Getty Museum

Tablet (Lamella) with an Incantation against Epilepsy

Date

3rd century A.D.

Medium

Gold

Culture

Roman

Department

Texts

Institution

Getty Museum

A thin rectangular gold sheet inscribed on one side with a personal incantation against epilepsy (about thirty lines of Greek text, voces magicae and magical ‘characters’). It is creased from once having been rolled up. Notable are its distinctly Jewish (and possibly Christian) character, its use of different terms for epilepsy and the occurence of the "Gnostic" light-Aeon, Eleleth (line 30). It invokes the Jewish god under a variety of names as well as the angels and combines them with magic names and characters. Translation from Greek (after Kotansky 1980): "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, our God, deliver Aurelia from every evil spirit and from every epileptic fit and seizure, I implore you, Lord Iao, Saboth, Eloaion, Ouriel, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Sarael, Rasochel, Ablanathanalba, Abrasax, xxxxxx nnnnnn a oaa iiiiiii x o yyyyyy a ao oooooo ono - (symbols) Sesengenbarpharanges, protect, ippho, io Erbeth -("characters")- protect Aurelia from every seizure, from every seizure, Iao, Ieou, Ieo lammo Iao charakoopou Sesengenbarphranges, Iao aeeyyai Ieou Iao, Sabaoth, Adonaie, Eleleth, Iako" Along the left side: "Protect..."

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.