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    The Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri: Robert K. Ritner

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    Mehboob Subhan Qadiri
    The document discusses the Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, manuscripts containing spells and incantations from Hellenistic Egypt that show interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultures. The author analyzes bilingual spells that were previously studied without consideration of their Demotic (Egyptian) elements. By examining Demotic and Greek texts together, it is clear the "Greek" magical texts were strongly influenced by Egyptian religion, with Greek gods appearing alongside Egyptian ones. Studying these manuscripts fully in their original language contexts reveals the religious syncretism of Hellenistic Egypt.

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    The Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri: Robert K. Ritner

    Uploaded by

    Mehboob Subhan Qadiri
    71 views3 pages
    The document discusses the Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, manuscripts containing spells and incantations from Hellenistic Egypt that show interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultures. The author analyzes bilingual spells that were previously studied without consideration of their Demotic (Egyptian) elements. By examining Demotic and Greek texts together, it is clear the "Greek" magical texts were strongly influenced by Egyptian religion, with Greek gods appearing alongside Egyptian ones. Studying these manuscripts fully in their original language contexts reveals the religious syncretism of Hellenistic Egypt.

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    Original Title

    81 82 Graeco Egyptian Papyri

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    The document discusses the Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, manuscripts containing spells and incantations from Hellenistic Egypt that show interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultures. The author analyzes bilingual spells that were previously studied without consideration of their Demotic (Egyptian) elements. By examining Demotic and Greek texts together, it is clear the "Greek" magical texts were strongly influenced by Egyptian religion, with Greek gods appearing alongside Egyptian ones. Studying these manuscripts fully in their original language contexts reveals the religious syncretism of Hellenistic Egypt.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    71 views3 pages

    The Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri: Robert K. Ritner

    Uploaded by

    Mehboob Subhan Qadiri
    The document discusses the Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, manuscripts containing spells and incantations from Hellenistic Egypt that show interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultures. The author analyzes bilingual spells that were previously studied without consideration of their Demotic (Egyptian) elements. By examining Demotic and Greek texts together, it is clear the "Greek" magical texts were strongly influenced by Egyptian religion, with Greek gods appearing alongside Egyptian ones. Studying these manuscripts fully in their original language contexts reveals the religious syncretism of Hellenistic Egypt.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    oi.uchicago.

    edu

    The Graeco-Egyptian Magical


    Papyri

    Robert K. Ritner able the raw materials neces-


    sary for a thorough study of
    One of the expressed indirect cultural interaction between
    goals of the Demotic Dictio- Egyptians and Greeks in the
    nary Project is to make avail- Hellenistic period, when

    MAGICAL PAPYRI 77
    oi.uchicago.edu

    j both cultures and languages Demotic spells as translated


    shared the Nile Valley. The by Janet H . Johnson of the
    nature and degree of such Oriental Institute. For the
    interaction has long been dis- entire corpus of Greek and
    cussed by scholars familiar Egyptian texts I have made
    with Greek but unable to extensive annotations on
    consult relevant Demotic Egyptian elements and in-
    evidence. One of the most fluences common to both.
    curious products of this The combined study of these
    selective blindness regarding documents by Greek and
    Hellenistic Egypt has been in Demotic scholars and histo-
    the study of the period's rians of religion has been es-
    magico-religious practices, in pecially fruitful. Perhaps the
    which the standard publica- most striking result of this
    tion of the Greek sources ne- examination is the recogni-
    glects to include Demotic tion of pervasive Egyptian
    parallels even where they ap- influence. The so-called
    pear on the same papyrus and "Greek" magical texts are
    are written by the same frequently Greek only in lan-
    scribe. Greek sections within guage, with the gods invoked
    Demotic spells are lifted from and the practices described
    their contexts and presented being thoroughly Egyptian
    in isolation—a technique with Greek, Mesopotamian,
    which completely obscures and Hebrew deities and an-
    the sociological and religious gels in frequent but second-
    significance of these bilingual ary appearance. Even in
    texts. spells of seemingly pure
    The importance of these j Greek character where no
    magical spells for insights Egyptian deity is invoked by
    into Hellenistic religion and name, the construction of the
    early Christianity has been spell may be borrowed from
    recognized by H. D. Betz of Egyptian prototypes. Thus in
    the Divinity School of the a'slander-spell' to Selene, the
    University of Chicago, moon goddess, a series of
    i whose Corpus Hellenisticum blasphemous statements are
    Project on the Greek Magical uttered and then attributed to
    Papyri has prepared new En- another in an attempt to
    I glish translations of all rele- bring forth the wrath of the
    j vant materials including the gods. This technique ("It is

    78 PHILOLOGY
    oi.uchicago.edu

    not I who said it; it is X who these spells in their complete


    said it.") may be traced to the context allows for the first
    Pyramid Texts in Egypt, time a careful investigation of
    almost three millennia before this facet of religious con-
    this fourth century spell. The tinuity and confrontation in
    presentation and analysis of Hellenistic Egypt.

    HITTITE DICTIONARY 79

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