Lawsuits with Headless Foes

A Greek Incantation Motif

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19476348
AutoresMichael Zellmann-Rohrer (0000-0002-5200-8480, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen21-22
Número1
Páginas51-83
Fecha de publicación2020-12-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchiv für Religionsgeschichte (BOOK_SERIES)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1436-3038 • E-ISSN: 1868-8888
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/arege-2020-0004
OpenAlexW3111671478
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas28

This study proposes a new interpretation of the texts of two late ancient or early Byzantine papyrus amulets that refer to conflict with “headless” entities ( PGM P 5a–b). Based on the identification of parallels in the Byzantine and later Greek tradition, a traditional incantation motif can be identified, targeting fever, which is analogized as a judicial crisis. An appendix publishes or republishes the relevant texts with translations. The complex career of the motif attested by the papyri and the Byzantine texts is also applied to illustrate the workings of the Greek tradition of incantations, in particular the mechanism by which elements of a received repertoire are re-combined, modified, and augmented for changing contexts, a process comparable to folkloric composition. The judicial motif can further be contextualized among beliefs about the supernatural, including the divinization of fever itself and the crediting of a broad cast of powers, including John the Baptist along with other holies, angels, and demons, with its infliction and relief

Aesthetics · Art · Byzantine architecture · Folklore · Incantation · Literature · Parallels · Pun · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History