Getty Museum

Lead Tablet with Incantations (The Getty Hexameters)

Date

4th century B.C.

Medium

Lead

Culture

Greek

Department

Texts

Institution

Getty Museum

Six unjoined fragments of a folded piece of lead. Two columns of text are preserved on the front surface, and a third on the reverse. The text includes invocations to Paean (Healer) and a series of magical incantations that promise remedy from harm for individuals, animals, ships, and the city state (polis). A mythic narrative describes a Child who descends from the garden of Persephone, leading a she-goat sacred to Demeter to be milked. The text also includes the so-called Ephesian Letters ("Ephesia Grammata"), which are uttered by Hecate. These are a set of seemingly nonsensical syllables that serve to ward off evil. The following translation is given by Faraone, Christopher A. and Obbink, Dirk, eds. *The Getty Hexameters. Poetry, Magic, and Mystery in Ancient Selinous* (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013): Side A, column i (traces of letters?) 1 ...and I sing incantations that are not ineffective. 2 Whoever hides in a house of stone the notable letters 3 of these sacred verses inscribed on tin, 4 as many things as broad Earth nourishes shall not harm him 5 nor as many things as much-groaning Amphitrite rears in the sea. 6 Paean, for in every direction you send averting charms, 7 and you spoke these immortal verses to mortal men: 8 "As down the shady mountains in a dark-and-glittering land 9 a child leads out of Persephone's garden by necessity for milking 10 that four-footed holy attendant of Demeter, 11 a she-goat with an untiring stream of rich milk 12 laden; and she follows, trusting in the bright goddesses 13 with their lamps. And she leads Hecate of the Roadside, 14 the foreign divinity, as she cries out in a frightening voice: 15 "I by my own command through the night... 16 ...having sallied forth, I recount divinely [uttered?]... 17 ...to mortals and of the goddess of the splendid [gifts'" 18-20 (individual letters and traces of letters) Side A, column ii 21 [traces of letters] 22 ...of/from lawless h[ou]ses... 23 [Paean,] for you yourself [send] averting charms, 24 give ear in your mind to sweet h[ymnic song]! 25 I command you to utter for mortals... 26 whenever [doom] among the...good-at-war, and the ships 27 [comes] near bringing death to mortals. 28 ...[and] near the flocks-and-herds and the handiworks of mo[rtals] 29 ...uttering night and by [day] 30 ...keeping pure of mouth 31 ...is for/to the city, for best are the things from the beginning(?). 32 [Paean, for you] in every direction are cure-bringing and exce[llent]. 33 "...*kataskia assia asia endasia*" 34 a she-goat for milking...the she-goat from the g[arden by] force! 35 and for the one who has the name of sw[eet] Tetragos, 36 TETROAN lead, then, Tetrag[ 37... windy headland of the waters... 38 Blessed is the one for whomever from overhead "Io" is scattered 39 on the carriage-way [and] whoever him[self] [down along] the 40 carriage-way [holds] in his heart the speech [of the blessed]: 41 …T]etrag[os… 42 [a single letter] Side B, column i 43 [letters and traces of letters] 44 …command…! 45 [letters and traces of letters] 46…son of Zeus,…completely evil… 47…with your bow…and of the Hydra, many-… 47 of the [so]n of Zeus. And be mindful of the Far-Shooting A[pollo… 48….with your bow… and of the Hydra, many-… 49 [Pa]e[a]n, for he himself [sends] averting charms, 50 Nor would anyone harm [us?] armed with powerful dr[ugs]…

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