Defixiones Workshop: Making Ancient Curse Tablets

This document is a summation of the research I presented in a workshop format about the
creation and use of defixiones in antiquity. I have typed this up especially for the express
purpose of general information to the public, but especially for members of the wider
community of The University of Queensland who were unable to attend the workshops I
presented. If anyone would like to further discuss the topic, please feel free to email me at
y.hunt@uq.edu.au.
Dr Yvette Hunt,
Honorary Research Fellow,
The School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics
The University of Queensland.

What Are Defixiones?

According to Jordan:
Defixiones, more commonly known as curse tablets, are inscribed pieces of lead,
usually in the form of small, thin sheets, intended to influence, by supernatural means,
the actions or welfare of persons or animals against their will.1
While there are various definitions of just what a defixio is, I find Jordan’s to be the clearest
and most succinct. That said, it should be noted that not all defixiones were made from lead,
just the majority.

Lead
There are likely multiple reasons for the use of lead in curse tablets. It is easily pliable,
readily available, and when inscribed is easily read. Unfortunately, occupational health and
safety requirements means that institutions like universities do not like people to play with
lead on their campuses.

We know a great deal about lead from antiquity. While our text books do not normally mark
the site of lead mines, the positions of silver mines are often marked owing to the importance
of silver mining in both Attica and the Roman empire. Every silver mines was also a lead
mines, because lead and silver occur together. What do differ is the proportions of lead to

                                                            
1
D. R. Jordan, 1985 “A Survey of Greek Defixiones Not Included in the Special Corpora”, Greek, Roman and
Byzantine Studies, vol. 26, p. 151.
silver in each mine: British mines had the highest lead to silver ratio. While lead is called
plumbum in Latin, inscriptions on ingots did not differentiate between lead and silver. Lead
ingots from Mendips in Britain were stamped BRIT EX ARG VEB. The “ARG” is a
shortening of the word “argentum” – silver. Yet despite this vagary between lead and silver
in inscriptions, ancient literature was quite clear on lead mining.

The geographer Strabo refers to one island of the Iberian Peninsula as the “Lead Island,”2
and, according to Polybius, the final act of silver production at New Carthage (Cartagena,
Spain) was to heat the metal to make a lead run-off owing to its low melting point which left
behind pure silver.3 In addition to this, Pliny the Elder discusses how lead was not only
acquired, but also how it was commonly used and thus available:
Black lead which we use to make pipes and sheets is excavated with considerable
labour in Spain and through the whole of the Gallic provinces, but in Britain it is
found in the surface stratum of the earth in such abundance that there is a law
prohibiting the production of more than a certain amount.4
While lead is no longer used in the creation of pipes, the terms “plumber” and “plumbing” in
modern English is a remnant of the past importance of lead in the provision of water and
piping. Pliny’s description of the provision of lead also informs us about whence lead was
being acquired in the first century A.D. Mining was of vital importance in antiquity, so
sources discussing it inform us about much about trade, markets and slavery. We live in a
world where there are various attempts to control prices by manipulating production (think
oil production today), so Pliny indicates here that this was a method used in antiquity. As for
mining in Italy, we are bamboozled by conflicting sources. Strabo states mining was no
longer conducted in Italy for economic reasons: “The mines are not now worked, because
they are not as profitable as those of Celtica and Iberia.”5 However, Pliny states that the
reason was anything but: “All search for metals in Italy has been prohibited by an ancient
decree of the senate, which gave orders that Italy should be exempt from such treatment.”6
This statement by Pliny is difficult to interpret: it might be construed as religious,
environmental, or simply a case of “not in my back yard.” One participant in the workshop
suggested that it might have been a response to the slave uprisings in the first century B.C.

                                                            
2
Strabo, Geography, 3.4.6.
3
Polybius, History, 34.9.
4
Pliny, Natural History, 34.164
5
Strabo, Geography, 5.1.12.
6
Pliny, Natural History, 33.21.
While I think that this is an interesting idea, the description of the senatorial decree as ancient
by Pliny implies an earlier date than the Spartacan revolt. It should also be noted that lead
was used as an artificial sweetener in ancient Rome, with sugar of lead used to sweeten wine.

Terminology Associated With Ancient Magic and Curse Tablets

While we use a numbers of terms to describe magic today, the terminology associated with
the practice of magic in antiquity are varied, subtle, and have various meanings. The term
most often used in this workshop is defixio (plural defixiones). The term defixio actually
means “enchantment”, or more literally “a binding”, from the Latin verb defigo: “to fasten
down”. This etymology explains why numerous curses tablets request that someone be
bound. Some other terms used include the following:
 actually means “a tie, band” from the verb  to “bind up,
inhibit by means of a spell”. While Greek, this word is very similar to the Latin
defixio.
 means “drug, poison, spell”. This is the word from which the English
“pharmacy” and “pharmaceutical” derive.
Venenum means “drug, poison, spell”. Despite its similarity to , this is the
word from which we derive the English word “venom”.
Devotio can mean “a devoting”, but it can also mean “curse, imprecation, spell,
enchantment”. This is the word from which the English word “devotion” comes.
Carmen means “poem, prophecy, incantation, song”. Carmen (plural carmina) features
in Rome’s first legal code, The Twelve Tables, as illegal if performed to the
detriment of someone or their crops.
This list is by no means an exhaustive lexicon of magical terminology from the classical
world, but I would draw your attention that none of these words denote magic and magic
alone. This is a reflection of the understanding of magic in antiquity: it is by no means as
separate from religion as it is seen today. The development of this idea of separation can be
seen in the etymology of the word “magic”: it comes from magus/magi originally meaning
“a learned man.”

How Do We Know About Defixiones?

One of the reasons that I love to research defixiones is the wealth of various source material.
Defixiones are discussed in literary sources, how to use them is outlined in the Greek Magical
Papyri, and we have recovered examples from numerous archaeological digs. So rather than
trying to understand this cultural phenomenon through the single lens of literature, we can
look at the extant handbooks on magical practice, and study examples within their
archaeological context.

Literary Sources
There are numerous references to curse tablets in classical literature. For illustrative
purposes, I will include one from an historical text and one from a novel.
Soon he [Piso] was detained there by the failing health of Germanicus, but when he
heard of his recovery, while people were paying the vows they had offered for his
safety, he went attended by his lictors, drove away the victims placed by the altars
with all the preparations for sacrifice, and the festal gathering of the populace of
Antioch. Then he left for Seleucia and awaited the result of the illness which had
again attacked Germanicus. The terrible intensity of the malady was increased by the
belief that he had been poisoned by Piso. And certainly there were found hidden in the
floor and in the walls disinterred remains of human bodies, incantations and spells,
and the name of Germanicus inscribed on leaden tablets, (carmina et devotiones et
nomen Germanici plumbeis tabulis insculptum,) half-burnt cinders smeared with
blood, and other horrors by which in popular belief souls are devoted so the infernal
deities. Piso too was accused of sending emissaries to note curiously every
unfavourable symptom of the illness.7
Tacitus’ description of the use of defixiones is interesting because it was read by his audience
as an example of real use of this form of magic. It is particularly interesting because it
illustrates the associations between magic, religion and poisoning. Piso was later found
guilty of poisoning Germanicus, not for cursing him, but this description shows how these
actions, using lead tablets, remnants of spells which used human remains, and poisoning were
associated as actions which were performed together. The terms carmina and devotiones
could be positive actions, but it is the context of the use of dug up human remains, lead
tablets, ritual use of blood, and the author’s references to underworld deities which leads to
the interpretation as “incantations and spells” rather than “hymns and devotions.” In addition
to this, Piso is described as acting against acceptable religious practice by driving away those
who sought to invoke the gods to assist Germanicus.

                                                            
7
Tacitus, Annals, 2.69.
It is interesting to compare this historical account to the fictional account of the use of
defixiones by an accomplished Thessalian witch in Apuleius’ The Golden Ass:
... Well prepared for these her practices, she gathered together all her accustomed
substances for fumigations, she brought forth plates of metal carved with strange
characters, she prepared the bones of birds of ill-omen, she made ready the members
(membris) of dead men brought from their tombs.8
Like the description of Piso’s actions against Germanicus, the witch augments her magic by
using disinterred human remains. A great deal of magic practiced in antiquity related to sex,
so I should point out that the membris referred to by Apuleius is vague and could refer to
fingers, toes or the male sexual organ; there is no way to determine exactly what part of the
human body is meant. In any case, it can be seen that there is a correlation between the
popular culture understanding of the use of defixiones in antiquity and actual uses as
described in literature.

Magical Handbooks
There are a number of examples of the use of metal tablets in the spells outlined in the Greek
Magical Papyri. Not all of the tablets described are made of lead, but the references to
“lamella” (another word for thin metal tablet) occur for a variety of magical rituals, not just
curses. Unlike the literary sources or those lead tablets recovered from archaeological digs,
the magical handbooks inform us of the ritual practice which accompanied the use of the
tablet, though not always every element of it.

The following is a very simple example:

This example illustrates that people who used this magical handbook were expected to have
some ideas of what the usual practice was. This idea of expected knowledge by the audience
is clearly referenced. This particular spell is described as allowing the practitioner to bind the

                                                            
8
Apuleius, Metamorphosis, 3.17.
target indicates where the lead should be sourced from and what it should be engraved with.
In addition to this, it indicates that magic words and symbols were used. This is, however a
very simple spell compared with others from the Greek Magical Papyri.

A more involved example is recorded in the Greek Magical Papyri:

A restraining [rite] for anything, works even on chariots. It also causes enmity and
sickness, cuts down, destroys, and overturns, for [whatever] you wish. The spell [in
it], when said, conjures daimons [out] and makes them enter [objects or people].
Engrave in a plate [made] from lead from a cold-water channel what you want to
happen, and when you have consecrated it with bitter aromatics such as myrrh,
bdellium, styrax, and aloes and thyme, with river mud, late in the evening or in the
middle of the night, where there is stream or the drain of a bath, having tied a cord [to
the plate] throw it into the stream-or into the sea-[and let it] be carried along. Use the
cord so that when you wish, you can undo [the spell]. Then should you wish to break
[the spell], untie the plate. Say the formula 7 times and you will see something
wonderful. Then go away without turning back or giving an answer to anyone, and
when you have washed and immersed yourself, go up to your own [room] and rest,
and use [only] vegetable food. Write [the spell] with a headless bronze needle.
The text to be written is: ‘I conjure you, lord Osiris, by your holy names OUCHIOCH
OUSENARATH, Osiris, OUSERRANNOUPHTHI OSORNOUPHE Osiris-Mnevis,
OUSERSETEMENTH AMARA MACHI CHOMASO EMMAI SERBONI EMER
Isis, ARATOPHI ERACHAX ESEOIOTH ARBIOTHI AMEN CH[N]OUM (?)
MONMONT OUZATHI PER OUNNEPHER EN OOO, I give over to you, lord
Osiris, and I deposit with you this matter’ (add the usual).
But if you cause [the plate] to be buried or [sunk in] river or land or sea or stream or
coffin or in a well, write the Orphic formula saying ‘ASKEI KAI TASKEI’ and,
taking a black thread, make 365 knots and bind [the thread] around the outside of the
plate, saying the same formula again and ‘Keep him who is held’ (or bound), or
whatever you do. And thus [the plate is deposited. For Selene, when she goes through
the underworld, breaks whatever [spell] she finds. But when this [rite] has been
performed, [the spell] remains [unbroken] so long as you say over [the formula] daily
 at this spot [where the plate is deposited]. Do not hastily share [this information] with
anyone, for you will find [its like (?) only] with much labor.9
This example goes into much more detail. In addition to using magical words, outlining
where the tablet must be sourced and what it should be engraved with, it also involved the use
of a very specific ritual. The required use of very specific ingredients, formulae, placement,
and diets is outlined, as well as a description of its efficacy. It also alludes to the idea that by
keeping this magic secret it will be more powerful; suggesting that overuse will dilute the
power. This spell also gives the caster the option to reverse the spell. When looking at the
nature of the text to be inscribed, Osiris and Isis are evoked, as well as instructions to “add
the usual”. In addition to this, the use of the magic number seven is notable, as is the
understanding of the solar calendar by tying 365 knots, the comprehension of the year taking
365 days was brought to Rome from Egypt. However, the inclusion of Orphic formula and
reference to Selene, a Greek goddess associated with the moon, like the Roman Diana, also
evokes the classical ideas of the triple nature of the underworld goddesses. For further
examples of spells from magical handbooks see The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation
Including Demotic Spells.10

Defixiones From Archaeological Sites

Defixiones have been recovered from the entire area covered by the Roman Empire, but they
do not date only to the Roman period. The earliest recovered defixiones have dated to the
sixth century B.C., but they became more prevalent in fourth century Athens. According to
the Oxford Classical Dictionary more than 1,500 curse tablets have been found, and this
number is increasing with ongoing archaeological digs. The tradition of writing curse tablets
appears to have originated in Greece, with the earliest examples having been discovered in
Sicily, Olbia, and Attica. While by the second century A.D. defixiones were being written
throughout the entirety of western Europe, and the practice continued throughout the
Mediterranean until at least the sixth century A.D. By knowing the archaeological context of
finds, a great deal more can by understood about the ritual use of these artefacts.

According Jordan, in 1985 approximately 625 defixiones could be identified with proper
provenance. Of these, approximately 325 came from tombs or cemeteries, thus indicating
that they were likely trying to invoke the spirits of the dead. At least 200 came from
                                                            
9
Greek Magical Papyri VII. 429-58.
10
Betz (ed.)1986. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
underground bodies of water, including wells, around 60 were found in sanctuaries devoted
to Demeter, 12 came from baths, 6 from fountains and 1 from a cistern.11 Find sites inform
us more about the nature of this practice, especially when combined with reading the
inscribed text.

As I stated at the start, defixiones are literally binding spells, but not all lead tablets are
inscribed with binding spells. Binding curses are more commonly found in tombs,
cemeteries, and wells, which all are related with chthonic deities. There are also prayers for
justice which are more commonly found in religious sanctuaries, for example Bath (Sulis
Minverva), Cnidus (Demeter), and Mainz in Germany (Isis and Magna Mater).

Prayers for justice inscribed on lead tablets often follow a general pattern:12
1. the principal states his or her name;
2. some grounds for the appeal are offered; this statement may be reduced to a single
word, or may be enlarged upon;
3. the principal requests that the act be excused or that he be spared the possible adverse
effects;
4. gods other than the usual chthonic deities are often invoked;
5. these gods, either because of their superior character, or as an emollient gesture, may
be awarded a flattering epithet or superior title;
6. words expressing supplication are employed as well as direct, personal invocations of
the deity; and
7. use of terms and names referring to (in)justice and punishment.
Not every prayer for justice follows this precise pattern, but they generally conform to it in
the majority of cases. Bath provides numerous examples of prayers for justice.

Approximately 90 tablets were discovered in the spring at Bath when it was excavated in the
1979/80 dig. In addition to finding tablets, coins were also recovered; around 12,000.13 Most
of the tablets recovered were prayers for justice like these two:

                                                            
11
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia,
vol. 54, p. 207.
12
H.S. Versnel, 2010, “Prayers for Justice, East and West: New Finds and Publications Since 1990,” in Gordon
and Simon, Magical Practice in the Latin West, p. 279-80.
13
Cunliff et al. 1985, The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath, Oxford University Committee for Archaeology:
Oxford.
 ...I, Arminia, complain to you, Sulis, [that] you consume Vercundinus (son of)
Terentius who has [stolen...] two silver coins from me. You are not to permit [him] to
sit or lie [or...or] to walk [or] (to have) sleep [or] health, [since] you are to consume
(him) as soon as possible; and again...[not] to reach.
Docimedis has lost two gloves. (He asks) that (the person) who has stolen them
should lose his minds [sic] and his eyes in the temple where (she) appoints.14
While there is an element of binding, the predominant nature of these inscriptions is a request
to Sulis to provide justice, and by placing these into the spring. This is similar to those
recovered from the sanctuary shared by Mater Magna and Isis in Mainz, for example:
“Veraca: this is the way your affairs are to go: may what(ever) you do be in disorder,
just as this is written backwards.”15
“I entreat you, Mistress Mater Magna, to avenge me regarding the goods of Florus,
my husband, of which Ulattius Severus has defrauded me. Just as I write this in a
hostile way, so may everything, whatever he does, whatever he attempts, everything
go awry for him. As salt (melts in) water, so may it happen to him. Whatever of the
goods of Florus, my husband, he has taken away from me, I entreat you, Mistress
Mater Magna, to avenge me for it.”16
These tablets display an interesting array of magic. By inscribing the tablet backwards, the
first author is using sympathetic magic, hoping that the fortunes of the target reflect their
writing. The second example is also employing sympathetic magic, explicitly citing that that
their personal hostility in inscribing the lead is reflected in the target’s fortune. The inclusion
of “as salt melts in water” is another example of sympathetic magic: not only does the author
hopes the target melts, it appears from the archaeological context that most lead tablets in this
sanctuary were melted in a religious fire which formed a part if not the focus of it. Numerous
lead globules were found as well as partially melted tablets, indicating that melting played a
major part of the ritual at this site. In all of these examples, a specific deity was called upon
within their sanctuary to assist the author in a quest for justice. This makes these tablets
rather different from the strict definition of a binding defixio.

                                                            
14
G. W. Adams, 2006, “The Social and Cultural Implications of Curse Tablets [Defixiones] in Britain and on
the Continent,” Studia Humaniora Tartuensia 7, pp. 7-8.
15
J. Blansdorf, 2010, “The Defixiones From The Sanctuary of Isis and Mater Magna in Mainz,” in Gordon and
Simon (eds), 2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden, no. 3, p. 169.
16
J. Blansdorf, 2010, “The Defixiones From The Sanctuary of Isis and Mater Magna in Mainz,” in Gordon and
Simon (eds), 2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden, no. 7, p. 172.
A true binding defixio is often a pre-emptive strike against a target; refers to chthonic deities,
restless spirits, or foreign deities; and request that the target by bound in some way without a
justified purpose. Rather than being deposited in a sanctuary, these are more commonly
found in wells, cemeteries, or sometimes at the site where the curser hoped it would be
effective.

Those found in the wells in the Athenian Agora provide a great deal of insight into the
practice of cursing. Fourteen defixiones have been recovered from a well near the southwest
corner of the Athenian agora which appear to follow a similar template. Twelve of these
tablets were inscribed by a single individual, while two others were each written by two
different individuals. The use of a similar template and multiple curses give the impression
of a possible business in providing curses. The nature of the template is very obvious.
Compare number one from Jordan’s paper to others:
Number One:
Borphorbabarphorbabarphorbabarborbabaie, mighty Betpyt, I hand over to you
Eutychian, whom Eutychia bore, that you may chill him and his purposes, and in your
dark air also those with him. Bind in the unilluminated aion of oblivion and chill and
destroy also the wrestling that he is going to do in the ... this coming Friday. And if he
does wrestle, in order that he may fall and disgrace himself, Mozoune Alcheine
Perpertharona Iaia, I hand over to you Eutychian, whom Eutychia bore. Mighty
Typhon Kolchoi Totoonon Seth Sathaoch Ea, Lord Apomx Phriourinx over the
blacking out and chilling of Eutychian, whom Eutychia bore, Kolchoicheilops, let
Eutychian grow cold and not be strong this coming Friday, but let him be weak. As
these names grow cold, so let Eutychian grow cold, whom Eutychia bore, whom
Aithales promotes.17
Number Two:
Borphorbabarphorbabarphorbabarborbabaie, mighty Betpy, I hand over to you
Eutychian, who is going to wrestle with Secundus, that you may chill Eutychian and
his purposes and his power, his strength, his wrestling, and in your dark air also those
with him. Bind in the unilluminated aion of oblivion and chill and destroy also the
wrestling of Eutychian, wrestler. If with regard to Secundus you chill him and do not
allow Eutychian to wrestle, in order that he may fall and disgrace himself, Morzoune
                                                            
17
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia,
vol. 54, p. 215, n. 1.
 Alcheine Perpertharona Iaia, I hand over to you Eutychian. Mighty Typhon,
Kolchoicheilops, let Eutychian the wrestler grow cold. As these names grow cold, so
let Eutychian's name and breath, impulse, charm, knowledge, reckoning, knowledge
grow cold. Let him be deaf, dumb, mindless, harmless, and not fighting against
anyone.18
Number Six:
Borphorbabarphorbabarphorbabarborbabaie, mighty Betpy, I hand over to you
Alkidamos, whom Ph-us-a bore, that you may chill him and his purposes, and in your
dark air also those with him. Bind in the unilluminated aion of oblivion and chill
(him) and do not allow him to get past the starting lines of the Athenaia. And if he
does get past, in order that he may veer off course and disgrace himself, Morzoune
Alcheine Pepertharona Iaia, I hand over to you Alkidamos. Mighty Typhon Kolchlo
Pontonon Seth Sathaoch Ea, Lord Apomx Phriourinx over blacking out and chilling,
Kolchoicheilops, let Alkidamos grow cold and do not let him get past the starting
lines of the Athenaia. As these names grow cold, so too let Alkidamos' name and
breath, impulse, knowledge, reckoning grow cold. Let him be deaf, dumb, mindless,
harmless, hearing nothing about Apollonian nor having any impulse against
Apollonian.19
In addition to this format, and potentially the inclusion of trainees indicated by the two other
hands seen in these texts, the idea of curse writing as a potential business is indicated by
another tablet which appears to have been prepared to be bought “off the rack”. This
example appears to have been prepared before hand and the name of the target written into
the gaps left blank for the purpose, almost as if it were a form:
Mighty Typhon, I hand over to you Tyche, whom Sophia bore, that you may do her
harm and -- her --, her strength, capacity, sinews, muscles, breath, --, all members in
your dark air. <Bind into> the unilluminated aion of oblivion and -- Tyche, whom
Sophia bore, until she becomes weak. --eian Ia Iao Iakoubia Iae Bolchoseth Io- - Io-
malthalal[? ]ps Ekebenneu Ekeuthi Neuthi Iao Iae Ioseth Anebeth Abrasax Iasai
PhaithonToubria --orith Tonorma Aoche Aschephar Tethou Athaphelami Tateimiata
Eloe (?) Iartar Iartarmorzouche Morzoune Karmane Dacheine Pepertharora Iaia
Acheraira, I give you Tyche, whom Sophia bore, the aforenamed, whose hairs these
                                                            
18
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia,
vol. 54, p. 216, n. 2.
19
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia,
vol. 54, p. 221, n. 6.
 are, rolled up. Yes, mighty Typhon Kolchloi Totolith Seth Basaoth Aea Anoch
Apomps Osesero Apoikailemour-- Ormerpheriarbarmaphriourinx over the blacking
out and chilling of Tyche, whom Sophia bore, whose hairs these are, here rolled up.
Yes, mighty Typhon Chocheilops Iao Iakoubia Ioerbeth Bolchoseth Basoucha Phatha
Thnacha --roserros, let Tyche, whom Sophia bore, whom I have inscribed on the
tablet, grow cold and not walk about. Yes, mighty Typhon --e Bagel --npho- --ri
Sontorneth -- in the well -- of earth and heaven --. Bind, twist -- the strength, the
capacity, -- , the joints, make her lungs disappear -- of the abdomen, (i.e.) of Tyche,
whom Sophia bore. As I have written down these names and they grow cold, so, too,
let the body and the flesh and the muscles and the bones and the members and the
bowels of Tyche, whom Sophia bore, grow cold, that she may no longer rise up, walk
around, talk, move about, but let her remain a corpse, pale, weak, paralyzed, chilled
until I am taken out of the dark air, rather let her grow exhausted and weak until she
dies. Yes, mighty Typhon.20
Unlike the first three examples, this pre-prepared curse included the hair folded up in the
tablet to improve its efficacy. The inclusion of hair from a target was a common element in
magical practice, and remains so today in voodoo practice and general thaumaturgy. The use
of the name of the target and their mother is another attempt to ensure that the curse targets
the correct person. The use of matrilineal descent is deliberate given the ancient proverb, that
one is always certain of one’s mother, but not one’s father. Jordan states that this trend in
curse formation becomes popular in the second century A.D. These curses all refer to the
target growing cold and dark, thus invoking sympathetic magic, as the tablet was deposited
into a cold and dark well. Wells were seen as an entrance into the underworld, and thus had
chthonic associations appropriate for the practice of magic. Like the instructions provided by
the Greek Magical Papyri, these curses invoked numerous deities (and possibly secret, sacred
names), and used magical words and formulas.

There has also been a cache of defixiones recovered during the dig at the Anna Parenna
fountain in the Campus Martius at Rome. This dig discovered deposits of defixiones, coins,
lamps, and containers which all dated to the imperial period. Twenty-two defixiones were
recovered in total, twenty of which were inscribed on lead tablets. Interestingly, some of the
tablets were rolled up and placed inside a lamp as if it were a wick. Unlike the Athenian
                                                            
20
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian Agora,” Hesperia,
vol. 54, p. 253.
agora tablets I included above, some of these defixiones were very simple. One featured only
the name of the target and magic words (“L. Antonius | ANTION TOENT USUNIU O),21
while another included the name of the target (Leontius), a drawing of the entity called upon
to assist in the curse (Abraxas),22 and magic characters (I X N I X – U K E θ θ).23 Others are
more literary and conform to the standard written format:
The sacred and holy (nymphs), through the infernal gods (?) and the messengers, what
I wish and demand from your great virtue: remove, utterly remove the eyes, the right
or the left one, of Sura, who was born from a cursed womb. I wish and demand from
your great virtue it shall happen: take the eyes, the right and the left one, in order the
virtue of Sura the judge may not persist, who was born from a cursed womb.24
In this particular case, the person writing the curse does not know who the target’s mother is,
so instead describes Sura as having been born from a cursed womb. This suggests that the
curse writer was seeking to follow a particular formula and had to adapt it when necessary.

This last curse illustrates how the people who sought to curse their enemies adapted their
practice as necessary. This illustrates once more the fluidity in antiquity between magic and
religion. People were using the same medium to both bind their enemies and request justice
from deities. To try and separate prayer from curse can be very difficult, and likely reflects

                                                            
21
Text One, J. Blansdorf, 2010, “The Texts From The Fons Annae Perennae,” in Gordon and Simon (eds),
2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden, p. 231.

22
Plate 14, Museo Nazionale Romano della Terme,
Dipartimento Epigrafico. Showcase of the Fountain of Anna Perenna: lead container (inv. no. SAR 475558)
with the name Leontius and the Abraxas demon, in Gordon and Simon (eds), 2010, Magical Practice in the
Latin West, Brill: Leiden.
23
Text Two, J. Blansdorf, 2010, “The Texts From The Fons Annae Perennae,” in Gordon and Simon (eds),
2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden, pp. 231-2.
24
Text Seven, J. Blansdorf, 2010, “The Texts From The Fons Annae Perennae,” in Gordon and Simon (eds),
2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden, p. 238.
more upon modern society’s creation of this separate nature; when looking at the bare bones,
it is very difficult to separate a religious miracle from magic. Given how it is difficult to
separate a prayer from a curse, it should come as no surprise that lead tablets which can be
described as both a prayer for justice and a binding curse exist. A bilingual tablet was found
at Fuente de la Mota in Spain:
Side A (Greek)
On behalf of me and on behalf of my house, to those below in Hades [kata ‘Aden] I
give, I hand over Nicias and Time and others whom rightly I have cursed.
Side B (Latin)
On behalf of me, on behalf of my house, those cursed, bound (people) to those
below [inferi], those cursed, bound (people) to those below, Time and Nicias and the
others, (all of) whom rightly I have cursed above, on behalf of me, on behalf of my
family, Time, Nicias, Nicias.25
The author of this curse has stated that they are just in cursing Nicias and Time, but they also
explicitly called upon the spirits of the dead to bind them. The use of two languages might
have been attempt to increase the efficacy of the curse, hoping that if the Greek spirits would
not respond, the Latin spirits would, vice versa or provide a double dose of vengeance.

By looking at the writing on these tablets, it becomes apparent that a variety of supernatural
beings could be called upon to empower a curse. Any deity or being associated with magic,
death, related to the site you deposit the curse, or simply foreign and exotic can be used. In
this presentation so far I have shown examples calling upon Egyptian deities: Osiris, Isis,
Seth; other foreign gods: Gnostic character Abraxas/Abrasax; Jewish references – Iao means
Yahweh; Betpyt, Magna Mater; Graeco-Roman chthonic deities Selene, Demeter, Typhon;
regional deities specifically associated with the site: nymphs, Sulis Minerva; and general
characters: angels, inferi. This variety would have allowed practitioners many opportunities
to personalise their experience, but could also be used to explain why curses were
unsuccessful.

Creating Your Own Curse Tablet

At this point in the workshop I had participants create their own defixio using an aluminium
foil laminate instead of lead owing to the requirements of occupational health and safety
                                                            
25
M. Arbabzadah, 2009, “A Note on the Bilingual Curse Tablet from Bachin del Hoyo (Spain),” ZPE, vol. 169
p. 195.
requirements at The University of Queensland. These defixiones were the personal creation
of the individual, but the following general format was suggested:
• Who you are/ on whose behalf you are cursing – optional.
• Who you want to curse – essential.
• Why you want to curse this individual – optional.
• Which entities you call upon to curse them – essential.
• What you want to happen to them – optional, but seriously, be imaginative.
• Allow an out clause – optional.
I had created a lead defixio at home to illustrate what these might have looked like when first
engraved. I made a video showing how easy it is to engrave lead with a stylus, and how easy
it is to drive a nail through a sheet of lead folded in three. These videos should be available
on my blog Spare a Talent in the post “A Question of Faith”. My curse was written thus:

On behalf of myself and all Australian

students and academic I give, I hand
Christopher Pyne, son of Margaret, and his
associates whom I justly curse, to Thoth,
Iao, Abrasax, Yeshu, Hades and the inferi
of all scholars who died before their time.
Triform Hekate, bind him in unilluminated
air of oblivion. As these names grow cold,
so let Christopher Pyne’s name and breath,
impulse, knowledge and reckoning grow
cold.
Let him and his associates be deaf, dumb,
mindless, having no impulse and unable to
use their voice and hands.

Please note that by inscribing lead sheeting, the author reveals a sparkling silver lower
surface which would have made it appealing to practitioners. Because lead is very pliable,
easy to melt, and changes colour when engraved, it was likely seen as a metal which lent
itself easily to magic because its form was so easily changeable, and magic at its very root is
about changing something through supernatural means.

As for my target, I chose Christopher Pyne, the current Minister of Education within the
Australian Federal Government because he seemed appropriate given the current policy of
tertiary education deregulation which he is currently trying to force through parliament and
this workshop had been prepared for a mostly university student audience. While my choice
was made for the purposes of illustrating what a defixio could have looked like, political
curses are still being performed today. Rumours in Israel blame the deaths of both Ariel
Sharon (stroke) and Yitzhak Rabin (assassination) on Kabbalah “lash of fire curses”.26

Additional Reading
G. W. Adams, 2006, “The Social and Cultural Implications of Curse Tablets [Defixiones] in
Britain and on the Continent,” Studia Humaniora Tartuensia 7, 1-15.
M. Arbabzadah, 2009, “A Note on the Bilingual Curse Tablet from Bachin del Hoyo
(Spain),” ZPE, vol. 169 p. 195.
A. J. Bayliss, 2003, “Curse-Tablets as Evidence: Indentifying the Elusive ‘Peiraikoi
Soldiers,’” ZPE 144, 125-40.
R. L. Gordon and F. M. Simon (eds), 2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden.
D. R. Jordan, 1985 “A Survey of Greek Defixiones Not Included in the Special Corpora”,
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, vol. 26, p. 151.
D. R. Jordan, 1985, “Defixiones From a Well Near the Southwest Corner of the Athenian
Agora” Hesperia 54, 205-55.

                                                            
26
F. M. Simon, 2010, “Execrating the Roman Power: Three Defixiones from Emporiae (Ampurias),” in Gordon
and Simon (eds), 2010, Magical Practice in the Latin West, Brill: Leiden , p. 421.