NEWS: A Roman Lead Curse Tablet
From
<http://archaeologicalmuseum.jhu.edu/the-collection/object-stories/a-roman-l
ead-curse-tablet/>:
[Go there for pix and linx]
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A Roman Lead Curse Tablet
By Elisabeth Schwinge
The Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum contains fragments related to
five lead curse tablets from ancient Rome. One of these tablets
(JHUAM 2011.01) was recently conserved and placed on view, along with
the original iron nail (JHUAM 2011.06) associated with it. Objects
such as this one are evidence of a common practice in Greek and Roman
antiquity to scratch curses onto tablets which were then deposited in
wells or graves. While the earliest tablets only contained the name
of the person to be cursed, later examples grew more elaborate, such
as this example. Curses could be inscribed on basically anything,
ranging from pottery sherds to gemstones, though lead is the most
common material used for this purpose.
The original nail used to "pin down" the five tablets in ancient
times. At the top of the nail, lead fragments from the tablets are
still attached in place.
This particular tablet (JHUAM 2011.01) from the Johns Hopkins
collection was found rolled together with four others and pierced
through by an iron nail (JHUAM 2011.06). The Latin name for a curse is
defixio which means 'to pin down.' While the individual tablets are
stand-ins for the cursed persons, the nail symbolizes their
pinning-down.
All five tablets now in the Hopkins collection were written in Latin
by the same hand, but contain curses against different people. In
order for curses to be most efficacious, the individuals to be cursed
were precisely named. This tablet contains a curse directed against a
Plotius, identified as the slave of a woman named Avonia. Unlike the
cursed person, the one uttering the curse was generally not mentioned
by name; as a measure to prevent counter-curses.
Dating to the mid-first century BCE (roughly the time of Julius
Caesar), this tablet represents typical features of curse tablets from
this period, and likely came from Rome. It begins by invoking
Proserpina [Greek Persephone] and her husband Pluto [Greek Hades], the
god of the Underworld, as well as the three-headed dog Cerberus who
guards the entrance to the realm of the dead. Curse tablets were
frequently addressed to the gods of the Underworld and those
associated with it, such as Mercury [Greek Hermes] who guided the
souls on their way to Hades. The curse then names its recipient,
Plotius, followed by the ailment wished upon him. Plotius is to be
consumed by fevers which are likened to him wrestling with another
man. This very vivid metaphor describes the fever struggles of malaria
which most likely is the disease wished upon Plotius here. After the
ailment is mentioned, the person requesting the curse promises
offerings to both Proserpina and Cerberus as a payment for their
services. Cerberus is to receive dates, figs, and a black pig-one
sacrifice for each of his heads. Proserpina is promised the body of
Plotius himself as an offering, and the remainder of the text
describes in detail every piece of his body and what exactly was to
happen to it. Furthermore, the tablet specifies that these things are
to be completed by the end of February, so that Plotius may not see
another month.
The five tablets were acquired by the Department of Classical
Archaeology of the Johns Hopkins University in 1908, and published in
a dissertation by the then Hopkins graduate student William Sherwood
Fox in 1911. Little is known about their exact provenance. It is also
very likely that the tablets were deposited in a grave since curse
tablets were often placed in tombs after the original burial. The idea
was that the soul buried there would carry the curse to the gods of
the Underworld. Tombs of those who had died young or by violent means
were preferred because it was believed that their souls lingered
restlessly near their burial site.
References
Fox, W.S., "The Johns Hopkins Tabellae Defixionum" PhD diss.,
Johns Hopkins University, 1911.
Fox, W.S., "An Infernal Postal Service," Art and Archaeology 1
(1914), 205-207.
Gager, J.G., Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient
World, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press 1992.
