “Das Schild dieses Giganten trägt in der Mehrzahl der Darstellungen die Inschrift IAO, das will ausdrücken,
dass dieses Schild = IAO: Man vergleiche dazu Genesis XV, 1, wo sich Gott selbst als ‘Schild’ Abrahams bezeichnet und die
zahlreichen Stellen in den Psalmen, wo er als ‘Schild’ bezeichnet wird”.
12) Nilsson 1951: 61.
13) Zazoff 1965, 103: “Die Darstellung unterscheidet sich von Nr. 55 durch das Fehlen der Beischriften, an deren Stelle die sieben
Sterne im Raum verstreut sind. Sie deuten auf die sieben Planeten und auf Abraxas als ‘den umfassenden, allmächtigen kosmischen
Gott, Herrn der Sonne, des Lichtes und des Himmels, des Menschenlebens wie der Unterwelt’, das gesamte Universum volkstümlichen
Glaubens umfassend”. In footnote 234 he mentions that there are sometimes only three or five stars; Gonzalez and Prieto 1993: 130
(seven stars).
14) Scholem 1965: 97: “The whole formula constitutes an imperative – ‘uproot the magic spells’ which might be directed against
the bearer of an amulet”.
 ABRASAX: A MAGICAL GEM IN THE ISTANBUL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS 221

Fig. 1 : Gem, Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Department of Metal Objects, inv. no 02.8 M.

magic’, by which a person could get caught. On a ιαηιη

gem such an imperative should help to avert harm Σοθι
from the bearer of the amulet. This interpretation is ω
quite problematical, as some magical papyri explicitly We are not absolutely certain about the exact
call ’Aκραµµαχαµάρει a god or a demon, e.g. a lead number of letters in the first four lines of the shield
tablet from Carthage with a binding spell against inscription. The same is the case for the meaning of
the circus faction of the Reds. In l. 7/8 we can read: most of these magical words. The first line reminds
ο& ρκίζω σέ, τàον θεàον τàον τ)ων οéυρανίων στερεωµάτων us to the Egyptian word ‘chepri’ in Greek transcription
δεσπότην ’Aχραµαχαµάρει I invoke you, the god of (χεπ̣[ρι]?), but this association has no certainty, as
the celestial firmaments, you the Lord Achramacha- the third letter is not clearly legible. ‘Chepri’ is the
marei15. And in a magical papyrus the sun god Egyptian word for ‘scarab’ and also means ‘to come
Helios in the shape of a tom cat – an animal sacred into being, to come into existence’17. In l. 4 we may
to Re – is invoked as ’Aκραµ(µαχαµάρει)16. associate it with a form of Ιαω, in l. 6 with Sothis.
It is impossible to find out, what the owners of The name of the Jewish god Iahwe or its shorter
this magical gem exactly associated with the word, form Iαω is usually found on the protective shield
but it seems us quite possible that they took it as an of Abrasax, as Nilsson underlined in the discussion
epithet of Abrasax whose solar character is undisputed. of Campbell Bonners fundamental book on magical
The juxtaposition of [’Aβ]ρασ̣ [ άξ] and gems:
[’A]κ̣ραµµαχα|µά[ρει] gives some support to this “Professor Campbell Bonner does not attach great
view. In the right margin, on the oval shield, it weight to the fact that the name Iao is often inscribed
reads: on the shield of the anguipede. He may be right, for
χε . [ .?] the name of the Jewish god is used in the magic
ρθθ .[ .?] papyri chiefly as a magical word; only once is he
ιεπι[.?] said to be the creator of the world. But it is significant
ëIαου [.?] that the name is so constantly added to the anguipede”18.

15) Merkelbach 1996: 47-57, esp. 48 f. with a short comment on 55: “Αχραµ(µ)αχαµαρι ist ein häufiger Geheimname, der noch
unerklärt ist”. Merkelbach refers to another magical papyrus, cited above.
16) Merkelbach and Totti 1991: 10 f.
17) Merkelbach 1992: 14: “Das ägyptische Wort für den Skarabäus ist ‘Chepri’, und Chepri bedeutet gleichzeitig ‘das Werden’. Es
kommt in unserem Text in der lautlich etwas veränderten Form Ch(e)phuri vor. Chepri bezeichent also die ewige Erneuerung”.
18) Nilsson 1951: 64.
222 SENCAN ALTINOLUK and NİLÜFER ATAKAN

There are a lot of mystic and magical speculations iotacistic writing of ιω?)24 then a right oriented ny,
about the Jewish god and his cryptic name: The and probably two right oriented gammas which are
three vowels of his name were interpreted as the no longer preserved. In the second line we meet
three columns of the world19, and there is also the with two pairs of vertical strokes or iotas, which
widespread equation of Iahwe and Helios20. Therefore frame a lambda shaped sign in normal position and
by the use IAΩ (or one of its different spellings) another one which was turned upside down. The
Abrasax is once again stylized as a cosmocratic sun last sequence is used on another Abrasax gem in the
god. The Egyptians called the Dog Star (Sirius) British Museum25.
Sothis. Its annual rising was the beginning of the
Egyptian year21, this means the birthday of Abrasax, 4. THE GEM AND ITS DATING
the year’s Lord. There are many different forms and
spellings, e.g. Σωθη = Σωθι as here, Σωθαλις, It is very difficult to date such gems exactly.
Σωθαρα, Σωθεωθ, Σωθ22. It could be that the other Even the forms of their letters are not very helpful.
letters have a special meaning, but it might also be Usually such objects date to the later 3rd or 4th
the case that some of them – e.g. ρθθ[ – are only century A.D. This is the period, when the traditional
written down to create a magical sphere: “It may be city cults lost the support of their followers, the cult
that mere charlatanism is at work, and the meaningless of the sun god became very prominent, and, in view
words are intended only to impress the ignorant and of the many difficulties which most people experi-
credulous”23. enced, magic gained an immense popularity. It seems
The engraver of this gem has consciously chosen that it was precisely at this period that the Abrasax
the last letter of the Greek alphabet as the last letter gems are the most widely spread magical amulets in
of his sequence of magical letters. On the reverse, Antiquity26. They are a product of the syncretism of
while the first line reads ˥˥ᴎEIШN[ΓΓ] the second the 3rd century A.D., mixing Persian, Egyptian,
line reads ΙIΛVΙ[I]. We think that both sequences of Jewish, Christian, as well as Greek and Roman reli-
magical characters make use of similar structures, gious and superstitious traditions together. This gem
such as parallelism and the change of orientation: is apparently a further proof of this cultural devel-
The first line started with two left oriented gammas, opment.
then a left oriented ny, then the magical word ειω (a S.A. and N.T.

19) Harrauer 1992: 41: “IAΩ wird vom hebräischen Jahwe hergeleitet und tritt besonders im 2./3. Jh. n. Chr. (und darüber hinaus)
mit Vorliebe mit Abrasax auf. IAΩ wird aber auch als eine Variante der Vokale gedeutet (in umgruppierter Abfolge sind das der erste,
letzte und mittlere Vokal von A ε η Ι ο υ Ω, also die ‘Säulen des Alphabets, der Welt’). Der isopsephische ‘Umrechnungswert’ von
Abrasax (oder Abraxas) mit 365 ) das Jahr, das Weltenjahr ist hinlänglich besprochen”.
20) Maier 1979; Stähli 1985; Fauth 1995: 10 f.
21) Cf. Merkelbach 1992: 69-76.
22) Daniel and Maltomini 1990: 147 l. 27.
23) Bonner 1950: 188.
24) Cf. Daniel and Maltomini 1992: 330 (Index).
25) Michel 2001: 133, no 216
26) Nilsson 1951: 61: “The rivalry with the magic papyri is evident, but while these were the property of specialists, magical
technicians, the amulets teach us what was current among the people. ... I refer to the commonest types of magical amulets, the god
with a cock’s head, with snakes instead of legs, and clad in Roman military costume”. For the Asia Minor originated magical amulets
with this common representation of Abrasax, see Konuk and Arslan 2000: 190, no 166; Arslan et al. 2011: 175; Altınoluk 2013: 13-18.
Abrasax is also shown in an anguiped form on two seal impressions discovered from Zeugma excavations. See Önal 2007: no 155-156.
 ABRASAX: A MAGICAL GEM IN THE ISTANBUL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS 223

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