Greek And Roman Magic Essay

Language played an important role in ancient Greek and Roman magic. The type of language used in magic could help to communicate with gods and spirits and also power a curse so it was more effective. The language used in curses can be found on defixiones, binding curses that were typically written on lead tablets which detail what the client wishes to do to their target. Language used in Greek and Roman magic plays an essential role as it helps to understand the use of magic and what the aims of the sorcerer or client was. This is shown through the use of language features such as strange writing or voces mysticae, the use of formulas, and the way names are used.
Many defixiones make copious use of strange writing and voces mysticae: mysterious
words and phrases that are unintelligible but understood only by demons and deities. These typically appear mostly in Roman tablets from the first century CE onwards due to the progression of language and methods. An example of this is ephesia grammata, letters from Ephesos, which were used by both Greeks and Romans to bestow defensive and aggressive power to the user. PGM LXX 4-25 uses ephesia grammata in the forms of the letters askion and kataskion “ASKEI KATASKEI” which, along with other unintelligible words, is used to help communicate with Hekate Ereschigal. Other uses of voces mysticae and strange writing include shapes made up of words, series of vowels, palindromes, charaktêres, and words that seem to have no meaning at all. These words are not meant to be understood by the client or the sorcerer but are used to communicate with the deity they are appealing to as it is “the language the demons can understand.” The client places trust in the sorcerer that they know how to use these terms correctly as they appeal to the being. Greeks and Romans held the belief that these words and phrases, when used correctly, could aid in appealing to the deity, providing a higher chance for the spell to work which is the primary goal of the client. With these beliefs and aims, this use of language is an attempt to invoke the power of higher powers with greater certainty to bring about the will of the client, whether it be to harm, bind, or protect.
Defixiones follow certain types of formulas in their text.
These formulas likely helped to formulate spells for specialists but also to invoke the help of divinities more easily. One type of formula was to appeal to a divinity for help. Daniel Ogden lists an example of this where the sorcerer appeals to “Underworld Hermes” to bind his targets’ work opportunities and speech. By appealing to a god, the sorcerer asks for their aid in applying the curse to the target. In this way, the sorcerer lays the responsibility of fulfilling the curse with the god. Another formula method was to make analogies where the traits of something are applied to the target. An example of this from Ogden is in the form of a separation curse where the client makes an analogy between the dead body of Theonnastos being powerless to the client’s targets, Zoilos and Antheira, being powerless to sleep with one another. By creating analogies, the client clearly states what they wish to do with their targets, highlighting the negative things of the object such as coldness, pain, and failure. Using formulas is a key part of the importance of language in the ancient Greek and Roman magic as it helps to show how people thought magic worked and their aims. Formulas show that it was common to appeal to higher beings to aid in the application of curses. Gods and spirits were believed to help in the practise of magic. Furthermore it displays that being specific was considered to be helpful in the application of
curses and using analogies was an easy way of doing this. Being able to identify formulas indicates that magic was widely spread enough that there were common ways of composing curses.
Various ways of writing down names were used in the making of defixiones.
Often the name of the target is written in various ways to enhance the effects of the curse. One such way is to identify the target not by their father as would be the normal custom but by their mother. There are many examples of templates of curses where the names of the target and their mother are left to be filled in by the client. Sometimes this might also include the client if appropriate such as this love curse, PGM IV. 1390-1495 “you may attract to me her, NN whose mother is NN, to me NN, whose mother is NN.” This characteristic is used to precisely identify who the client wants to affect as only someone’s mother can be certain . This is an indication that it was important to the client that the curse was specific in who they wanted to affect and that the way language was used was vital in making the curses work in their eyes. The way the target’s name was written often reflected what the client wish to do to the target. This could be done in many ways such as scrambling or writing their name backwards to reflect the desired outcome of the curse. Derek Collins mentions an example of names being written backwards “sbppihkrA, sbteniapE” which the right way become “Arkhippbs, Epainetbs.” Writing a name backwards could have helped in making the curse realised as a name is part of a person and so their life would end up being turned around by the
curse.
Overall, language played an essential role in the use of magic in ancient Greece and Rome to the extent that certain features can be recognised over many curses. Language helped to strengthen a spell, whether it be to specify the target and desired outcome, to effectively communicating with the divinities for their assistance. Three particular languages features that show this are the extensive use of voces mysticae, types of formulas, and names and how they were applied.