Latin and Greek Defixiones, Ancient and Christian Amulets, Magic Gems

People

prof. PhDr. Daniela Urbanová, Ph.D.

Latin curse tablets, Christian lead amulets, archaic Latin inscriptions, archaic Latin

Mgr. et Mgr. Juraj Franek, Ph.D

Greek curse tablets, magical gems, apotropaic amulets, early Christian literature, methodology of Religious Studies

Mgr. Andrea Salayová, Ph.D., doctoral student (2015-2021)

animals in rituals of ancient magic, Greek magical papyri

Main fields of study of senior researchers and doctoral students

philological analysis of Latin and Greek defixiones in the wider context
linguistic analysis of inscriptions with special focus on the particulars of the magical texts
analysis of performative formulae found in inscriptions of the ancient Mediterranean space
animal ingredients in the rituals of ancient magic
simile formula in the texts of Greek and Latin defixiones
magical gems and the apotropaic amulets of Late Antiquity
methodology of Religious Studies
archaic Latin inscriptions

Cooperation

PD Dr. Ulrike Ehmig, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Germany
Prof. Pierluigi Cuzzolin, University of Bergamo, Italy
doc. Béla Adamik, Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Ing. Daniel Vavřík, Ph.D. Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Czech Technical University, Prague
Dr. Franco Luciani, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Dr. Andrea Barta, research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Mgr. Chaja V. Dürrschnabel, University of Bern, Switzerland

Selected publications

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS ON DEFIXIONES

Urbanová, Daniela a Franek, Juraj. Hoc ego averse scribo: The Aversus-Formula on Ancient Greek and Latin Curses. In ŠEFČÍK, Ondřej, Roman SUKAČ and Harald Hubert BICHLMEIER. Etymologus: Festschrift for Václav Blažek. Hamburg: Baar, 2020. s. 375-392. ISBN 978-3-935536-42-4.
Urbanová, Daniela. Latin Curse Tablets of the Roman Empire. 1. vyd. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck, Bereich Sprachwissenschaft, 2018. 557 s. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Band 17.
Urbanová, Daniela. Latinské proklínací tabulky na území římského impéria. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Host 2014.
Urbanová, Daniela. Die lateinischen tabellae defixionum - der Usus und die Spezifika am Gebiet des Imperium Romanum. In P. Molinelli, P. Cuzzolin, Ch. Fedriani, (eds.). Latin vulgaire latin tardif X, Actes du Xe colloque international sur le latin vulgaire et tardif, Bergamo. Bergamo University Press - Sestante Edizioni, 2014. s. 1047-1098, 52 s.
Franek, Juraj a Urbanová, Daniela. "May Their Limbs Melt, Just as This Lead Shall Melt…" : Sympathetic Magic and Similia Similibus Formulae in Greek and Latin Curse Tablets (Part 1). Philologia Classica, 2019, roč. 14, č. 1, s. 27-55.
Franek, Juraj a Urbanová, Daniela. "As Isis Loved Osiris, So Let Matrona Love Theodoros...": Sympathetic Magic and Similia Similibus Formulae in Greek and Latin Curse Tablets (Part 2). Philologia Classica, 2019, roč. 14, č. 2, s. 177-207.
Urbanová, Daniela, Franek, Juraj a Barta, Andrea. Cursing in the Sanctuary: Some Textual Remarks on a Curse Tablet from Kempraten. Eirene, 2019, roč. 55, č. 1, s. 45-66.
Urbanová, Daniela a Franek, Juraj. Il campo semantico di nomen nelle tavole defixionum. In A. García Leal, C., E. Prieto Entrialgo, (eds.). Latin vulgaire - latin tardif XI. XI Congreso Internacional sobre el Latín Vulgar y Tardío Oviedo. Hildesheim - Zürich - New York: Olms - Weidmann. 2017, s. 616-628, 13 s.
Urbanová, Daniela. Alcune particolarita della comparazione (quomodo – sic, quemadmodum – sic, ita uti – sic) in latino volgare, con particolare attenzione alle defixiones. Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 2016, roč. 21, č. 2, s. 329-343.
Luciani, Franco a Urbanová, Daniela. Cursing not Just the Body. Some Remarks on a defixio from Nomentum in the Light of the Role of Female Public Slaves in the Roman World*. Epigraphica, 2019, roč. 81, 1-2, s. 421-442.
Urbanová, Daniela. Between syntax and magic: some peculiarities of nominal syntax in Latin curse tablets. In L. van Gils; C. Kroon; R. Risselada. (eds.). Lemmata Linguistica Latina, vol. II: Clause and Discourse. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2019. s. 155-173, 20 s.
Urbanová, Daniela. Latin curse Texts : Mediterranean Tradition and local diversity. Acta antiqua Academiae scientiarum Hungaricae, 2018, roč. 2017, č. 57, s. 57-82.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS ON EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND METHODOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Franek, Juraj. The Naturalistic Theory of Religion in Pomponazzi's De Incantationibus and Its Significance. In Pimentel, Cristina; Brito, Madalena; Miranda, Margarida; Resende, Maria Luísa; de Pinho, Sebastião Tavares. O Humanismo Português e Europeu no 5º centenário do Cicero Lusitanus: Dom Jerónimo Osório (1515-1580). Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2020. s. 9-28. ISBN 978-989-26-1931-6.
Franek, Juraj. Invocations of the Muse in Homer and Hesiod: A Cognitive Approach. Antichthon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018, roč. 52, č. 1, s. 1-22. ISSN 0066-4774. doi:10.1017/ann.2018.8.
Franek, Juraj. The Naturalistic Theory of Religion in Pomponazzi’s De Incantationibus and Its Significance. In C. Pimentel, M. Brito, M. Miranda, M., L. Resende, S. de Pinho, Tavares (eds.). O Humanismo Português e Europeu no 5º centenário do Cicero Lusitanus: Dom Jerónimo Osório (1515-1580). Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2020. s. 9-28.
Franek, Juraj. Naturalism and Protectionism in the Study of Religions. London - New York: Bloomsbury. 2020, s. 267. Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation 16.
Franek, Juraj. Tertium non datur: Teze k metodologickému schizmatu na poli religionistiky. Religio, 2019, roč. 27, č. 2, s. 151-162.
Franek, Juraj. The Reception of Socrates in Tertullian. In Christopher Moore (ed.), Brill's Companion to the Reception of Socrates. Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2019, s. 435-452, 18 s.
Franek, Juraj. Naturalismus a protekcionismus ve studiu náboženství. Masarykova univerzita, Brno, 2017, s. 317. Spisy Filozofické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity 472.
Franek, Juraj. Methodological Consilience of Evolutionary Ethics and Cognitive Science of Religion. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 2016, roč. 16, 1-2, s. 144-170.
Franek, Juraj. Beyond Faith and Reason: Epistemic Justification in Earliest Christianity. Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 2016, roč. 21, č. 2, s. 125-156.
Franek, Juraj. Kognitivní revoluce, behaviorismus a magická teorie mysli. Filosofický časopis, 2014, roč. 62, č. 3, s. 403-416.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS ON AMULETS AND GEMS

Urbanová, Daniela, Havel, Dalibor, Mutlová, Petra, Knauber, Konrad, Schellner, Katarzyna a Gorczyca, Krzystof. Christian textual amulet on a lead sheet from Rękawczyn in Greater Poland Province. Sprawozdania archeologiczne. Polsko: Instytut archeologii i etnologii polskej akademii nauk, 2021, roč. 73, č. 2, s. 339-364. ISSN 0081-3834. doi:10.23858/SA/73.2021.2.2498.
Franek, Juraj a Urbanová, Daniela. Invoking King Solomon on Latin-Inscribed Objects of Practical Magic from Late Antiquity (c. 300-700). Listy filologické. Praha: AV ČR, Filosofický ústav, Kabinet pro klasická studia, 2021, roč. 144, 3-4, s. 139-174.
Franek, Juraj a Corral Varela, Diego. Apotropaic Amulet from the Collection of Gustave Schlumberger with a Bilingual Inscription in Greek and Samaritan Hebrew. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, 2020, roč. 216, č. 2020, s. 156-166. ISSN 0084-5388.
Vavřík, Daniel, Knauber, Konrad, Urbanová, Daniela, Kumpová, Ivana, Blažková, Kateřina a Šámal, Zdeněk. Unveiling magic from the middle ages: tomographic reading of a folded lead amulet from Dřevíč fortress (Czech Republic). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, Springer, 2020, č. 12, s. 1-12.
Urbanová, Daniela. [Bestiam] stantem, sedentem, volantem, serpentem... Einige Bemerkungen zur Inschrift auf Blei aus Karthago. In N. Kazanskyi. Indo-European Linguistics and Classical Philology XXIII, Proceedings of the 23. Conference in Memory of Tronsky. Sankt Peterburg Nauka, 2019. s. 1038-1050, 13 s.
Šlancarová, Věra a Urbanová, Daniela. Magical Gems from Collections in the Czech Republic. In K. Endreffy, A., M. Nagy, J. Spier (eds.). Magical Gems in their Context. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Roma: L´Erma di Bretschneider, 2019. s. 251-258, 8 s.

SELECTED PUBLICATINS ON ANIMALS IN THE RITUALS OF ANCIENT MAGIC

Salayová, Andrea. Aspects of Temporality in Greek Magical Papyri. Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 2018, roč. 23, č. 1, s. 181-194.
Salayová, Andrea. Animals as Magical Ingredients in Greek Magical Papyri: Preliminary Statistical Analysis of Animal Species. Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 2017, roč. 22, č. 1, s. 191-206.

Projects

GA21-06319S Performative Utterances in Epigraphical Documents of the Ancient Mediterranean Tradition.
Main researcher: Mgr. et Mgr. Juraj Franek
The main aim of the project is the preparation and analysis of a commented corpus of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic epigraphic documents with English translation attesting the performative use of adjuration formulae in the magical and religious context of "pagan", Christian and Jewish rituals.
The grant project provides funding and a platform for international cooperation, the research team consists of two faculty members of the Department of Classical Studies (J. Franek, D. Urbanová) and two German colleagues (V. Dürrschnabel, U. Ehmig).