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Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World

by John G. Gager (Editor)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 57 ratings
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In the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was common practice to curse or bind an enemy or rival by writing an incantation on a tablet and dedicating it to a god or spirit. These curses or binding spells, commonly called defixiones were intended to bring other people under the power and control of those who commissioned them. More than a thousand such texts, written between the 5th Century B.C.E. and the 5th Century C.E., have been discovered from North Africa to England, and from Syria to Spain. Extending into every aspect of ancient life--athletic and theatrical competitions, judicial proceedings, love affairs, business rivalries, and the recovery of stolen property--they shed light on a new dimension of classical study previously inaccessible. Here, for the first time, these texts have been translated into English with a substantial translator's introduction revealing the cultural, social, and historical context for the texts. This book will interest historians, classicists, scholars of religion, and those concerned with ancient magic.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0195134826
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0195134827
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    October 28, 1999
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    8.22 x 5.5 x 0.71 inches
  7. Print length
    296 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is ample reason...to be extremely grateful to Gager and his associates for having provided such a rich and accessible collection of these fascinating and culturally important documents."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"The material is fascinating, and provides a view of antiquity from an unaccustomed angle....Of immense value to students of the ancient world and of the history of religion."--Times Literary Supplement

"Spellbinding."--Christian Century

"A thorough and scholarly book, of immense value to students of the ancient world and of the history of religion."--Ancient History

"The editor and publisher are to be commended for making an important aspect of ancient popular religion accessible to a wide audience."--Journal of Religion

About the Author

John G. Gager is at Princeton University.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (October 28, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195134826
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195134827
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.22 x 5.5 x 0.71 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 57 ratings

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John G. Gager

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
57 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ElectricBlue32
5.0 out of 5 stars Dry, but perfect for what it is
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021
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It's a dry archaeological text, talking mostly about the provenance of the items and basic descriptions. There are some complaints from other reviewers who expected more from this book, but for an anthropology student like myself who already knows how to navigate & use this information, it's absolutely perfect. I wish they had included the original Greek of the inscriptions, but it's nothing a bit of digging won't bring up. It's a priceless addition to various texts on ancient Greco-Roman magical practices.
8 people found this helpful
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Christopher R. Travers
5.0 out of 5 stars Important contribution to classical studies
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2009
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In this work, Professor Gager provides a catalog of curse tablets and binding spells from Europe and the Middle East and some fairly impressive analysis of these finds. If you are looking for a systematic analysis of such finds, skip this work. If you are looking for source material and enough analysis to make it interesting, this is the book for you.

Gager divides these materials into a number of sub-categories such as those involving race-course competition, sex love or marriage, business competition, pleas for revenge and so forth, This functional breakdown makes the material easier to piece together and draw connections between the samples presented.

The one thing that could have made this work much better would be to include many more of the inscriptions in their original languages.

I would highly recommend this work to anyone interested in ancient magical practices or classical studies.
24 people found this helpful
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Helium Banshee
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Research
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020
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Meticulously performed research on a very obscure topic. Suitable for academic level readers.
One person found this helpful
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Frank Modica
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016
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The go-to book on Defixiones.
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Kevin W. May
4.0 out of 5 stars Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2013
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Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World, the book helped with what I was looking for! I would recommend this book.
6 people found this helpful
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Clement
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2010
This book not only provides many examples of ancient spells but also gives the necessary background information about culture, religion and society that is necessary to properly understand the spells. If you're already familiar with this you may want an edition that focuses on primary texts only. But if you're looking for a solid introduction then this is a great book.

Other related books I liked are The Life of Apollonius of Tyana and The Syrian Goddess: De Dea Syria.
9 people found this helpful
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Marie Keener
3.0 out of 5 stars Wordiness devalues information
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2007
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I did like this book. The information, once you found it was interesting and helpful (I used this book for research on a screeplay) and some of the ideas were very useful. However, the book is SO chatty that you just wanted the author to shut up and get to the point. In chapter 7, the long winded preamble made me think the author liked hearing his own 'voice'. This book is worth buying, just be prepared that it could easily have been half its length and still contain all its useful information.
19 people found this helpful
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Phillip Mendelsohn
3.0 out of 5 stars Useful General Introduction; Poor Use of Original Materials
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2011
Although this book provides a useful general overview and introduction to the subject of "defixiones", the editor is extremely verbose, and makes very poor use of original materials (in my opinion). Over 150 tablets are discussed; however, transcriptions and/or graphic representations are given for only a few. All the tablets discussed are given in English translations, provided by a group of different scholars noted in the front of the book (however, the separate translations are not signed or credited to any particular individual). Footnotes call out unusual, difficult, or particularly interesting words. Many times I thought the most interesting material was in the footnotes; this means the book probably was not properly conceived, structured or edited. The notes are often supplemented by the editor's "personal correspondence" with other scholars who have personally seen and/or unearthed/discovered the tablets.

If I were editing such a book, I think the most useful arrangement would be: (1) a photograph or transcription of each tablet, accompanied by; (2) a transliteration (i.e., the original language, whether Greek, Latin, Hebrew, or Aramaic, put into English characters); (3) then a translation (or a translation side-by-side with the transliteration); (4) then commentary, analysis, and general pedantry. I would expect no less from a book published by Oxford University Press; this book reads more like it was published by a Random House or other non-academic publisher. It is difficult to tell what, if any, original scholarly work has been provided here, beyond a compilation of already-existing material (apparently with new English translations).

Also on the plus side, the book does have a very useful Bibliography, which can help point people who want to know more (or more advanced students) in the right direction.
33 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Carlo
4.0 out of 5 stars Utile e scorrevole, ma manca di una vera e propria edizione critica
Reviewed in Italy on January 24, 2017
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Le introduzioni generali ai capitoli tematici sono ben fatte e scorrevoli, oltre che sapientemente suddivise in paragrafi. Tuttavia, pur essendo nel complesso un buon testo di riferimento per chi voglia farsi un'idea sulle tabellae defixionum, manca della trascrizione dei testi greci e latini, non permettendo un'analisi personale - o, se vogliamo, autoptica - delle testimonianze stesse; inoltre l'apparato delle note è talora eccessivamente sintetico, seppur chiaro e comprensibile. Lodevole è l'impegno dell'autore, però, nel proporre immagini e riproduzioni dei signa magici, anche con qualche bella fotografia. In conclusione, lo consiglierei per una buona infarinata generale sull'argomento; ma con mia sincera sorpresa mi trovo a riconoscere quanto ancora sia fondamentale, dopo quasi 115 anni, l'edizione critica di Audollent.
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Jack
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2015
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I'm glad I bought this book. It has a lot of research into what a curse tablet is and how they used to be used. If your looking for witchcraft/wicca or infomation on casting magics this isn't the book for you. It does list translations of the curse tablest in extensive quantities, which could be used and shaped into a wicca form of black magic. Curses for sex, love and marriage, court matters, theft, revenge and justice and then loads of random curses and binding spells. Good buy
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Kerstin Voegele
5.0 out of 5 stars Cuese Tablets
Reviewed in Germany on March 27, 2012
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Ich liebe dieses Buch-- schön zu erfahren wie Damals die Menschen ihren Hass ausgelebt hatten-- fies und Abgründe zeigt dieses Buch, Flüche und Verwünschungen.
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JamesKiyingiBbosa
5.0 out of 5 stars t's Very good you try it Fantabulous.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2013
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t's Very good you try it Fantabulous.
it will defintely change your life for real.
ohh man its that good.
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Vicky Young
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2016
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Great - would use again
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