A Curse on a Mime Actress in Corinth

by David R. Jordan

Hesperia, Volume 92, Issue 4
Page(s): 723-746
Stable URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/55/article/914396
Year: 2023
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ABSTRACT:

This article presents the first edition of a curse tablet of the 4th or 5th century A.D. found in 1969 during the excavation of the “Fountain of the Lamps” in Corinth. The text of 89 lines is addressed to the nymphs and asks for the death and destruction of the mime actress Elpidia. It uses various kinds of voces magicae and charaktêres, and it is accompanied by a drawing of figures that probably represent the nymphs. Indexes of words, personal names, gods, and voces magicae are included.