Magic: Did you mean...?

A serpentinite and gold heart scarab pendant. Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Tomb of Hatnefer and Ramose, Mummy of Hatnefer. Thebes. Egypt, 18th Dynasty, c. 1492-1473 BCE. The text inscribed on the back of the scarab calls for Hatnefer's heart not...

A beaten gold amulet stamped with a Greek text invoking the god Apollo. The text reads: INVOCATION TO THE GOD PHOEBUS APOLLO WHO RULES OVER MAN, POURING OUT LIBATIONS TO HIM, THAT HE MAY TAKE UP ARMS AND GO THROUGH THE ENEMY'S ARMY TO...

A magical bowl with an incantation written in ink to ward off malevolent spirits. Clay, inscribed in Aramaic language, 3rd to 7th century CE. From Babylon, Iraq. (The Sulaimaniya Museum, Iraq).

Alongside recipes (derived from various plants) to address mental illnesses, this tablet provides unique drawings as a guide to making magical figurines against demons and sickness. The king-like figure on the throne resembles an image of...

An Egyptian apotropaic knife made from a hippopotamus tusk and designed to ward off evil in a nursery. (Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago)

A Greek lead curse figurine and miniature coffin from the Kerameikos, Athens. Such figurines were used to curse individuals. The figures usually had their limbs twisted or had pins inserted into them and were buried in graves and wells. The...

This curse tablet is engraved with with an appeal to Mars and Mercury regarding a theft. The inscription reads: "To the god Mars/Mercury... gold ring from... and iron fetter... who did wrong...let the god discover". Circa 100-200 CE...

These exorcistic incantations were written on this large clay tablet using both Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform language. Probably from Ashur, Mesopotamia, Iraq, 1300-900 BCE. (The British Museum, London)

This sheet is decorated with an impression of a coin of the Emperor Valens (Flavius Julius Valens Augustus), 364-378 CE. It may have been intended as a curse against the Emperor. From Fulstow, UK. Donated by Tom Redmayne. (The British Museum...

These amulets were inscribed with a spell recruiting the mighty god Ninurta for protection. They were worn around the neck and their size corresponds to the needs of different age groups. From Nimrud and Nineveh, Mesopotamia, Iraq. Circa...