Magic in the Ancient World

Texts of ritual power

Texts, and their aurally recited counterparts, were often integral parts of magical practice. This clay tablet was inscribed with a series of incantations to treat a type of sickness called sagallu (an unidentified illness). Such tablets could serve as reference handbooks in a library or as a memory aid for a ritual practitioner. To treat sagallu some texts called for the use of animal tendons, lamb wool, and amuletic stones to aid treatment.

Magic "wands"

The apotropaic (Greek for "turning back/warding off") knife was an object common to nurseries of the Middle Kingdom. Carved from a hippopotamus tusk, the ivory knives are engraved with a series of knife-wielding figures including the goddess of childbirth, Taweret, and the vulture goddess Nekhbet. Though often described as "wands," the pieces are counterparts to the knives held by the deities depicted upon them. Inscribed examples state that the divine figures provide "protection by day and protection by night." By both their material and decoration, the knives are closely associated with the hippopotamus Taweret, and thus with the protection of mothers and newborn children. Signs of ancient wear suggest that they may have been used to draw protective circles in the sandy floor around a child's bed.

Warding off demons

In ancient Egypt small clay bricks were placed along the walls of the burial chamber to ward off demonic forces approaching from north, south, east, and west. This magic brick derives from the tomb of Tuthmosis III, whose name is found in the cartouche in the last line. White hieratic text contains part of the ritual instructions to place the brick on the eastern wall facing west. Feet remain from an Anubis jackal who served watch and repelled the "striking power of the angry one" mentioned in the text.

Textual amulets

This papyrus was inscribed in the hieratic script with a decree delivered by the oracle of the goddess Nekhbet on behalf of a lady named Taibakhori. In the text Nekhbet promises to keep Taibakhori safe from all manners of danger, including the malevolent intentions of ghosts, demons, and evil magic. Taibakhori would likely have worn this amuletic papyrus around her neck in a small container. New research by Terry Wilfong comparing these papyri to Ethiopic magic scrolls suggests that the very thin and long layout was used to match the length of the scroll to the height of the owner.

Preventative magic

In addition to healing magic, clients often sought out a specialist for protective spells. In this Coptic text written on paper a woman named Touaen invoked the "binding of Jesus Christ" to bind the "male organ" of a man named Pharaouo and cause him impotence. By doing so, Taouaen hoped to prevent Pharaouo from having intercourse with her by magical means.

Driving out pests

Magical practices would have been a part of everyday life in the ancient world. In fact, there was little to no distinction in remote antiquity between magical and practical remedies. Any available means were used. In this Book of the Dead papyrus, we see the owner Nesshutefnut symbolically dispatching a variety of noxious or aggressive creatures: crocodiles, snakes, and bugs. Nesshutefnut took this papyrus with him to the grave where the papyrus would aid his transition to the afterlife. However, it is likely that these spells had their origins in the household where the nuisance of pest infestations were very real and required diligent efforts to remedy and prevent.

Calling on the gods and the dead

As other objects in this exhibition have demonstrated, ancient people routinely called on the gods for protection and cures. In ancient Egypt, relatives who passed away became powerful spirits in the company of the gods. They could be called on to intercede on behalf of a petitioner. This jar stand has a letter written by man to his deceased relatives asking them to prevent him from being harmed by any affliction. He would have sweetened his request by placing a dish of offerings on top of this jar stand in the tomb chapel for the dead.