Restless Dead

by Sarah Iles Johnston

  z 13. On the meaning of this word, seen. 1z7 below.

  114. Jordan 1985a, #2.o; further discussed in Curbera and Jordan. Cf. also SEG 37.673 (Olbia, 4th/3d century B.c.E.; cf. Bravo; Jordan 1997), which directly addresses a dead person and promises a reward in return for his help. See also DT #52 (= Gager #73), a third-century tablet from Attica, quoted on p. 77 below.

  ir5. E.g., S. Aj. 865; Ant. 7 S.

  116. I should also note that some tablets seem to work on the principle of "performative utterance," that is, that the speaking and/or writing of a curse such as "I bind" in itself bound the victim and thus put the curse into action. On these tablets, see Faraone 1991a.

  117. See the introduction to Supp. Mag. #37 for a list and discussion. In a forthcoming collection of essays on magic to be published by the Norwegian Institute in Athens, edited by Einar Thompson, Hugo Montgomery, and David Jordan, there will be an essay by M. Voutiras discussing the tablets on which ghosts are called by their own names.

  i 18. E.g., the tablet from Olbia mentioned in n. 114 above, where the dead person must be bribed by a gift before he will cooperate; PGM IV-385 and cf. Pl. Lg. 933bz-3, where it is implied that people are distressed to find evidence of these practices on the graves of their parents.

  119. Note, also, that there are a few curse tablets written partially or wholly in dactylic hexameters, which may imply again that the spells were to be spoken aloud at some point in the process: e.g., DTA #io8 (third- or second-century B.C.E. Attica); discussion in Faraone 1985 and 1995.

  1 zo. The idea that early curse tablets were supplemented by oral incantation is widely accepted in various forms. See, e.g., Gager, 7 and n. 39; Faraone 1991a, 5-6; Kotansky 1991, 109-10. Cf. also my discussion in chapter 3. On the Erinyes' song, see Faraone 1985.

  121. E. G. Turner, 1; for an example of the result that this policy might have on the inscription of curse tablets, see Martinez, passim, but esp. 113.

  izz. Examples include Supp. Mag #45 (= Gager #30); DT #271 (= Gager #36; cf. Deissman 169-300); DT#22 and #25 (= Gager #45 and #46 with further bibliography); DT #52 (= Gager #73) and one from Athens published by Young (= Gager #71).

  iz3. DT#5z; translation by Gager #73.

  124. Eitheoi more exactly means "without having born children" at Pl. Lg. 84od5, a category of restless dead discussed in detail in chapter 5. It is possible that the word has this more exact definition here and in other uses as well. Its earliest occurrence is at Od. 11.38, where it refers to one of the types of dead who swarm up from Erebus as soon as Odysseus pours the blood into the pit.

  iz6. Excerpted from PGM IV.z96-466. My translation is a modification of E. N. O'Neil's translation in Betz. More fully on this spell and the working examples of tablets from it that have been found, see Martinez.

  125. 1 omit here a list of chthonic gods and voces magicae that appears in the spell.

  1z7. DT #68 = Gager #zz. The Greek words in question are ateles and atelestoi, which literally mean "uncompleted" but which often also mean, more specifically, "uninitiated" (e.g., h. Cer. 481; Pl. Phd. 69c5; E. Ba. 4o). Cf. Graf 1997b, 150-51, who understands the word to mean "unmarried"; although this meaning is otherwise unattested for either word, there may be some support for the interpretation in the fact that the tablet is intended to prevent a woman from seducing a man. Gager translates the word as "unmarried"; Audollent (ad loc.) assumed the meaning "uninitiated." Jameson, Jordan, and Kotansky, 131, suggest it refers to dead who have not received the proper funeral rites (tele), which, given the earlier conclusions in this chapter about the possibility of "initiating" or "purifying" the souls of the dead if they had omitted to do so themselves while alive, brings us close to the meaning accepted by Audollent and myself. Cf. also Graf 1994, 153, for a slightly different discussion, where he argues against the meaning "uninitiated" because the graves of the uninitiated would not have been marked as such. This does not carry much weight, as we cannot assume that the graves of the untimely dead would have always been marked as such, either.

  12 8. E.g., the final line of a late curse tablet published by Kambitsis (= Gager #z8; Jordan 1985a, isz) and cf. the promise made by Erictho at Luc. 6.76z-7o to the corpse that she reanimates that she will make him immune from further attacks by magicians and witches after he completes her request. Cf. also the tablet from Olbia cited in n. I 14 above, where the dead person is promised "the best of offerings" if he cooperates.

  1z9. See chapters 4 and 5 below.

  130. It should be noted, however, that in some cases the tablet itself makes it clear that the practitioner took the trouble to seek out the grave of a special type of dead. Thus, DT #z37 (= Gager #9) begins with "I invoke you, spirit of one untimely dead, whoever you are...."

  131. Or even place the tablet in the hand of the corpse, as in two instances detailed by Jordan 1988, 273-74.

  131. Pl. Lg. 933az-b3. Interestingly, however, in cases where we can estimate the age at death of those corpses found with curse tablets, they were almost always young, according to Jordan 1988, z73. But cf. Graf 1997b, 174-75.

  133. Cf. Graf 1997b, 122-23, 134-44.

  134. Faraone 1991a.

  135. DT #51, from Attica; the horse-scaring tablet was published by van Rengen, z13-14, and is translated as Gager #6; see also Jordan 1985a, 19z, and other bibliography in Gager.

  136. There are also instances in which the dead are used as part of a similia similibus action wherein the practitioner commands the victim to become like the corpse in some way (e.g., DT #85 = Gager #zo). Graf 1997b, ch. 5, esp. 13z-34, however, is surely right in understanding this and various other similia similibus techniques as secondary developments (cf. Graf 1994, 151-56, a fuller and in my opinion somewhat better discussion of the question found in the revised English version of 1997b).

  i. The bibliography on this topic is vast; here I cite only the works most likely to be of interest to students of the ancient Mediterranean (and omitting, by and large, those that address the Greek beliefs this chapter seeks to study): Schmidt 1994; Obayashi (particularly the essays by Cooper, Murname, North, and Mendenhall); Baines; Alster (particularly the essays by Astour and Margalit); Bottero, ch. 15 (which previously appeared as part of Alster in French); Heidel; and all the works by Scurlock listed in the bibliography.

  z. A. Ch. iz9-63, 33z-35, 456-60, 479-509; S. El. iro-zo; E. HF 490-95; Hel. 96z-68; Or. rzz5-4o; El. izz-z4.

  3. See P-75. above.

  4. See Schmidt 1994, 4-13, 274-93, who cites previous work on the topic. Scurlock forthcoming includes discussion of the beliefs of many cultures, modern and ancient, and the range of their differences.

  5. To mention just a few of the best-known works on this topic, see Burkett 199z; S. Morris; Faraone 1992 (but the response in Faraone et al. 1994 suggests caution); and M. L. West 1971; 1978; 1997.

  6. Generally on the Mesopotamian dead and their interaction with the living, see Cooper; Abusch 1989; Bottero, ch. 15; Heidel 137-233; and all the works by Scurlock listed in the bibliography.

  7. On the Mesopotamian meals, see Bottero, z8z; Cooper, z8-z9; Scurlock 1988 (examples passim); 1995a, 1888-89; 1995b; and forthcoming (including discussion of similar practices in a variety of cultures). On the Greek meals, see pp. 6o-6, above and Johnston 1991•

  8. To my knowledge there is no work that focuses primarily on this topic and collects all the evidence in one place. It is mentioned in passing in many of the works cited in n. 6, however. For specific examples, see Scurlock 1988, I03-I2; 1995a, 1889; 1995b, 106; and forthcoming, io (in which the etymology of etemmu is discussed). It is mentioned in passing in Bottero, 283. Although Mesopotamian necromancy per se is not the focus of Brian Schmidt 1994 and 1995, he discusses it often in the context of tracing the development of Israelite beliefs in necromancy.

  9. Brian Schmidt 1994, esp. 121-43 and summary, 241-45; 1995, esp. 115-zo (I 15-16, and works cited in notes, specifically on the lack of Egyptian necromancy before the middle of the millennium). In the Egyptian Book of the D
ead, spells 148 and 19o, spirits describe the nature of existence in the Underworld, but this can scarcely be taken as evidence for anything approaching widespread consultation of the dead.

  io. Most recently, West 1997, 46-51, and Burkett 1992, 46-53, both of whom cite earlier works on the topic.

  i i. As in the case of Mesopotamian necromancy, I am not aware of any work devoted exclusively to this topic, although many scholars mention it in passing. For example, see Bottero 2.83-85; Scurlock 1988, 54; 112; 1991, 140-42; 1995b, io5-6. An important discussion within the broader context of Mesopotamian magic is offered by Abusch 1989, who shows that eventually the practitioner who sent the ghost against someone else and the ghost itself were combined into a single, demonic figure. For specific discussion of the practitioner using the dead, see Abusch 1989, 31, 36-37, 45. Graf 1997b, 172-73, seems too skeptical to me.

  iz.The information I offer here was kindly provided to me by JoAnn Scurlock and Richard Beal of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago per litteras and is based on their knowledge of the primary texts. There are brief discussions of the topic at Bottero, z84, and Abusch 1989, 31.

  13. Use of Greek figurines with ousia: discussion and examples at Graf 1997b, ch. 5; Gager, 16-18.

  14. Numerous examples of these and similar rituals can be found in Scurlock 1988, who provides translations of the ancient texts; particularly helpful are the footnotes to vol. i. Scurlock 1991 and 1995a, 1889-9z, are also helpful. A briefer discussion is in Bottero, z84-85.

  15. Faraone 199z, chs. 4 and 5; Faraone 199ib.

  16. Piglet: Burkett 1992, 58, and cf. McDonough. Cf. Scurlock 1995a, 1883, mentioning that animal surrogates sometimes were buried instead, and 1991, 153, describing a ritual in which the placenta, left on the birthing stool, served as surrogate. On other Greek means of averting child-killing demons that may have been borrowed from eastern cultures; see Johnston 1995b, 381-87.

  17. Incantations: many examples in Scurlock 1988; discussion of the phenomenon at 73-101.

  18. Pinch, 45, 147-49; Baines 147, 151-56.

  19. On the lack of invocation against others before the imperial period, see Pinch 16o. On the letters, see Gardiner and Sethe; Gardiner 1930; Goedicke; Ritner; Baines 152-57, 159; Wendt zro-19; Pinch 45, iz6, 150, 1158, 160. Generally on death and the dead in Egypt, see also Murname.

  zo. Nos. 349, 344, and 348 in Wendt's edition.

  zr. Argued most recently by Ritner 179-8o; Faraone r99ra, 7. On the Greek practices, see Graf 1997b, ch. 5; Gager 14-18; Faraone 199ra; and Jordan 1985a, 182 (a tablet pierced by six nails).

  zz. No. 34z Wendt; cf. nos. 34o and 344.

  z3. Faraone r99ia, 4-6; Gager, ch. 5; Versnel i99i.

  z4. No. 349 Wendt. I would note that we do have two curse tablets that read a bit like letters insofar as they open with an address like that used in a letter: DTA #ioz ("I send a letter [epistole] to the daimones and Persephone bearing the name of NN") and DTA #103 ("I send this letter [epistolel to Hermes and Persephone"). But these are by far the exceptions so far as I can discover.

  z5. Faraone 1991a, esp. 5; Gager, 5-14. On the Erinyes' binding song (A. Eu. 30788), see Faraone 1985 and chapter 7 below.

  z8. Thomas 1992, 78-8z; 1994, 38-39.

  z6. Frankfurter; spoken and written spells, e.g., PGM IV.z96-466, esp. lines 330-31.

  27. A. Ch. Iz9-51, 479-513•

  z9. Cf. the remarks of Frankfurter, 195-96, on the repetitive power of inscribed amulets.

  30. For example, Libanius's inability to speak was overcome when a mutilated lizard-its amputated foreleg crammed down its throat-was found hidden in his lecture room and destroyed (I.z45-49; cf. Bonner 1932). A similar story is told by Sophronius in his Account of the Miracles of Saints Cyrus and John (PG 87.3, cols. 3541-48), according to which the limbs of a paralyzed man one by one became functional as the pins were pulled from the corresponding limbs of a bronze figurine. (But cf. Graf 1997b, 14243, for important distinctions between mutiliation and piercing in this sort of binding and in erotic binding.)

  31. Most important, Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 413-44 (a concise and helpful resume of her 1981 and 1983 work on this topic, plus further arguments in response to the critiques of I. Morris 1989 and 1987); Seaford 1994, 79-84.

  32.. E.g., R. 16.856 and z2.36z; cf. Sourvinou Inwood 1995, 56-59.

  33. Cf. Sourvinou-Inwood 1981, 16-17, and various discussions throughout her 1995 work as well.

  35. On using parts of the hyena's body as amulets, see, e.g., Cyr. z.4o and Plin. HN z8 §59z-ro6; cf. z8 §z9.

  34. I. Morris 1987, 19z-93, further suggests that this increasing fear of and separation from the dead are also expressed in Greece as a growing association between death and pollution.

  36. On hero cults, see Seaford 1994, passim; Boedeker; Antonaccio; de Polignac; Kearns; I. Morris 1988; Snodgrass 1988; Whitley. Larger corporate burial plots and funeral orations: Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 4z9-39; I. Morris 1987, 193 and passim; 1989, 320; de Polignac, ch. 4; Loraux 1986; Holst-Warhaft, 115-26.

  37. De Polignac, chs. i and z; I' Morris 1989, 313-20. Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 435-37.

  38. Snodgrass 1980, 16o-Zoo; cf. Sourvinou-Inwood 1981, esp. 17-18, and again Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 418-22.

  39. Lines 357-6z. At about the same time, a relief of Hermes, Orpheus and Eurydice appeared on the altar of the twelve gods from the Athenian agora; see Schuchhardt and cf. Graf 1987, 80-83. There may have been an earlier treatment of Orpheus's descent in a play by Aeschylus; see Gantz, 72z-z3.

  40. Phryn. fr. 3 Sn. Alcestis is, however, already mentioned as Admetus's wife in R. 2.714-15 and is shown as one of Pelias's daughters on the chest of Cypselus (Paus. 5.17.11).

  41. According to Pausanias (4.z.7 = Cypr. fr. r8), the fact that Protesilaus had a wife was mentioned already in the Cypria. This does not necessarily indicate the story of his return, however.

  4z. Castor and Polydeuces are described at Od. 11.298-304 as "dead and yet still living" beneath the earth, which Nilsson r967, 407 n. 1, calls the first, but uncertain, hint of the possibility that one or both of them might return from the dead; I would understand this instead as an allusion to their special status among the dead and trace the tradition of their return only so far back as Pi. N. 10.55-59 and P. 11.61-64, which describe them as spending alternate days underground and in Olympus. I note, also, that our evidence for the story of Sisyphus goes back further than that for the stories of Alcestis, Protesilaus, and Orpheus: Alcaeus calls him "almost too clever for death" (fr. 38 LP), and Theognis refers to his return at 702-12. Cf. Pherecyd. FGrH 3 F 119, and further in Gantz, 173-75. However, the plot twist that drives the myth rests on a belief that we found already well established in the Homeric poems: that those who have not received funeral rites cannot enter the Underworld. Sisyphus, to put it in other words, never enters Hades at all, and so his return to "life" is not equivalent to those of Alcestis, Eurydice, and Protesilaus. Like the stories of these three others, that of Sisyphus was quite popular in the fifth century, making a subject for plays by all three of the great tragedians.

  43. Graf 1987, rightly skeptical of this shamanistic Ur-Orpheus, suggests instead his origin as a musical leader of secret, initiatory societies; this might facilitate a later connection with the goetic power of recalling the dead, discussed below. Meuli 1946 and 1975, 697; Dodds 1951, ch. 5; Eliade, 391; and M. L. West 1983, 3-7 exemplify the opinio communis in favor of the shamanistic thesis.

  44. On threnos and gods and their development, see Alexiou, esp. i1-15; Holst- Warhaft; Seaford 1994, passim (see index under "lamentation"). On the use of female lament to rouse vengeance, particularly as reflected in tragedy, see esp. Foley, but also Alexiou; Holst-Warhaft; Seaford 1994; and, for a contemporary African parallel, Wilson, 14. Andromache's lament: H. zz.477-515 (and cf. examples from tragedy in Foley).

  45• A. Ch. 123-51, 479-513; Pers. 598-842; Eu. 94-139.

  46. The most important ancient texts are conveniently provided by Seaford 1994, 7478. Inte
rpretive discussion at Loraux 1998, 9-z8; Seaford 1994, chs. 3-5; Holst-Warhaft, 101-3, 114-z6; Garland 1989; Sourvinou-Inwood 1983 (and cf. Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 440-41); Gernet and Boulanger, 137-38; Alexiou, 15-zo.

  47. Plu. Lyc. z7; Inst. Lacon. z38d.

  48. Usually, these are translated as "magician" and "magic," but as these English words carry connotations that are inappropriate to the Greek terms, I shall continue to leave them untranslated.

  49. On the derivation, see Burkett i96z, esp. 43. I thank my colleague Brian D. Joseph for help with this issue.

  51. PI. Lg. 9o9bz-5; cf. Lg. 933az-b3; Sph. 234c5-6; R. 584a9-ro; cf. Pit. 3o3cr- 5; Mx. z35ar-z; and cf. E. Hipp.1o38-4o. Elsewhere in Plato, the ability of the goes to persuade the living soul shades into something darker, for he begins the long-lived practice of using the term goes disparagingly, to refer to anyone who deceived or deluded others; for him, goeteia is quintessentially the art of making you believe in things that aren't really there (R. 6ozdr-4; cf. Sph. z41b5-7; Phlb. 44c8; Hp. Mi. 371az-3; and cf. E. Ba. z33-38). Plato also refers to goetes as delusive shape-shifters or as mimics (Euthd. z88b8; R. 38odr-383a3; Sph. z35ar and 8; Plt. 191c3 and 3o3c4). Although these remarks clearly are meant by Plato to be slurs, they may have had some basis in real beliefs of the time, for Herodotus uses goetes to refer to the Neuri, whose most distinctive feature is the ability to become wolves once a year. Perhaps this reputation for self-metamorphosis grew out of the goetes' reputation for producing other remarkable sights, notably ghosts. Plato also, finally, uses the term goes more loosely to refer to speakers so talented that they can enchant the souls even of the living, persuading them to act against their better judgment, but this surely plays on the task that was truly central to the goes's art: enchanting souls of the dead through the power of the voice: e.g., Sph. z34c5; Grg. 483e6-484az; Men. 8oaz-4 and b6.