The The Use of Lists in Curse Practice. Focusing on Greek Defixiones on Terracotta

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Published: Dec 2, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2024.5.53-72
Keywords:
Defixiones, magic, lists, lead, pottery, Greece, Magna Graecia

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Teresa Sissy De Blasio
Roma Tre University
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7424-1151

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the use of lists in Greek defixiones, a term used in epigraphy to indicate curses of a private nature, usually inscribed on lead tablets, that consist in invoking deities to cause harm to one or more enemies. Many of these documents include lists of personal names to be cursed whether in the nominative or accusative, often without any further information. This practice proves to be long-lasting, from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC, which is attested to by numerous documents found throughout the Greek world. This paper aims to discuss the variegated framework of these documents by means of an updated collection. Attention is also paid to the material used for these texts, which were not only inscribed on lead but also on terracotta.

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How to Cite
De Blasio, T. S. (2024). The The Use of Lists in Curse Practice. Focusing on Greek Defixiones on Terracotta. Sapiens Ubique Civis, 5, 53–72. https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2024.5.53-72
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Vol. 5 (2024): Sapiens ubique civis V
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Articles
Author Biography

Teresa Sissy De Blasio, Roma Tre University

is currently a PhD student at the University of Roma Tre (Italy). Her doctoral dissertation focuses on Greek inscriptions from Sybaris and the surrounding area in Magna Graecia. She holds a Bachelor in Classics and a Double Master’s Degree in “Philology, Literature and History of Antiquity” with an international curriculum (“European Master in Classical Cultures”) at the University of Roma Tre and the University of Münster (Germany). She is a collaborator of the project “Officina di IG XIV2”, whose aim is to further the study of the Greek inscriptions from Italy. Her area of research, which focuses on Greek History and Epigraphy of Magna Graecia, is linked to the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, which hosts the department of Inscriptiones Graecae.