Witchcraft in Ancient Rome
Aurelia, a girl from a Roman patrician family, has her eye on Lucius, a young man who plans to become a senator. She turned to a woman with a dubious reputation, and she advised her to write a love spell on a lead tablet to bewitch Lucius. And if it doesn’t work out, then “let his penis break.” Having completed this procedure, Aurelia orders one of her slaves to bury the tablet at the intersection of the streets along which Lucius walks every day. Now all that remains is to wait for the witchcraft to take effect.
This is one of thousands of curse tablets that the ancient Romans used for witchcraft. Although magic was part of the official religion, and the state had its own priests, often people, regardless of their social status, resorted to witchcraft. The state was suspicious of this practice and persecuted it, although with little success.
Official and forbidden magic
The fundamental difference between official magic and witchcraft was the connection with supernatural forces. The former was part of a practice carried out by state priests, a form of mediation with the supernatural: divination and offerings to the gods.
Fortune telling, which has Etruscan roots, is a way of preparing for events. The priests watched the flight of birds, sacrificed an animal, looked at its entrails, using them to determine the outcome of future events. Offerings are requests for favor from the gods and an attempt to “bribe” them with gifts or sacrifices.
According to Roman beliefs, if the gods did not like the gifts, then they did not interfere with the event or changed its outcome in favor of the enemy. I wanted to place a bet like that (bet is evil), left a weak sop to God, he took it and twisted the event in the other direction. And all your money flew away. And all you had to do was not be stingy with gifts.
The third type of magic, which was within the scope of what was permitted, although technically it was still witchcraft, were amulets that warded off evil spells.
The Etruscan bull is one of the most common amulets. 5th century BC e. Walters Art Museum
Witchcraft also evoked supernatural forces, but forced them to channel their focus through spells and rituals. The difference is that the caller could directly achieve his goals. This made him a potentially dangerous person, since the type of magic was usually associated with deities or hellish beings. Such magic was not controlled by the state; the authorities prohibited its use and persecuted those who used it.
For the spell to work, a certain process had to be followed. Usually, the sagas (witches) were approached by women who brought the necessary ingredients for the potion. Society did not treat the sagas very well, although many used their services; they often lived in slums and in dangerous places. If a Roman needed to use the services of a witch, he often did this through an intermediary - his slave.
The sagas were often foreign women - Greek, Egyptian. They were common in Rome during the late Republic and became more common under the Empire. The authorities treated them with extreme distrust. Sulla and Julius Caesar were the first to pass laws punishing with death anyone who practiced magic to harm another.
Roman Witchcraft
Witchcraft consisted of three parts: potions, spell tablets, dolls (the Roman version of voodoo).
Potions related to magic and medicine. Doctors prepared remedies that supposedly could enhance sexual potency or awaken desire. Pliny the Elder, one of the prominent figures of Ancient Rome, mentions them, although he points out a large number of superstitions on this matter. Potions also included poisons - fast-acting, when death occurred, or slow-acting, causing illness.
Spell tablets were made from wax (easy to write on) and lead (a metal believed by the Romans to be associated with the underworld). A message consisting of three parts was written on them: a call to supernatural forces, a request for a wish and consequences if the wish is not fulfilled.
The most common of them involved a love spell and often ended with threatening messages to the person they supposedly loved if they did not reciprocate. For example: “let his wife die on their wedding night”, “let him be promised a terrible fate”, “break his penis” or “let the dogs rape her”. Once completed, the tablets should be buried in places of strong magical power - road intersections, wells or caves due to their connection with the underworld.
Curses sign. Roman Baths Museum in Bath
Colossi (dolls) were human-shaped figures made of clay, wax or metal. Coming from the Greek world, they were used for curses. They were pierced with needles or nails, but were sometimes buried with curse tablets to strengthen them, or near the house to protect them from thieves.
Female doll with needles. IV century AD e. Louvre
Even Christianity did not stop the spread of witchcraft. Among the population, belief in magic remained ingrained. Often, accusations of witchcraft came not from the authorities, but from ordinary people who blamed their neighbors, enemies for the death of their livestock, the death of a loved one, etc. And even the clergy sometimes sinned with the dark side of magic, which, of course, only slowed down its eradication.
As we know, witchcraft and belief in it have not gone away - hello to the Middle Ages, hello to the present time.
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