Close Reading of the Praxis Ritual of the Cat (PGM III 1-164/GEMF 55)
Abstract
This article examines the Ritual of the Cat on Papyrus Mimaut, a complex curse centred on the ritual use of a cat. I argue that the extant version preserves clear traces of editorial reworking, especially in the illustration and invocation to Seth-Typhon on the third lamella and in the second solar prayer. These passages show that the text developed in layers, as a more general curse ritual against enemies was reshaped for a specific anti-charioteer purpose. A close reading of the layout, scribal signs, and the relation between text and image helps to reconstruct this process of recomposition.
Presentato: 07 Dicembre 2025 | Accettato: 12 Maggio 2026 | Pubblicato 08 Ottobre 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords Curse ritual • Compositional layers • Scribal signs • Charioteers • Solar cat • Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri • Seth-figure
Copyright © 2025 Barbara Takács. 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.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/QU/3103-5450/2025/02/001