Ancient obscene curse tablet found in Greece

[guy]

(Scene from the HBO series "Rome" of Servilla making a curse tablet against Julius Caesar and Atia)

 

Curse tablets were an unusual aspect of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds:

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A curse tablet is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The tablets were used to ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perform an action on a person or object, or otherwise compel the subject of the curse.

Curse tablets are typically very thin sheets of lead with the text scratched on in tiny letters. They were then often rolled, folded, or pierced with nails, and the tablets were then usually placed beneath the ground: either buried in graves or tombs, thrown into wells or pools, sequestered in underground sanctuaries, or nailed to the walls of temples. 

 

 

Thirty curse tablets (including a rather vindictive one shown below) have recently been found in an ancient Greek well:

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A total of thirty well-preserved curse tablets dating back to the Classical period (2,500 years ago) were found in an ancient well which was originally discovered back in 2016, when other everyday objects—but not the tablets—were found.

The curse tablets were accidentally found in 2020 while archaeologists were investigating the supply of water to a 1st century BC bathhouse which was close to the well.

 

 

 

Love and Hate: This curse tablet was created against a newlywed woman named Glykera. The curse, which focuses on her vagina, was made by someone who envied the woman’s marriage. Photo credit: Dr. Jutta Stroszeck – German Archaeological Institute

 

The rocky, muddy opening to the ancient well in Kerameikos, Athens where the curse tablets were found. Photo credit: Dr. Jutta Stroszeck – German Archaeological Institute

 

The Ancient Curse Tablets Found in Athens Well (greekreporter.com)

 

 

 

Curse tablet - Wikipedia

Edited June 5, 2022 by guy