Conceptions of the Dead and the Divine in Curse Tablets

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to systematically analyse the ways in which ancient individuals conceived of the involvement of the restless dead and the divine in curse tablets. The scope of the research has been to include any curse tablet irrespective of language, date, or discovery location. As a result, examples are included from across the ancient Mediterranean and Northern Europe in Celtic, Coptic, Greek, Latin, and Punic, ranging in date from the end of the sixth century BCE through until the seventh century CE. Three different roles for the dead and the gods have been identified and this thesis is structured around these groups. The dead were conceived of as having three roles: as actively carrying out the curse, either physically or metaphysically; being used analogically, alongside ideas of sympathetic magic; and finally, as intermediaries and witnesses. The gods were predominantly conceived of as actively carrying out the curse and were therefore often turned to for various forms of help. They could also be appealed to as witnesses, and this introduces the idea of engagement with external powers through ritual action. When approaching reading and interpreting these inscriptions, the focus is always on the individual, with questions such as: Why have they chosen this form of engagement? Why have they interacted with the ritual in this way? How has their lived experience informed these decisions? Here the focus is on the people who created these curse tablets, as well as maintaining an awareness of each text’s individuality. Through this analysis what can at times appear to be an extremely formulaic body of evidence can be extremely illuminating for understanding conceptions of the dead and the divine in the ancient world.