CLASSICS 330 Lecture 3: Curse Tablets and Binding Spells
Document Summary
Lead tablets, usually rolled, pierced with a nail and hidden. People think that once a tablet is unrolled or found, its power is negated. Preserved really well in dryer places (like egypt) 5th century bc to 7th century ad. Probably influenced by earlier traditions of cursing in the near east and egypt. A term for a gap in a text from a tablet. Gager 46: ruler of diamones beneath the earth and give a muzzle to. Symbolic qualities: connected to earth/underworld because of the creepy or unpleasant way in which it looked. (coffins were also often made out of lead in antiquity) Many thought that dead people acted as messengers to the underworld. Trying to place them near the thing to be affected. Pictures were made on tablets later on. This happened as the tablets became more elaborate over time. The basis for the word characters, as in letters.
