TY - JOUR AU - Franek, Juraj AU - Urbanová, Daniela PY - 2019/06/25 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - “May Their Limbs Melt, Just as This Lead Shall Melt...”: Sympathetic Magic and Similia Similibus Formulae in Greek and Latin Curse Tablets (Part 1) JF - Philologia Classica JA - Philologia Classica VL - 14 IS - 1 SE - Graecia antiqua DO - 10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.103 UR - https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/6405 SP - 27-55 AB - <p>In this contribution, we present a representative corpus of <em>similia similibus </em>formulae attested&nbsp; in ancient Greek and Latin curse tablets or <em>defixiones</em>. The simile formulae, attested in about&nbsp; 80 tablets in widely differing states of preservation and legibility, are introduced in the context&nbsp; of sympathetic magic and, in contradistinction to literary similes, as performative utterances&nbsp; that are based on a persuasive analogy. This analogy operates in the general form of “just as&nbsp; X possesses property P, so let also Y possess property P”, in which Y is the target or victim of&nbsp; the curse, while X and P are variables that change in accordance with the intended results. We&nbsp; provide a provisional taxonomy of simile formulae, offer new readings and interpretations&nbsp; of some <em>defixiones</em>, and compare Greek and Latin documents. Due to its length, the paper&nbsp; has been divided into two parts. In the first part, presented here, we focus on <em>comparata </em>that&nbsp; reference the materiality of the tablet itself and <em>comparata </em>referencing corpses or ghosts of&nbsp; the dead. The remaining <em>comparata</em>, namely animals, historiolae and rituals, aversus formulae&nbsp; and unusual orientations of the script, “names”, and drawings, will be presented in a follow-up&nbsp; paper, to be published in the next issue of <em>Philologia Classica</em>.</p> ER -