The Magical Spell from Olbia with “Author's Signature” Cover Image

Судебное магическое заклятие из Ольвии с «подписью автора»
The Magical Spell from Olbia with “Author's Signature”

Author(s): Nikolai Nikolaev, Liliya Tsyganenko
Subject(s): Archaeology, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Institutul Patrimoniului Cultural al Academiei de Științe a Moldovei
Keywords: Olbia; defixionum tabellae; judicial prayers; magic; inscriptions; paleography; prosopography; interpretation;

Summary/Abstract: The Olbian judicial magic spell of four lines “Name(?), Ariston, Theocles, Menecrates, name and how many assistants that protect(?), all (their) language I inscribe(?). Apollonian”. contains the peculiarities. According to the canons of the epistolary genre, the name Apollonian at the end of the text is the signature of the author; on another side, this name is only an addition to the list of those who are cursed. The list of the damned probably contains the names of famous historical figures, magistrates, and eponyms of 343, 315, 314. BC, respectively, Θεοκλῆς Ἀρίστωνος, Ἀρίστων Θεοκλέους, Μενεκράτης Θεοκλέους of the powerful Aristocratid’s family. The prosopography dating of the inscription (320-310 BC) is consistent with the paleography (350-300 BC).

  • Issue Year: XVIII/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 47-54
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Russian
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