P. Berol. 21243 : textual criticism, interpretation and cultural context

Abstract

Papyrus P. Berol. 21243 stands as a landmark in the written record of the mysterious Greek magical papyri. The Berlin text is one of the oldest extant magical papyri, dating to the Augustan period, and was found in mummy cartonnage at Abusir-el-Melek; it is also one of the earliest surviving fragments from a magical handbook. Undoubtedly the spells recorded reflect magical charms from an earlier date, and thus throughout this paper I shall refer to P. Berol. 21243 as a late Hellenistic magical text. Two columns containing three spells, two erotic love-charms and one headache spell, are visible on the papyrus. The language of the charms is often formal and classical with a few epic forms thrown in here and there for metrical purposes; traces of dactylic hexameter and iambic trimeter appear in both columns. The entire text is written in a poetic and often literary style, including the headache charm at the end of the papyrus. The absence of magical words which are so frequent in later Greek magical texts is also striking. Column 1 offers us a glimpse of language common in later magical texts as well as motifs familiar from Greek literature. The overall effect of such composition is unique and may reflect the early date of the papyrus, a period in the written record of magical texts when the Greek and Egyptian elements had been syncretized but still remained distinct within the spells. The Greek tone of lines 5-14 may also suggest that at the time the potential audience for the magical spells in Greek Egypt was not as assimilated as in later centuries. Moreover, the spells may reflect a period in ancient magical tradition when magical charms resembled earlier metrical incantations. The love-charm of Column 1 concludes with a dramaturgic recitation in a distinctly Egyptian narrative pattern. Column 2 is more Egyptian in tone throughout. This section highlights the syncretistic nature of P. Berol. 21243; the spells exhibit ethnic influences from both the Egyptian and Greek magical traditions. Specific Egyptian myths are called to mind by objects mentioned and the various gods involved in the recitation, yet Hellenic qualities, albeit of a more subdued and syncretized nature than those in Column 1, are still present. The first spell, a love-charm, employs Egyptian myths and also a hymn to Helios that includes threats against a divinity. The second spell against headache is Egyptian throughout. These distinct Egyptian qualities of Column 2 serve to place the papyrus as a whole in a late Hellenistic magical context, an early and transitional time in the production of the surviving Greek magical papyri