Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 22 (2016) 18-25 brill.com/acss
A New Defixio from Ancient Panticapaeum’s Necropolis Alexey V. Belousov
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
[email protected]
Nikolaï F. Fedoseev
Institute of Archaeology of Crimea, Simferopol, Russia
[email protected]
Abstract The authors of the report give an account on the new magical inscription (5th-4th cent. BC) found on the territory of the ancient necropolis of Panticapaeum in 2011. The paper contains a publication and a commentary on the text of the newly discovered defixio. The monument is especially interesting for the new magic formula it contains.
Keywords Greek epigraphy – ancient Greek magic – Bosporus −Panticapaeum – curse tablets – defixionum tabellae * A. Belousov is grateful to the Russian Scientific Foundation for Humanities (project No. 12-01-00116а «Corpus of Magic Inscriptions of the Ancient North Black Sea»), LabEx TranferS and École normale supérieure (AOROC-CNRS, Paris) for their support. He would also like to express his sincere gratitude to A. Avram and M. Dana, who contributed to this overview by a number of most useful remarks to the first interpretation of this text presented as a preliminary poster report to the 5th International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Belgrade, 17-21 September, 2013). We are also grateful to Professor of École pratique des Hautes Études Laurent Dubois for his kind help with linguistic analysis of this inscription, and to I. A. Makarov and S. R. Tokhtas’ev. ** Lomonosov Moscow State University, 27, korp. 4, Lomonosovsky pr-t, Moscow, 119991, GSP-1, Russia. *** Institute of Archaeology of Crimea, 2, Akad. Vernadsky pr-t, Simferopol, 295007, Russia.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi 10.1163/15700577-12341293
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New monuments of Greek writing on lead come to light every year in the Northern Black Sea region. In this article we would like to present a chance find of the year 2011 in Kerch, which is now stored in one of the Moscow private collections. This find was made by illegal excavators in the region of the so-called “Skalki”, but its archaeological context is unfortunately unknown. Therefore we are limited to the information that can be retrieved from the object itself. The artefact is a lead plaque 10 cm long and 4.5 to 6.5 cm wide. The plaque was probably folded four times and pierced by a nail. Due to these nail-piercing holes we have identified the artefact as a defixio – a supposition proved correct by further analysis of the object. The inner surface contains an inscription in six horizontal lines, and on the left side there is also a line running from the top downwards and curving to the right, thus joining the sixth line of the main text. The size of the letters varies from 4 to 9 mm (Fig. 1). Judging by the shape of the letters this inscription could be dated to the 5th or the first half of the 4th cent. BC.1 The shape of the alpha varies: the horizontal line is either straight, or inclined, or overlaps other hastas – this could be caused by the nature of the writing material. The delta’s upper corner is shifted to the right, so the lower and the right hastas meet at almost right angle.
Figure 1
Lead plaque with inscription from Panticapaeum.
1 See Boltunova, Knipovich 1962, 6-12, tabs. I-II.
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Figure 2
Belousov and Fedoseev
Inscription on the lead plaque.
The ny is carved with a shortened right side that is uplifted higher than the left side and is inclined to the right. The right vertical line of the letter pi is shortened and there is also a rightward inclination. The shape of the omicron is open. The hastas of sigma are wide apart; the ypsilon has a trifold shape. All these traits bring the palaeography of this inscription (Fig. 2) close to that of the published letters on lead2 dating back to the second half of the 5th cent. BC. The manner of writing cannot be called tidy: the main part of the text is written with rather big letters, so the rest did not fit in and the author had to squeeze the remaining words in between the lines and onto the left margin. In addition, there are some mistakes and some letters are missing. Apart from the abovementioned characteristic features of the 5th century BC script, some archaic peculiarities belong to the Bosporan and Olbian language of this period (for example, О /ọ̄/ (αὐτõ) and Е /ε̄/̣ (χε̄ρ́ ας) for diphthongs ου and ει respectively).3 The text of the inscription is as follows: 2 Pavlichenko, Kashaev 2012, 289-290; Saprÿkin, Belousov 2012, 349; Belousov, Saprykin 2013, 155; Zavoïkina, Pavlichenko 2013, 114. 3 Apart from that some “Doric” traits of the inscription’s language should be mentioned: [Ἑκ]άταν (1 vs.) and γυ̣νά (suggested by A. Avram instead of our initial reading γυ̣ναῖ̣κ̣α [δίδωμι vel sim.]). However, the expression παρ’ Ἑρμᾶν (χ)θόνιον καὶ Ἑκάτα[ν] χθονία[ν] and other Doric forms occur in one Bosporan inscription of the 4th cent. BC (Pharmakowsky 1907, 126-128; cf. SGD 195, 170; Yaïlenko 2005, 472-476, No. 8. Yaïlenko belives this inscription to be written in a “pure” Attic dialect): παρὰ Λευκ(ο)θέαν χθονίαν / καὶ παρὰ Φερσεφόναν χθονίαν, καὶ παρὰ Πλουτοδό/ταν χθόνιον καὶ παρὰ Πραξιδί/καν χθονίαν καὶ πα(ρὰ) Φερσεφόναν. Therefore it seems that our inscription is written in Doric dialect as well.
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Ρ ΑΤΑΝΓΥΝΑΛ̣ Η̣ Ν̣ ? ΟΙΑΥΤΟΚΑΙΑΥΤ ΓΛΑΥΚΙΑΣΚΑΙΤΑΠΑΙΔΙΑ
Г(?)ΛΕ ΣΑΣ ΔΕ ΑΝΟ
ΚΑΙΕΣΤΚΑΛΛΟΣΕΤ ΝΟΥΣ ΚΑΙΧΕΡΑΣΚΑΙΠΟΔΑΣ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΠΑΡ ΚΑ In parte sinistra: ↓ ΚΑΙΔΕΔΩΜΙΓΗΙΚΑ . . . We restore the following text of the inscription: 1. [πα]ρ [Ἑκ]άταν· γυ̣νὰ�̣ Λ̣ η̣ ν̣[αίου] 2. [κα]ὶ�̣ ἀ[δελφ]οὶ αὐτõ καὶ α̣ὐτ̣[ῆς], 3. Γλαυ̣κίας καὶ τὰ παιδία. Г(Х?)ΛΕ ΣΑΣ 4. καὶ ἔ�τ̄ (ι)ς κἄλλος ἔτ(ι) δὲ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς, 5. καὶ χέ�ρ̄ ας καὶ πόδας 6. αὐτῶ̣ν παρ [Ἑ]κ̣ ά�̣[ταν]. In parte sinistra: ↓καὶ δ{έ}ίδωμι [Γ]ῆι κα[ὶ τοῖς χθονίοις πᾶσιν vel sim.] 1: γυ̣νὰ�̣ Avram; 4: Non pro certo habeo, conieci hic quoque: καὶ ἔστ⟨ω⟩ κἄλλος \χλε[υά] σας/ ἔτ⟨ι⟩ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς Belousov.
Translation: To [Hec]ate: the wife of Lenaios and his and her brothers; Glaukias and his children (. .?. .). And if there is [yet] another foolish [person]. Their hands and feet are for Hecate. And I give them to Ge and [all gods of the Underworld]. Here we see a curse that is new and unusual for the Northern Black Sea region. Its formula starts with the ‘destination point’ ([πα]ρ [Ἑκ]άταν), followed by a list of names in nominative (γυ̣νὰ�̣ Λ̣ η̣ ν̣[αίου] / [κα]ὶ�̣ ἀ[δελφ]οὶ αὐτõ καὶ α̣ὐτ̣[ῆς], / Γλαυ̣κίας καὶ τὰ παιδία), then comes an additional formula (καὶ ἔ�τ̄ (ι)ς κἄλλος ἔτ(ι) δὲ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς or καὶ ἔστ⟨ω⟩ κἄλλος \χλε[υά]σας/ ἔτ⟨ι⟩ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς), an anatomical curse (καὶ χέ�ρ̄ ας καὶ πόδας), and is closed by a repetition of the ‘destination point’ (παρ [Ἑ]κ̣ ά�̣[ταν]). The supplemented wording to this formula (written on the left margin), wich containes a verbum devotorium and yet another ‘destination’, is as follows: καὶ δ{έ}ίδωμι [Γ]ῆι κα[ὶ τοῖς χθονίοις πᾶσιν vel sim.]. In general it does not add anything fundamentally new to the standard formula, however, the combination of two curse formulae, each of which Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 22 (2016) 18-25
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is quite widespread by itself in defixionum tabellae of the ancient oecumene, occurs here for the first time. The main addressee of the curse is Hecate (vs. 1, 6). Her name is present in multiple defixiones from Attica4 and other regions, including the Bosporus (see note 4).5 As for Ge, she is also a frequent ‘guest’ in such documents.6 The reading χθόνιοι πάντες (κα[ὶ τοῖς χθονίοις πᾶσιν vel sim.]) restored hypothetically also occurs quite often in magic texts.7 Verbum devotorium δίδωμι, which appears in the left margin line (↓καὶ δ{έ}ίδωμι [Γ]ῆι κα[ὶ τοῖς χθονίοις πᾶσιν vel sim.]), can be found in curses in its main form8 as well as in derivative forms.9 One of the known inscriptions even contains a misspelling similar to that of our text παραδ⟨ε⟩ίδο⟨υ⟩με(ν) (DT 155a).30 When choosing from two variants of text restoration in l. 4 − καὶ ἔ�τ̄ (ι)ς κἄλλος ἔτ(ι) δὲ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς (“and if there is [yet] another foolish [person]”) or καὶ ἔστ⟨ω⟩ κἄλλος \χλε[υά]σας/ ἔτ⟨ι⟩ \δὲ ἄνο/{νο}υς (“and let anyone who has mocked [me] be foolish” i.e. “become mad”) – we decided for the first,10 because the formulae with the imperative ἔστω are more common for the later epoch.11 Personal names (Γλαυ̣κίας) and other nouns in nominative (γυ̣νὰ�̣ Λ̣ η̣ ν̣[αίου] / [κα]ὶ�̣ ἀ[δελφ]οὶ αὐτõ καὶ α̣ὐτ̣[ῆς] / Γλαυ̣κίας καὶ τὰ παιδία) are a very common phenomenon in Greek magic epigraphy; and such is by far the most widespread type of magic text in the Black Sea region. We are going to revisit the issue of names later, but now we are to analyze the formula of the anatomic curse: καὶ χέ�ρ̄ ας καὶ πόδας / αὐτῶ̣ν παρ [Ἑ]κ̣ ά�̣[ταν]. To the best of our knowledge it is the first time that such an anatomic wording is present in ancient texts of the 4 5 6 7
DTA 104, 105a, 106a, 107a-b; SGD: 21, 66, 69, 78; NTDA 55. DT 22, 24, 26, 29, 30-33, 35, 38, 41, 72, 74, 141, 242, 250 (?). DTA 90b, 98, 99, 100a, 101, 102b; SGD 42, 74; DT: 16, 41, 72. DTA 99; DT: 22, 24, 26, 27(καταχθόνιοι), 28, 29, 30-35, 5 (καταχθόνιοι), 155 (καταχθόνιοι), 198, 242. 8 Δίδωμι: SGD 55, 65. 9 Καταδίδημι: DTA 55, 74; 105a, 106a, 107a (καταδεδέσθω); DT 69, 81, 84. Παραδίδημι: SGD 22-32, 35-37; DT: 155-156, 161, 163. 10 The formulae induced by ἔιτις are rather frequent in the early Attic curses, see, for example: DTA 64, 100, 103, 107, 117 and one example from Pydna: NGCT 40. 11 DTA 107a (ἔστω ἀντία), 97 (ἔστω ἀφανῆ); SGD 23, 25-26 (ἔστω κωφός, ἄλαλος, ἄνους), 71, 75, 73 (ἔστωσαν), 74; DT 4 (ἔστω ἐνθύμιον). See Saprÿkin, Maslennikov 2007, No. 662 with the reading Νάνα κακὰ Ὀνήσωι ἔ[στω] from: Belousov 2010, 169. The word combination ἔστω ἄνους fitted into a wider wording is known in some ancient spells: SGD 25-26 (ἔστω κωφός, ἄλαλος, ἄνους). An ill-wish of insanity, although in the context of another formula (its restoration is, however, unsound), occurs in a Bosporan curse (OAK 1868, 121-122): [? καὶ γένοιντο ἄ]φρονε[ς]. See Yaïlenko 2005, 476, No. 9.
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region in question.12 However, this wording is not unusual for the epigraphy of other regions of the ancient Greek and Roman world.13 This wording shows that the author of the curse wishes to deprive his ‘victims’ of the ability to use their hands and feet. In the line above the author probably also calls madness on anyone who had mocked (χλε[υά]σας) him in the past or would mock in the future (part. aor. allows such an interpretation as well). Nevertheless, it’s hard to determine the context of the spell with any more precision. We can suggest that it was linked to some lawsuit or to an emotional grudge of the curse’s author (which is more likely). As for the onomastics of this inscription, the names occurring in the text are not new either to the Pontic region in general or to the Bosporus in particular. The name Γλαυκίας is mentioned twice in inscriptions of Gorgippia and as many times in Panticapaeum (LGPN IV, 80: the earliest mention in the 3rd cent. BC). The name Λήναιος14 that we restore in the first line of the text is attested once in Hermonassa in a 4th cent. BC inscription (CIRB 1056 I)16 and once in Panticapaeum in an inscription of the 4th/3rd cent. BC (CIRB 117). This name is also evidenced six times in Olbia, starting from the 6th cent. BC (LGPN IV, 210). In conclusion we would like to note that, despite the circumstances of this object’s discovery that deprived us of the possibility to study the artifact in its archaeological context, this new inscription is a valuable historical source: it broadens our knowledge of magic practices of the Bosporus in the Classical and early Hellenistic epochs. This defixio presents us with an absolutely new combination of magic formulae thus replenishing the repertory of defixionum tabellae known to the researchers of the subject.
12 From the Northern Black Sea region proper two tongue-binding spells are known; see Dil’ 1915, 40-43 (also Tolstoï 1953, No. 63; IGDOP No. 105; Avram, Chiriac, Matei 2007, 386, No. 5) and Yaïlenko 2005, 476, No. 11; 480-481. 13 On the hand- and foot-related curses see: DTA 52, 54, 60a-b, 68a, 80, 86, 87a, 88a, 89a-b, 90a, 93a-b, 96-97, 121b, 1376 159b, 165; SGD 1, 3, 40, 44, 51, 72, 75; DT 15, 47, 49, 50, 64, 77, 85, 234-241, 285; bracchia: DT 135, 190; manus: DT 135, 190, 247, 250; pedes: DT 135, 247, 250, 252, 278, 284, 295; membra: DT 247, 250. On anatomic spells in general see: Versnel 1998. 14 The name Λήναιος is restored in the text as one of the most likely ones starting with Λην-, other possible options being, for instance, Λῆνις (gen. Λήνιος) (LGPN IV, 210), Ληνίς (LGPN Vb, 261), Ληνᾶς (LGPN Va, 268), Λήναις (LGPN Vb, 261).
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Bibliography Avram, A., Chiriac, C., Matei, I. 2007: Defixiones d’Istros. BCH 131/1, 383-420. Belousov, A. V. 2010: Review of: Saprÿkin, S. Yu., Maslennikov, A. A. Graffiti i dipinti khorÿ antichnogo Bospora. Simferopol-Kerch, 2007. VDI no 4, 166-171. Belousov, A., Saprykin, S. 2013: A Letter of Kledikos from Hermonassa. ZPE 185, 153-160. Boltunova, A. I., Knipovich, T. N. 1962: Ocherk istorii grecheskogo lapidarnogo pis’ma na Bospore. Numizmatika i épigrafika 3, 3-31. Dil’ (=Diehl), E. V. 1915: Ol’viïskaya chasha s nagovorom. Izvestiya arkheologicheskoï komissii 58, 40-56. Pavlichenko, N. A., Kashaev, S. V. 2012: Novaya épigraficheskaya nakhodka iz Germonassÿ. Drevnosti Bospora 16, 288-298. Pharmakowsky, B. 1907: Archäologische Funde im Jahre 1906. Südrussland. Archäologischer Anzeiger, 126-153. Saprÿkin, S. Yu., Belousov, A. V. 2012: Pis’mo Kledika iz Germonassÿ. Drevnosti Bospora 16, 348-359. Saprÿkin, S. Yu., Maslennikov, A. A. 2007: Graffiti i dipinti khorÿ antichnogo Bospora (Simferopol & Kerch). Tolstoï, I. I. 1953: Grecheskie graffiti drevnikh gorodov Severnogo Prichernomor’ya (Moscow & Leningrad). Versnel, H. S. 1998: καὶ εἴ τι λ[οιπὸν] τῶν μερ[ῶ]ν [ἔσ]ται τοῦ σώματος ὅλου[ . . . (. . . and any other part of the entire body there may be . . .). An Essay on Anatomical Curses. In Graf, F. (ed.), Ansichten griechischer Rituale. Geburtstag-Symposium für Walter Burkert (Stuttgart & Leipzig), 217-267. Yaïlenko, V. P. 2005: Magicheskie nadpisi Bospora. Drevnosti Bospora 8, 465-514. Zavoïkina, N. V., Pavlichenko, N. A. 2013: Novoe svintsovoe pis’mo iz okrugi antichnogo Patreya. Bosporskiï fenomen: Greki i varvarÿ na evraziïskom perekrestke. Materialÿ mezhdunarodnoï nauchnoï konferentsii (St. Petersburg), 111-115.
Abbreviations BCH CIRB DT
DTA IGDOP
Bulletin de correspondence hellénique (Paris). Corpus inscriptionum regni Bosporani (Moscow & Leningrad 1965). Audollent, A. Defixionum Tabellae quotquot innotuerunt tam in Graecis Orientis quam in totius Occidentis partibus praeter Atticas in Corpore insriptionum Atticarum editas (Paris 1904). Wuensch, R. Defixionum Tabellae Atticae (Inscriptiones Graecae III. Appendix) (Berlin 1897). Dubois, L. Inscriptions grecques dialectales d’Olbia du Pont. (Geneve 1996).
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A New Defixio from Ancient Panticapaeum ’ s Necropolis LGPN IV
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Fraser, P. M., Matthews, E. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names IV. Macedonia, Thrace, Northern Regions of the Black Sea. (Oxford 2005). LGPN Va Corsten, T. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names Va. Asia Minor: Pontos to Ionia (Oxford, 2010). LGPN Vb Balzat, J.-S., Catling, R. W. V., Chiricat, E., Marchand, F. Coastal Asia Minor: Caria to Cilicia (Oxford 2014). NTDA del López Jimeno, M. A. Nuevas tabellae defixionis áticas (Amsterdam 1999). NGCT Jordan, D. R. New Greek Curse Tablets (1985-2000). Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 41 (2000), 5-46. OAK Otchet Imperatorskoï Arkheologicheskoï komissii (St. Petersburg, Petrograd 1862-1918). SGD Jordan, D. R. A Survey of Greek Defixiones not Included in the Special Corpora. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 26 (1985), 151-197. VDI Vestnik drevneï istorii (Moscow). ZPE Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (Bonn).
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