An Analysis of PGM IV.2891-2942 from the Greek Magical Papyri: Love Spell of Attraction to Aphrodite
Introduction
This essay will analyse a spell from the Greek Magical Papyri,[1] (abbreviated PGM for Papyri Graecae Magicae) which are a collection of texts of varying origins that contain magical spells along with a combination ‘of formulae, hymns and rituals.’[2] The spell PGM IV.2891-2942, Love spell of attraction,[3] has been chosen for analysis of its magical and divinatory concepts and practices. This spell falls within the category of erotic magic, which are magical workings intended to manoeuvre the romantic and sexual behaviour of another.[4] A historical overview of the PGM will first be presented, in order to understand the spell within the broader context of ancient texts. Additionally, key methodological issues in understanding and interpretation of the PGM will also be explored, including the issue of missing papyri due to prevalent book burning in antiquity, and the unconscious attitude biases that impact interpretation of ancient magical practices and of historic and modern scholarly investigation. The spell will then be analysed in terms of its procedural aspects in relation to common erotic magical practices in antiquity, with a focus on the interrelationship of gender portrayal, sexual violence, and power found within erotic magic and within the love spell in question. Finally, this intersection of erotic magic and power will be placed within a larger social and cultural context, in order to ascertain deeper influences impacting personal ritual behaviour and general erotic magical intent.
A Historical Overview of the PGM
The PGM texts are roughly dated between the second century B.C. and the fifth century A.D, however the extant spells are merely a surviving fraction of what once existed, due to the rampant destruction of magical texts throughout antiquity.[5] This destruction of magical materials is a key methodological issue that will be discussed in further detail later in this essay. The remaining papyri have a wide range of differing origins, spanning a blend of diverse religions, with Egyptian, Greek and Jewish being some of the most prominently featured.[6] The texts are also written in three languages: Greek, Demotic and Coptic,[7] with the Demotic texts representing a newly translated addition in Betz’s version that were missing from previous translations.[8] In terms of definitions of Demotic and Coptic, Johnson states that Demotic represents a particular ‘stage’ in the Egyptian language, and Old Coptic is defined as the ‘Egyptian language written with the Greek alphabet.’[9] The inclusion of the previously omitted Demotic texts has expanded understanding and deepened exploration of the PGM,[10] however it has also led to new questions concerning this curious mixture of origins.[11]
Methodological Issues in Interpreting the PGM
There are many mysteries still surrounding the texts, such as the presence of Greek papyri of earlier origin finding their way into Egypt and additional mysteries surrounding the origins of Jewish magical practices within the Greek texts.[12] Furthermore, Lidonnici raises the interesting issue of relativity of time and space in regard to the usage of the texts, and questions whether the ‘long tradition’[13] represented in the papyri can reliably convey how the papyri were actually used by individuals separated by vast distances in space and time.[14] She also enumerates several lingering questions related to the time period in which the papyri were largely made.[15] For example, she speculates whether documents largely made in the third and fourth centuries C.E. display a generalized interest in magical texts during this time, or whether a concentration of texts throughout this period merely reflects the specialised interest of a certain individual or of a smaller group of collectors.[16] In relation to the latter, there is evidence that a large majority of the papyri belonged to one library,[17] and Lidonnici herself notes evidence that two different manuscripts were composed by the same scribe,[18] whilst Johnson specifies that all four texts of the Demotic papyri were written by one bilingual scribe.[19] Despite the widely differing origins and the interrelationship of several languages within the papyri, Nock describes the PGM as ‘possessing substantive uniformity,’[20] and Betz similarly characterizes the PGM as having an overarching ‘Hellenistic outlook’[21] throughout.
This uniformity described by Nock and Betz is indicative of a larger syncretism present within the PGM, which allowed for differing religions and cultural influences to combine into a relatively coherent whole.[22] As Betz states, this syncretism is not simply a pasting together of disparate parts, but instead represents a ‘new religion altogether, displaying unified religious attitudes and beliefs,’[23] and accounts for the Hellenization of Egyptian religious influences and the Egyptianizing of the Greek traditions.[24] As representative of this syncretism, Riess notes the Egyptian influence of matrilineal components of certain spells that identify individuals via their mother, and this custom runs counter to traditional Greek patrilineal methods of identification.[25] Additionally, Betz discusses the outsize influence of underworld deities within the PGM, and describes these deities as being ruthlessly ‘exploited’ throughout the texts,[26] and Johnson also remarks how the repeated threats to deities represent Egyptian influence and are not found within classical Greece.[27] In support of this argument, although Nock asserts that Neoplatonists such as Iamblichus were aware of the texts,[28] the notion of threatening deities is entirely against the tenets of theurgy and contradicts Iamblichus’ insistence that the gods were supreme.[29]
The Burning of Magical Texts
Returning now to the previously mentioned destruction of magical texts, the Biblical book of Acts details a large-scale, public burning of magical scrolls, and Betz also recounts the burning of 2,000 scrolls by the decree of Augustus in 13 B.C.[30] Numerous texts were also destroyed during the rule of Diocletian,[31] followed by a banning of texts during the rule of Constantine that continued into the Middle Ages.[32] Herrin enumerates that burning was the main mode of disposal because fire was deemed to have a purifying quality and because its effects were completely irreversible.[33] The obvious irreparability of incinerated books has left a permanent mark in the historical record, and the related punishment of magical practitioners forced both the practitioners and the surviving literature to go into hiding.[34] The missing magical texts present a distorted picture of magical practices and render a more accurate understanding of ancient practices impossible. As Betz states: ‘Modern views of Greek and Roman religions have long suffered from certain deformities because they were unconsciously shaped by the only remaining sources.’[35] Adding to Betz’s recognition of unconscious biases, it can be argued that both his own denigrating attitude towards magic and the reported male-only scholarship in the long history of the papyri are two additional biases to take note of, and these biases will be explored in more detail in the next section.
Historical Attitude Biases and the PGM
Another methodological issue that is evident within the introduction to Betz’s translation is the complete exclusion of female scholarship and contribution to previous work on the papyri leading up to his edition. A comprehensive list of ‘great scholars’ are identified encompassing a long history of translations, displaying an exclusively male authorship, with no mention of the absence of female participation and no acknowledgment of how this void may have skewed perceptions and interpretations of the texts.[36] The historic preclusion of women within academia has obviously changed in modern times, however, entrenched attitudes still curtail female scholastic success,[37] and it can be argued that the feminine is still suppressed symbolically through the derisive exclusion of what is deemed emotional or subjective,[38] in favour of a one-sided, Apollonian ‘mode of thought’[39] preferencing literality and distanced objectivity,[40] which keeps the feminine subjugated into a position of symbolical inferiority and perpetuates biased ideology that some scholars have argued defies objective reality.[41] It seems that ideology fundamentally based on omission can never be representative of objective truth,[42] and for ontologically linked reasons[43] the same bias presents itself within the PGM texts, creating methodological issues in interpretation up until the present day. For example, the precedence of the male perspective is even seen within the papyri themselves, with most erotic spells written using the male gender as the agent, despite the probability that both women and men were equally likely to act as agent in the performance of the spells.[44] This methodological issue of gender bias within the spells will be discussed in more detail later in this essay.
Furthermore, Betz recounts the nineteenth century Alexandrian diplomat Jean d’Anastasi acquisition of numerous volumes of papyri, which were found in Egypt and presumed to be from a single tomb or library, potentially of one individual in Thebes.[45] Betz hypothesized that this Theban collector amassed the texts ‘for his own use,’ and additionally fancied that he may have been ‘more than a magician,’ imagining him instead as a potential ‘scholar,’ ‘philosophically inclined,’ or a ‘bibliophile and archivist’ aiming to preserve the papyri.[46] Betz’s seemingly subtle denigration of the practice of magic is subsequently declared outright in the close of his introduction, where he decisively proclaims that magic ‘is all deception,’ and also proposes a symbiotic relationship between magician and client, where they collude in being the deceiver and the deceived respectively, and the opportunistic magician profits off of this delusional exchange.[47] Despite Betz’s own observation of an ‘unbroken’ chain of magic throughout the whole of history, with an evidential staying power surpassing that of certain religions, and technological, scientific and medical innovations, his tone of lamentation at the irrepressibility of magic is clear, as is his sweeping reduction of magic down to mere trickery and exploitation.[48] As will be discussed later, these attitude biases towards magic and women pose issues in interpretation and understanding of ancient practices. However, with these methodological issues in mind, this essay will now proceed to analyse PGM IV.2891-2942 in terms of its magical and divinatory concepts and practices.
An Analysis of PGM IV. 2891-2942, Love spell of attraction
Aphrodite is the goddess with whom most of the magical actions are concerned. For it is undoubtedly true that love, and its joys and woes, fills the greatest part of the books with which we are dealing.[49]
Moving on now to the analysis of PGM IV. 2891-2942, Love spell of attraction,[50] the spell belongs to the PGM IV formulary which has also been termed the ‘Great Magical Papyrus of Paris,’ and is a codex primarily comprised of fourth century texts spanning a broad range of composite materials that also display certain thematic links throughout.[51] The erotic spell under investigation, PGM IV.2891-2942, has numerous components which will be individually explored, including a burnt offering to Aphrodite, a Hymn of Compulsion, voces magicae, a compulsion rite to be used if the initial spell fails, and a corresponding protective charm to employ if the compulsive working is used.[52] Erotic magic is of prime importance within the Greek Magical Papyri,[53] and was also of preeminent importance to witches in ancient literature.[54] Of the erotic spells, attractions spells comprise the most popular form of love magic, followed in prevalence by erotic charms and binding spells respectively.[55] The spell in question falls into this most popular categorization of attraction spells, which have the intended aim of drawing a love target to the agent by process of magical force.[56]
Procedural Aspects of PGM IV.2891-2942
Regarding the procedural aspects of PGM IV.2891-2942, the spell begins with an ‘Offering to the star of Aphrodite,’[57] which is instructed to be comprised of ‘white dove’s blood and fat, untreated myrrh and parched wormwood.’[58] Betz notes that the ‘star of Aphrodite’ is referring to the planet Venus,[59] which was in earlier times associated with the love and fertility goddess Ishtar of Assyro-Babylonian origin.[60] This common practice of using planetary and physical objects associated with the deity in order to enhance connection to the divine can also be seen in the use of symbols and talismans for ritual practice in Neoplatonic theurgy.[61] As Sumler states: ‘In the spell there is a sympathetic correspondence between the gods and goddesses, the types of incense and flowers, and the stars in heaven.’[62] In this particular spell to Aphrodite, the use of the blood and fat of a dove is presumably called for because the dove was commonly associated with Aphrodite[63] and was considered sacred both to her and to her pre-Greek love goddess predecessors.[64] Additionally, myrrh is connected mythically to Aphrodite’s lover Adonis, whose mother Myrrha was transformed into a myrrh tree whilst pregnant with him.[65] There is also an interesting connection between the ingredient myrrh, which was commonly used in lamp divination spells,[66] and the final line of PGM IV.2891-2942, which compares the star of Aphrodite to ‘the flame of a lamp’ as a divinatory indication of success in performing the spell. As mentioned earlier, the act of burning was believed to have a purifying quality,[67] and the use of a sacrificial victim connected to the divinity relegated sacrality to the sacrificial act.[68] This use of the dove and of myrrh as an offering to Aphrodite is typical of sympathetic correspondences used to enhance the effectiveness of a spell and to entice willing participation of the deity through the ritual inclusion of items that are symbolically meaningful to them.[69]
Voces Magicae in PGM IV.2891-2942
Within the spell, there are two compulsions designed to elicit divine intervention from Aphrodite, one hymn delivered in an appeasing tone, and another compulsive rite that is significantly aggressive, containing threats to Aphrodite if she fails to act on behalf of the agent. The threatening compulsive rite will be examined in more detail in the next section. Both compulsions within this spell include voces magicae, which Nock defines as ‘meaningless combinations of letters,’ combined with vowels and with names derived from Egyptian divinities, Coptic, Babylonian, Assyrian, Jewish, and Greek, amongst others.[70] These seemingly incomprehensible utterances achieved a two-fold aim, by rendering spells ungraspable to the common people and by elevating communication with the divine above that of everyday prayer.[71] Edmonds notes an overlap in the voces magicae used in erotic magic and in curses,[72] displaying a versatility to the phrases which seemingly transcends strict categorizations. The following voces magicae can be found within the two compulsion rites of PGM IV.2891-2942:
ARRORIPHRASI GOTHETINI, Cyprus-born, SOUI ES THNOBOKHOU THORITHE STHENEPIO LADY SERTHENEBE’EI
NOUMILLON BIOMBILLON AKTIOPHI ERESCHIGAL NEBOUTOSOUALETH PHROUREXIA THERMIDOKHE BAREO NE
The name of the goddess Ereschigal, the Babylonian Queen of the Underworld,[73] is included in the voces magicae, perhaps related to Persephone[74] and the previously mentioned myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. Also, the root bar- is seen in the voces magicae BAREO and additionally appears in the word BARZA within the Hymn of Compulsion, and apparently this root was commonly used within the traditions of Mediterranean magic and was also subsequently borrowed by Gnostic practitioners.[75] Betz states that BARZA means ‘shining light,’[76] which also relates to the final lines of the spell that describe a ‘star shining steadily,’ as a divinatory indication that the love target has been ‘smitten.’[77] The seemingly unintelligible string of words are not without significance, and Rohrbacher-Sticker describes how their ‘hidden, secret meaning’ is actually the key to their importance, as are their origins in the divine.[78] As can be seen, magical practices were meant to be kept hidden from the uninitiated,[79] and it seems the inclusion of voces magicae successfully veiled magical secrets to the extent that they still confound attempts at interpretation by modern scholars today.[80]
Magical Threats and The Compulsive Rite of PGM IV.2891-2942
As previously mentioned, it was common for spells to have two components: an initial appeasing compulsion and a subsequent threatening rite. Within the initial compulsion, the typical form included an invocation to the deity and a rationale for why the deity should grant the agent’s request, followed by the request itself.[81] The Hymn of Compulsion within PGM IV.2891-2942 accords with this general template, as does the presence of a threatening compulsive rite to be used if the initial supplicating rite failed. This two-step process reveals a common concern in magical practices, namely that the spell would fail, or that the invoked deity would be slow or unwilling to participate in the rite altogether.[82] Within the compulsion rite of PGM IV.2891-2942, the following threats can be observed to Aphrodite:
But, if as goddess you in slowness act,
You will not see Adonis rise from Hades,
Straightaway I’ll run and bind him with steel chains,
As guard, I’ll bind on him another wheel
Of Ixion, no longer will he come
As can be seen, the agent demands Aphrodite’s speedy participation and levies the threat to withhold her lover Adonis from her if she fails to respond quickly. Additionally, Betz notes the popularity of the myth of Ixion in antiquity,[83] and this compulsion threatens to exact the same suffering on Adonis by binding him indefinitely to a wheel in the underworld. Considering Ixion’s punishment was divinely inflicted, the agent presumably identifies with the gods in terms of power and capabilities. Whilst threats to deities would be incomprehensible in theurgic ritual,[84] they are commonplace in magic,[85] and it can be argued that these threats are indicative of the ‘volitional nature’ of the practice of magic as a whole.[86] The compulsive rite also calls for protection from Aphrodite’s wrath in the form of a protective charm made of the ‘tooth from the upper right jawbone of a female ass or a tawny sacrificial heifer, tied to your left arm with / Anubian thread.’[87] Regarding the Anubian thread, Betz remarks that its exact meaning is unclear, however this ingredient may have links to mumification threads named after the god Anubis.[88] It is possible that the jaw of an ass is used as protection against the love goddess due to the symbolic connection between equines and lust and passion,[89] and to hippomanes, which were a common ingredient in love potions.[90] It appears sympathetic correspondences were used in this spell both to entice Aphrodite’s participation and to protect against her retaliation.
Gender Significance in Erotic Magic and in PGM IV.2891-2942
In terms of gender presentment within erotic magic, there is a discrepancy between the PGM magical spells which overwhelmingly display men using love magic to lure women, and the depiction of witches in literature as primarily female.[91] Dickie proposes that this disproportionate portrayal of men as agents in the PGM erotic spells could be due to ‘the precedence accorded the masculine grammatical gender in Greek,’[92] and in the use of ‘model-spells,’ which were written as a general template with a male as the agent,[93] but in practice were adjusted by scribes and personalised to the needs of their individual clients, who may have been either female or male.[94] Relatedly, Edmond argues that the inverted precedence of the female erotic magical practitioner in literature may have been used primarily to display a notion ‘otherness’ or ‘abnormality,’ qualities that are congruent with magical practices themselves being something extraordinary and different from the profane.[95] As Edmonds proposes, this literary depiction of witches as predominantly female illustrates divergency, both in gender deviation from the Greek ideal masculine norm, and in the fact that witches were women not under the guardianship of men, with sexual freedom liberated from the male control that was common in antiquity.[96] This interesting interrelationship between guardianship and erotic magic will be discussed in more detail later in this essay.
As can be seen in PGM IV.2891-2942, the spell is written with a female as the target, which presumably casts the agent as male, though the previously mentioned possibility of a male ‘model-spell’ should be considered, along with the potentiality that the spell may have been used for female-male, female-female, or male-male love magic.[97] In this spell, there is congruence between three separate lines in the Hymn of Compulsion using female pronouns to describe the target, and in the final lines of the spell describing two potential divinatory indications of a successful magical rite (italics added):
Lady…inflict fiery love on her, NN, whom NN bore
So that for me, NN, whom NN bore,
She melt with love through all the days to come...
wherefore attract to me, her, NN, whom NN bore…
If you see the star shining steadily, it is a sign that she has been smitten, and if it is
lengthened like the flame of a lamp, she has already come.[98]
As Dickie notes, congruence of pronouns throughout the entirety of a spell is not universal within the PGM, and in the same formulary of PGM IV, he highlights two separate spells in which the gender pronouns change during different components of the spells.[99] Also noteworthy is the use of the mother to identify the target, which deviates from Greek patrilineal custom and aligns instead with common Egyptian practice.[100] Regarding methodological issues related to gender within the spell, it is relevant to consider that women were typically under guardianship in antiquity, and this unavailability apparently heightened their probability of being targeted by erotic magic.[101] This practice of guardianship and force in relation to erotic magical practices and PGM IV.2891-2942 will be explored in more detail in the next section.
The Interrelationship of Power Dynamics and Erotic Magical Practices in PGM IV.2891-2942
In examination of the relationship between guardianship and erotic magic, Frankfurter describes how erotic spells were usually enlisted in order to ‘disentangle’ the beloved from a rigidly controlling family dynamic,[102] and Edmonds proposes that the love target’s inaccessibility due to family and social restrictions was directly proportionate to their romantic desirability.[103] Interestingly, the term love magic has actually been criticised as a ‘misnomer,’ due to the fact that erotic spells typically included elements of ‘compulsion’ and even ‘sexual violence’ towards the beloved.[104] As Ogden describes, a typical erotic spell depicts a scenario in which the love target is either profoundly disturbed in sleep, or physically dragged by a superhuman intermediary in a frenzied and delirious state to the agent’s door.[105] This seemingly incongruent magical infliction of torment on the beloved can be seen within the spell under investigation. For example, in the compulsion element of PGM IV.2891-2942, the following is stated:
Attract
NN, whom NN bore, to come with rapid step
To my door, me, NN, whom NN bore,
And to the bed of love, driven by frenzy,
In anguish from the forceful goads – today,
At once, quickly.[106]
This desired affliction of ‘anguish,’ ‘frenzy,’ and ‘forceful goads’ on the beloved depicts the magical target as victimized and lacking agency within the magical rite. There is also a repeated, seemingly impatient call by the agent for haste within the spell, which is further mirrored in the opening lines of the compulsion rite that brazenly threaten repercussions to Aphrodite if she dares to act ‘in slowness.’[107] The predominance of power dynamics within this spell and within erotic magic as a whole, along with invoked violence seemingly unconcerned with the wellbeing of the beloved, calls into question the conception of love as a motivating force, considering that power and love have been described as mutually exclusive energies.[108] One can also argue a power dynamic at work within the very structure of the erotic spell, with the pattern of supplication followed by swift aggression, displaying an underlying egoistic motivation in the supplicating rite, rather than a genuine expression of divine love. Dickie also recounts how erotic magic was sometimes employed for purposes of social advancement by means of ‘a good marriage,’ or to simply ‘enjoy the sexual favours’ of the maiden of choice, whose desirability was based predominantly on inaccessibility rather than on inherent qualities,[109] again revealing an egoistic incentive that seems to preclude genuine love.
However, Eidinow argues that the target in magic may have been deliberately misrepresented as a helpless victim, and proposes this literary misrepresentation was a ‘rhetorical device’ used to uphold existing social and relational power dynamics.[110] Eidinow states:
As this suggests, the generation of the role of the victim was a ritualized act; it organized the local social world and was, in turn, organized by that local social world…it both drew on relationships of power and helped to generate them.’[111]
This statement places the magician and target in a larger social and cultural dynamic based on power, a dynamic that can also be seen in the guardianship of human women as property. Therefore, it seems erotic magic was also a way to break through fettered, societal norms to achieve one’s personal romantic aims by force. As Moretti states: ‘magic is an intellectual invention to identify actions, people or concepts that do not fit within the boundaries of a specific society.’[112] It is interesting to speculate that the historic denigration of magic and of magical practitioners, a disparaging attitude even upheld by the translator of the present edition of the PGM,[113] seems to project the inferiority solely onto the maverick or trickster character who attempts to use force to break through societal restrictions, and leaves blameless the rigid cultural constructs and power dynamics themselves that dominate the collective by force and control. As Moretti alludes to, it appears obedience and submission to strict norms are the only culturally sanctified route, and it can be argued that the rule-breaking magician has been cast as a cultural scapegoat. It can also be postulated that the largely controlled, disempowered masses, and the entrenched cultural divisiveness predicated on one gender artificially elevated via the forced suppression of the other, perpetuates a hierarchical power dynamic endemic within society. Therefore, the use of magical force seems an inevitable countermovement, with the necessity of restoring inner authority back to the individual and of rebalancing constrained participation in the power driven, exploitive and hubristically contrived construct known as patriarchal civilization. The question remains whether it is even possible for humans to know what love is within the harsh confines of a power-driven society, hence the unsurprising conflation of power and love woven throughout this love spell and throughout ancient erotic magical practices as a whole.
Conclusion
This essay has examined the erotic spell PGM IV.2891-2942, Love spell of attraction,[114] in terms of its magical and divinatory aspects. An initial historic overview of the PGM was presented, with specific methodological issues subsequently examined. Several lingering mysteries surrounding the texts were detailed, along with a discussion of the continued difficulties in interpretation and understanding of the texts due to vastly missing amounts of papyri, which is an irreplaceable loss that permanently misshapes modern understanding. Entrenched attitude biases surrounding the texts were investigated, and Betz’s own denigratory attitude towards magicians was later linked to skewed cultural attitudes surrounding magical practices as a whole. The historic lack of female contribution to the papyri was highlighted, and this historic exclusion of the feminine perspective both within academia and within ideology that denigrates and omits the feminine symbolically, was subsequently related to modern attitudes still pervading academic scholarship and was additionally connected to gender confusion within the texts that also create methodological challenges in interpretation.
With these challenges in mind, PGM IV.2891-2942 was then analysed, beginning with an examination of its procedural aspects, including a breakdown of the ingredients used in the burnt offering to Aphrodite. The role of sympathetic correspondences in magical practice was discussed, followed by a brief exploration of the voces magicae found within PGM IV.2891-2942, including a consideration of the overall function of voces magicae in ritual practices as aiding magical secrecy and communication with the divine. Next, the threatening compulsive rite of PGM IV.2891-2942 was analysed in terms of common erotic magical practices, and the sympathetic correspondences found within the protective charm were also noted for their potential symbolic connection to Aphrodite. Following this, gender depiction within the spell and within erotic magic was explored and was compared to depictions of gender in literary magic in terms of corresponding symbolical implications. An examination of the interrelationship of power dynamics and love within erotic magic was also considered, and the incongruent use of sexual violence and power in relation to love spells was identified. Potential egoistic motivations were also demonstrated within the spell and within erotic magical practices, both towards the intended love targets and towards the invoked deities. The historic denigration of magical practitioners was then revisited and the pervading cultural influences surrounding the use of erotic magic were highlighted. Lastly, it was suggested that the power dynamics embedded within erotic magical practices may have been symptomatic of larger, power-based social and cultural dysfunction, rather than simply a moral failing on the part of the magical practitioner, resulting in culturally conditioned attitudes that potentially relegated the magician to the role of cultural scapegoat and pervaded love magic with the inevitable taint of power.
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Footnotes [1] The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation: Including The Demotic Spells (Subsequent Citations Abbreviated PGM), Edited by Hans Dieter Betz, 2nd edn. (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1992) [2] Hans Dieter Betz, ‘Introduction To The Greek Magical Papyri’, in The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation: Including The Demotic Spells, 2nd edn. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), p. xli. [3] PGM IV.2891-2942 [4] Matthew W. Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love-Magic In Classical Antiquity And In The Late Roman World?’, The Classical Quarterly, 50.2 (2000), 563-583, p. 565. [5] Betz, p. xli. [6] Ibid. p. xlv. [7] Ibid. p. xlv. [8] Ibid. p. xlv. [9] Janet H. Johnson, ‘Introduction To The Demotic Magical Papyri’, in The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation: Including The Demotic Spells, 2nd edn. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), p. lv. [10] Johnson, p. lv. [11] Betz, p. xlv. [12] Ibid. p. xlv. [13] Lynn R. Lidonnici, ‘Compositional Patterns In PGM IV’, The Bulletin Of The American Society Of Papyrologists, 40.1 (2003), 141-178 (p. 141). [14] Lidonnici, ‘Compositional Patterns’, p. 142. [15] Ibid. p. 141. [16] Ibid. p. 141. [17] A. D. Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, The Journal Of Egyptian Archaeology, 15.3 (1929), 219-235 (p. 220). [18] Lidonnici, ‘Compositional Patterns’, p. 143. [19] Johnson, p. lvii. [20] Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, p. 219. [21] Betz, p. xlvi. [22] Ibid. p. xlv. [23] Ibid. p. xlvi. [24] Ibid. p. xlvi. [25] Ernst Riess, ‘The Magical Papyri, A Source For Our Knowledge Of Ancient Life. In III Parts-Part II’, The New York Latin Leaflet, 5.108 (1904), 1-3 (p. 2). [26] Betz, pp. xlvi-xlvii. [27] Johnson, p. lvii. [28] Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, p. 222. [29] Iamblichus, On The Mysteries (Subsequent Citations Abbreviated DM), Translation, Introduction and Notes by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon and Jackson P. Hershbell (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003), III, 20, p. 171. [30] Betz, p. xli. [31] Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, p. 219. [32] Alan Sumler, ‘Ingesting Magic: Ingredients And Ecstatic Outcomes In The Greek And Demotic Magical Papyri’, Arion: A Journal Of Humanities And The Classics, 25.1 (2017), 99-126 (pp. 99-100). [33] Judith Herrin, Margins And Metropolis: Authority Across The Byzantine Empire, (Princeton University Press, 2013), p. 337. [34] Betz, p. xli. [35] Ibid. p. xli. [36] Ibid. pp. xliii-xliv. [37] Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Samantha Lange, and Holly Brus, ‘Gender Citation Patterns In International Relations Journals’, International Studies Perspectives, 14.4 (2013), 485-492 (p. 485). [38] Val Plumwood, ‘Gender, Eco-Feminism And The Environment’, in Controversies In Environmental Sociology, ed. by Rob White (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 43-60 (p. 44). [39] Ginette Paris, ‘Pagan Meditations: The Worlds Of Aphrodite, Artemis, And Hestia’, 3rd edn. (Connecticut: Spring Publications, 2017), p. 29. [40] Ginette Paris, ‘Pagan Grace: Dionysos, Hermes, And Goddess Memory In Daily Life’, 3rd edn. (Connecticut: Spring Publications, 2018), p. 80. [41] Patrick Curry, Ecological Ethics: An Introduction, 2nd edn. (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2012), p. 13. [42] Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teachings Of Plants, (UK: Penguin Books, 2020), p. 49. [43] Plumwood, ‘Gender, Eco-Feminism’, p. 45. [44] Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love-Magic’, pp. 556-557. [45] Betz, p. xlii. [46] Ibid. p. xlii. [47] Ibid. p. xlviii. [48] Ibid. p. xlviii. [49] Riess, ‘The Magical Papyri’, p. 2. [50] PGM IV.2891-2942. [51]Lidonnici, ‘Compositional Patterns’, pp. 144-145. [52] PGM IV.2891-2942. [53] Daniel Ogden, Magic, Witchcraft, And Ghosts In The Greek And Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press: 2009), p. 227. [54] Ogden, Magic, Witchcraft, And Ghosts, p. 227. [55] Luke Aaron Ralph Evans, Recipes For Love: A Semiotic Analysis Of The Tools In The Erotic Magical Papyri, (Durham Thesis, Durham University, 2016), < http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11454/> [accessed 13 April 2022]. [56] Evans, Recipes For Love, p. 34. [57] PGM IV.2891-2942. [58] PGM IV.2891-2942. [59] Betz, ‘Footnotes’, 360, p. 92. [60] Maryse Waegeman, ‘ΑΡΩΡΙΦΡΑΣΙΣ. Aphrodite’s Magical Name’, L'Antiquité Classique, 61 (1992), 237-242 (p. 241). [61] Crystal Addey, Divination And Theurgy In Neoplatonism: Oracles Of The Gods, (Abingdon: Ashgate Publishing, 2014), p. 30. [62] Sumler, ‘Ingesting Magic’, p. 104. [63] Wendy A. Cheshire, ‘Aphrodite Cleopatra’, Journal Of The American Research Center In Egypt, 43 (2007), 151-191 (p. 161). [64] William N. Bates, ‘Aphrodite’s Doves At Paphos In 1932’, The American Journal Of Philology, 53.3 (1932), 260-261 (p. 260). [65] Ovid, ‘Book Ten’, Metamorphoses: The New, Annotated Edition, Translated by Rolfe Humphries, Annotated by J. D. Reed (Indiana University Press, 2018), pp. 234–58 (p. 250). [66] Sumler, ‘Ingesting Magic’, p. 120. [67] Herrin, Margins And Metropolis, p. 337. [68] Brian K. Smith and Wendy Doniger, ‘Sacrifice And Substitution: Ritual Mystification And Mythical Demystification’, Numen, 36.2 (1989), 189-224 (p. 194). [69] Joachim Friedrich Quack, ‘Postulated And Real Efficacy In Late Antique Divination Rituals’, Journal Of Ritual Studies, 24.1 (2010), 45-60 (p. 49). [70] Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, p. 229. [71] Waegeman, ‘ΑΡΩΡΙΦΡΑΣΙΣ’, p. 237. [72] Radcliffe G. Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon: Magic In The Ancient Greco-Roman World, (Princeton University Press: 2019), p. 110. [73] Betty De Shong Meador, Inanna Lady Of The Largest Heart: Poems Of The Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna, (University of Texas Press, 2000), p. 17. [74] Betz, p. xlvi. [75] Howard M. Jackson, ‘The Origin In Ancient Incantatory “Voces Magicae” Of Some Names In The Sethian Gnostic System’, Vigiliae Christianae, 43.1 (1989), 69-79 (p. 74). [76] Betz, ‘Footnotes’, 368, p. 93. [77] PGM IV.2891-2942 [78] Claudia Rohrbacker-Sticker, ‘From Sense To Nonsense: From Incantation Prayer To Magical Spell’, Jewish Studies Quarterly, 3.1 (1996), 24-46 (p.24). [79] Evans, Recipes For Love, p. 41. [80] Waegeman, ‘ΑΡΩΡΙΦΡΑΣΙΣ’, p. 237. [81] Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon, p. 155. [82] Quack, ‘Postulated And Real Efficacy’, p. 48. [83] Betz, ‘Footnotes’, 364, p. 93. [84] Iamblichus, DM, III, 20, p. 171. [85] Nock, ‘Greek Magical Papyri’, p. 226. [86] Derek Collins, ‘Nature, Cause, And Agency In Greek Magic’, Transactions Of The American Philological Association, 133.1 (2003), 17-49 (p. 35). [87] PGM IV.2891-2942 [88] Betz, ‘Footnotes’, 33, p. 7. [89] David, Frankfurter, ‘The Perils Of Love Magic And Countermagic In Coptic Egypt’, Journal Of The History Of Sexuality, 10.3 (2001), 480-500 p. 491. [90] Ogden, ‘Magic, Witchcraft, And Ghosts’, p. 242. [91] Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon, p. 110. [92] Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love Magic’, p. 566. [93] Ibid. p. 566. [94] Ibid. p. 565. [95] Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon, p. 111. [96] Ibid. p. 111. [97] Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love Magic’, p. 565. [98] PGM IV.2891-2942. [99] Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love Magic’, p. 567. [100]Riess, ‘The Magical Papyri’, p. 2 [101]Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon, p. 109. [102] Frankfurter, ‘The Perils Of Love Magic’, p. 484. [103] Edmonds, Drawing Down The Moon, p. 109. [104] Lindsay C. Watson, ‘The Echeneis And Erotic Magic’, The Classical Quarterly, 10.2 (2010), 639-646 (p. 643). [105] Ogden, Magic, Witchcraft, And Ghosts, p. 227. [106] PGM IV.2891-2942. [107] PGM IV.2891-2942. [108] Carl Jung, Collected Works Volume 7: Two Essays In Analytical Psychology, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966), p. 78. [109] Dickie, ‘Who Practiced Love Magic’, p. 565. [110] Esther Eidinow, ‘Ancient Greco-Roman Magic And The Agency Of Victimhood’, Numen, 64.4 (2017), 394-417 (p. 397). [111] Eidinow, ‘Ancient Greco-Roman Magic’, p. 409. [112] Moretti, Debora. ‘Binding Spells and Curse Tablets through Time’, in The Materiality of Magic: An Artifactual Investigation into Ritual Practices and Popular Beliefs, ed. by Ceri Houlbrook and Natalie Armitage (Oxbow Books, 2015), pp. 103–22 (p.104). [113] Betz, p. xlviii. [114] PGM IV.2891-2942