A curse tablet (defixio in Latin) is a type of votive deposit found in ancient Athens and other cities of the Greco-Roman world, in which someone would ask the gods or spirits to do harm to others. Curses were typically written on soft metal (often lead or pewter) and thrown into pools or wells, or buried. In one common form, small dolls, wrapped in a lead sheet covered with curses, were driven through with nails and then buried. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... An icon of Aghia Paraskevi with votive offerings hung beside it. ... A view of the Acropolis of Athens during the Ottoman period, showing the buildings which were removed at the time of independence The history of Athens is the longest of any city in Europe: Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years. ... Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A curse is the effective action of supernatural (or psychological) cause in an individual, group, or objects existence, distinguished solely by the quality of adversity that it brings, else it would be considered a charm or a blessing. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Pewter plate Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 % tin, with the remainder consisting of 1-4 % copper, acting as a hardener, with the addition of lead for the lower grades of pewter and a bluish tint. ...
Many of those discovered at Athens refer to court cases and curse the opposing litigant, asking ("May he...") that he botch his performance in court, forget his words, become dizzy and so forth. The law courts in classical Athens (4th and 5th centuries) were a fundamental organ of democratic governance. ...
About 130 curse tablets have been found at Aquae Sulis (Bath), [1] where many of the curses related to thefts of clothes whilst the victim was bathing.[2] For other uses, see Bath (disambiguation). ...
References
Gager J. G. (ed) 1992, Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. New York : Oxford University Press.
External links
Essay on curse tablets with bibliography and appendix of translated examples.
But I was a bit surprised to discover that 'defixio' isn't to be found there, either, or anything else that I can think might be the nom.
As for the word defixio, does it not come simply from defigo (as you mentioned).
Atque inde forte genus sortilegii, DEFIXIO, videtur appellatum, quod scilicet ejusmodi incantatores acus subinde DEFIGERENT in imagines cereas, iis locis, quibus viros ipsos pungere decreverant, qui puncturas ipsas, ac si ipsi pungerentur, persentiebant." Du Cange defines "sortilegium" (also a non-classical word) as a species of divinatio, presumably in a very broad sense.
But I was a bit surprised to discover that 'defixio' isn't to be found there, either, or anything else that I can think might be the nom.
As for the word defixio, does it not come simply from defigo (as you mentioned).
Atque inde forte genus sortilegii, DEFIXIO, videtur appellatum, quod scilicet ejusmodi incantatores acus subinde DEFIGERENT in imagines cereas, iis locis, quibus viros ipsos pungere decreverant, qui puncturas ipsas, ac si ipsi pungerentur, persentiebant." Du Cange defines "sortilegium" (also a non-classical word) as a species of divinatio, presumably in a very broad sense.
Feeds |
Contact