A Greek defixio from Morgantina

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DC Field	Value
dc.identifier	ECF_article_7110
dc.title	A Greek defixio from Morgantina
dc.contributor.author	Rivoli Matteo
dc.publisher	Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing, Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari
dc.type	Research Article
dc.language.iso	it
dc.identifier.uri	http://edizionicafoscari.it/en/edizioni4/riviste/axon/2021/2/una-defixio-greca-da-morgantina/
dc.description.abstract	The inscription, dated to the I century BC, comes from a votive pit in the sanctuary of the chthonic deities of Morgantina (Sicily), where it was discovered with other nine similar documents in 1962, during the excavations conducted by Princeton University. Scratched on a thin sheet of lead once rolled up, the inscriptions is likely a curse against the slave Venusta, who is also addressed to in other similar documents. Since the text avoids the use of strong and violent expressions common to many defixiones, some scholars have suggested that it could rather be a positive invocation aimed at facilitating the entry of the deceased in the afterlife. However, the archaeological context, as well as the comparison with a recently found inscription, prompts to confirm the malevolent nature of the spell.
dc.relation.ispartof	Axon
dc.relation.ispartof	Vol. 5 \| Issue 2 \| December 2021
dc.issued	2021-12-10
dc.dateAccepted	2021-10-27
dc.dateSubmitted	2021-08-05
dc.identifier.issn
dc.identifier.eissn	2532-6848
dc.rights	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.identifier.doi	10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2021/02/006
dc.peer-review	yes
dc.subject	Defixio
dc.subject	Defixio
dc.subject	Greek curse tablet
dc.subject	Greek curse tablet
dc.subject	Katadesmos
dc.subject	Katadesmos
dc.subject	Lead lamina
dc.subject	Lead lamina
dc.subject	Morgantina (Sicily)
dc.subject	Morgantina (Sicily)

Research Article
open access peer reviewed

A Greek defixio from Morgantina

Matteo Rivoli Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italia

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abstract

The inscription, dated to the I century BC, comes from a votive pit in the sanctuary of the chthonic deities of Morgantina (Sicily), where it was discovered with other nine similar documents in 1962, during the excavations conducted by Princeton University. Scratched on a thin sheet of lead once rolled up, the inscriptions is likely a curse against the slave Venusta, who is also addressed to in other similar documents. Since the text avoids the use of strong and violent expressions common to many defixiones, some scholars have suggested that it could rather be a positive invocation aimed at facilitating the entry of the deceased in the afterlife. However, the archaeological context, as well as the comparison with a recently found inscription, prompts to confirm the malevolent nature of the spell.

Published

Dec. 10, 2021

Accepted

Oct. 27, 2021

Submitted

Aug. 5, 2021

Language

Keywords: Morgantina (Sicily) • Lead lamina • Defixio • Greek curse tablet • Katadesmos

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2021/02/006

Copyright: © 2021 Matteo Rivoli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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