RT Article
T1 A Jewish Aramaic Circus Curse Tablet from Antioch
JF Aramaic studies
VO 21
IS 1
SP 64
OP 111
A1 Folmer, Margaretha
A1 Elitzur-Leiman, Rivka
A2 Elitzur-Leiman, Rivka
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1848094132
AB In this contribution we publish a lead circus curse tablet written in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (Princeton Art Museum excavation no. 3608-I57). The tablet was found in 1935 during excavations near the first turning-post at the hippodrome of Antioch on the Orontes (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). The use of Greek and Latin defixiones agonisticae (agonistic binding spells) in chariot races was a wide-spread phenomenon during the Roman Byzantine Period. Curse tablets were inscribed with aggressive incantations that aimed at the defeat of rivals in the chariot races. The tablet under discussion is a unique piece: It is the only known lead circus curse tablet that was written in a Jewish language and script. The tablet is datable to the fifth or sixth century CE.
K1 Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
K1 Incantation
K1 curse tablet
K1 chariot races
K1 Antioch
DO 10.1163/17455227-bja10041