Osiris Must Die – Understanding the Practice of “Menacing the Gods” in Ancient Egyptian Magic
September 2024 | Vol. 12.9
By Franziska Naether
Ancient Egyptian magical texts offer a rich repository of spells and incantations designed to manipulate divine forces for diverse purposes. From protective amulets inscribed with powerful spells to curse tablets invoking divine retribution upon enemies, these texts reflect a belief in the efficacy of magic as a means of influencing the gods. Central to Egyptian magical practice was the concept of “Heka,” or magical power, believed to reside in words, images, and rituals. By harnessing this supernatural energy, practitioners sought to achieve their goals, whether benevolent or malevolent — depending on their respective social contexts.
Drawing of the Egyptian God Heka as a Child with the Hemhem Crown, holding the Ankh, the Crook and Flail in one hand, based on depictions in the Temple of Khnum. By Eternal Space, CC BY-SA 4.0.
In such spells, one particularly intriguing aspect was the use of curses and threats directed towards the divine realm or a disease or an instrument of the cult practice. This phenomenon, often referred to as “menacing the gods” or with the German term “Götterbedrohung” coined by Hartwig Altenmüller in the “Lexikon der Ägyptologie,”, involved threats of all kinds by the magical practitioner to bring harm or coercion upon divine entities. While there may be some similarities with concepts found in other cultures, the practice itself appears to be uniquely Egyptian.
Sources, Definition, Examples
In Egyptian spells and incantations, we find a rich tapestry of rituals aimed at influencing divine beings such as gods, demons, wild animals such as snakes or scorpions as the transmitters of diseases, or ritual instruments such as a wick of a candle or an oil lamp (e.g. used within a healing spell). These are transmitted in magical texts from the New Kingdom and a collection that modern scholars refer to as the “Greek and Demotic Magical Papyri” (PGM/PDM), which consists of approximately 2000 magical texts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods written on papyri, ostraca, tablets, and other materials. These texts reflect a worldview in which supernatural entities (both pagan and Christian) could be coerced or compelled through the proper application of ritual techniques and invocations.
According to our sources, the ritual practitioners in Egypt were mainly priests or professional healers who had access to the necessary education, to magical handbooks, and to ritual instruments and ingredients, which was considered special knowledge.
The threats can be divided in two groups: threats directed against the gods, demons, sacred animals etc. themselves; and threats against nature and the cosmos, including the landscape on Earth. Here is an overview of the menaces mentioned in the spells:
| Threats against the supernatural | Threats against the cosmic order |
|---|---|
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Here is an example of love spell (or better: erotic curse) with menaces against gods from the 13th century BCE, written in Late Egyptian Hieratic:
Hail, Ra-Horakhty, father of the gods! Hail, you Seven Hathors who are adorned with red crossed bands! Hail, oh all you gods, lords of the sky and the earth! Let NN (fem.) whom NN (fem.) has born, walk behind me like a cow craves for herbs, like a mother for the child, like a herdsman for his herd. If one [= the gods, FN] does not let her walk behind me, I will put fire on Busiris and burn Osiris!
In this spell, the practitioner appeals to various gods, including Ra-Horakhty and the Seven Hathors, to make a woman desire the client (“NN” is a placeholder for the names of the woman and her mother). The practitioner threatens to burn down the temple of Osiris in Busiris if the gods do not fulfill his request. The text is most likely incomplete, lacking identification of the magical practitioner and the words for “fire” and “Osiris.” They were inserted after parallels from other texts. Maybe these omissions happened due to the small format and shape of the ostracon.
Ostracon Deir el-Medina 1057. ©Ifao
Formulations and Features
In most spells, the actual threats against the gods are recorded in protasis-apodosis-construction (“if … then”) either in active or passive voice. There are two versions attested:
1. the standard formulation of the threat: “If… (the patient won’t heal), then …xyz happens/then I will cause that xyz…” (punishment, spoken in active or passive voice)
2. the “reversed Götterbedrohung:” “If… (patient will heal), then …xyz will not happen/then I will not cause that xyz….”
In our example above, the magical practitioner applies the standard formulation in active voice.
Unlike some spells where the practitioner identifies with a god, in this example, the threat is issued directly against Osiris. The text suggests that the client, likely a male, sought the help of a local priest to perform the spell. The ritual might have involved offerings, chanting, and possibly the client’s presence. Emotions such as desire, fear, and hope would have been prominent for the client during the ritual. The priest, knowledgeable in magical practices and possibly anxious about the outcome, would have navigated the delicate balance between persuading the gods and avoiding their wrath.
The spells achieve their goal (i.e., the healing) by embedding the sickness and the actants in a divine sphere. This usually happens in the following way: firstly, the magical practitioner states his identification with a god, a nṯr (vocalized “netcher”; this term is used to refer to not just “gods” in Egyptian but also demons or divinised human). This is usually expressed by “I am NN”, in Egyptian “ink NN”, in Ancient Greek “ἐγώ εἰμι/egō eimi.” If the disease-causing agent is not a god or a demon, it may nonetheless be personified (“the poison”), if known.
After threatening the agents by uttering the threats, the magical practitioners then step down from their divine role in another phrase. This “non-identification formula” is intended to shift the blame so they cannot be held accountable by the gods, now or in the afterlife, for the threats they have made against the divine, and focus on fulfilling their clients’ desires. In this formula, they are basically saying “it wasn’t me” or “it is not I who says it, (and repeats it,) the god NN is the one who says it (and repeats it).”
Emotions
At the core of “menacing the Gods” lies the tension between human agency and divine authority. In seeking to manipulate divine forces for personal gain or protection, practitioners of magic sought to transcend the boundaries of mortal existence and assert control over their destinies. Yet, this quest for power was not without its risks, as evidenced by the numerous warnings against engaging in illicit magical practices found in ancient sources. From the admonitions of religious authorities to the portrayal of failed magical rituals in literary texts, the dangers of invoking divine wrath loomed large in the minds of ancient practitioners.
One notable aspect is the role of emotions and psychological manipulation. Esther Eidinow, in her work on ancient Greek magic, highlights the emotional dimension of curse tablets and binding spells, suggesting that the expression of anger, envy, or resentment served as a form of agency for the practitioner. By venting their emotions and articulating their desires for vengeance or justice, individuals believed they could harness supernatural forces to enact their will upon the divine realm.
The use of threats and coercion in magical practice also raises questions about the nature of agency and authority in the ancient world. Jan Assmann, in his studies of ancient Egyptian religion, explores the concept of Ma’at, or cosmic order, as a framework for understanding the balance of power and ethics between humans and gods. According to Assmann, menacing the gods represented an assertion of human agency within the cosmic order, albeit one that carried inherent risks and consequences. In his analysis of divine justice in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor, Angelos Chaniotis suggests that menacing the gods served as a form of protest or resistance against perceived injustices or grievances. By threatening divine retribution or punishment, individuals sought to challenge or subvert existing power structures and hierarchies.
The London Magical Papyrus, PDM XIV, British Museum EA10070,2, 200-225 AD, from Thebes. The papyrus contains several examples of spells including a threat against the wick and the lamp; a threat to reveal a god’s secret names); a threat against the flame. Photo © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
In conclusion, the practice of menacing the gods in ancient magical practice offers valuable insights into the complexities of human-divine interactions in the ancient world. From ancient Egypt to Greco-Roman antiquity, practitioners sought to wield supernatural powers to their advantage, often employing threats and coercion to compel divine compliance. By examining the textual and archaeological evidence, we gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, psychological, and religious dynamics that shaped ancient magical practice and belief systems. According to the Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus (ca. 245–325 CE), who in his treatise “De mysteriis Aegyptorium” (1.6) also speaks of the phenomenon of menacing the gods — and how this is a “transgression,” featuring some threats we have encountered in the sources presented above. Since there is no other proof of “menacing the gods” from outside the Egyptian sphere or religion — a love spell in Latin of a woman from Hadrumetum (today’s Sousse, Tunisia) threatening to destroy the tomb of the god Osiris is clearly modelled after the Egyptian phrases — it seems we have to take Iamblichus seriously: it is a purely Egyptian practice, no matter if attested in pagan or Christian sources.
I have tried to find threats to gods in other ancient cultures and have spoken to many colleagues, but with no success so far. I have found some rhetorical strategies — e.g. in Hittite prayers and magical spells concerning persuasion, where the practitioner argues that it would be beneficial to the divinities to act at the call of the applicants—but not menaces of the kind we see in Egyptian spells. Do you know similar phenomena from your sources? Please let me know if the comments below. I’m happy to interact.
Franziska Naether is Associate Professor in Egyptology at the University of Leipzig, Senior Researcher at the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University.
Further Reading:
Naether, F. 2023. Menacing the Gods in Ancient Magical Practice: A Peculiar Phenomenon in Egyptian Spells. Journal of Cognitive Historiography 8.1–2: 13–44, https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.23602.
Assmann, J. 1990. Ma’at: Gerechtigkeit und Unsterblichkeit im alten Ägypten. C.H. Beck.
Chaniotis, A. 2004. “Under the watchful eyes of the gods: divine justice in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor.” In The Greco-Roman East. Politics, Culture, Society, ed. by S. Colvin, 1–43. Cambridge University Press.
Eidinow, E. 2018. “A Feeling for the Future: Ancient Greek Divination and Embodied Cognition.” In Evolution, Cognition, and the History of Religion: New Synthesis. Festschrift in Honour of Armin W. Geertz, edited by A. Klostergaard et al. , 447–60. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004385375_031
Faraone, C. A and Torallas Tovar, S. (eds.). 2022. Greek and Egyptian Magical Formularies: Text and Translation, Vol. 1. Available: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9650x69r
Posener, Georges. 1938. Catalogue des ostraca hiératiques littéraires de Deir el Médineh, Tome I (Nos 1001 à 1108), Documents de fouilles de l’IFAO 1. Le Caire: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, no. 15, pl. 31–31 a.
Quack, Joachim Friedrich. 2010a. “Zwischen Landesverteidigung und Liebeswunsch.” In Zauber und Magie, ed. by Thomas Pfeiffer, 33–61. Universitätsverlag Winter, p. 52.
Raffel, J. 2019. “‘Egal was, ich war’s nicht!’ – Zur Nicht-Identifikationsformel in Zusammenhang mit der Götterbedrohung.” In En detail – Philologie und Archäologie im Diskurs. Festschrift für Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert, ed. by M. Brose et al., vol. 2, 947–64. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110629705-046
Raffel, J. 2020. “Rollen und Interaktionsmuster ägyptischer Gottheiten in Heilsprüchen als Coping-Strategie.” Arbeitstitel 8: 24–33. https://doi.org/10.36258/arbeitstitel.v8i1.3320.
Ritner, R. K. 1993. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. The Oriental Institute.
van de Peut, L. 2022. Persuading the Divine. On the Composition of Hittite Prayers. Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 69. Harrassowitz.
How to cite this article:
Naether, F. “Osiris Must Die – Understanding the Practice of “Menacing the Gods” in Ancient Egyptian Magic.” The Ancient Near East Today 12.9. Accessed at: https://anetoday.org/osiris-magic-gods/.
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5 Comments
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Franziska Naether
Thank you! It’s not directed against the gods but the threats are quite similar, great!
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Bayla Kamens
In Carmina Anacreontea poem 11, the speaker buys a wax figurine of the god Eros and then threatens it/the god, telling him to set him on fire (erotically) immediately, or else the speaker will melt the figurine in the fire. There are a couple of similar instances in the PGM, e.g. CI.10-15 (a threat that another god/divinity will burn the divinity being called upon) and XII. 50ff, 141ff. But I expect the spells and possible the Anacreontea example are borrowing from the Egyptian practice. But it was very interesting to see this post because the Anacreontea example stood out as quite unique to me and it was hard to find comparanda throughout Greek and Latin lit of somebody threatening the god like that. It does share other characteristics with other spells or Greek/Latin texts, such as the association of Eros with flames (usually a caster calls on Eros to inflame the target, not themself), and the description of Eros as lower status, such as in Eros as a runaway slave in Moschus.
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Franziska Naether
Yes, thanks, that’s a great example from the Anthologia Palatina! In my article, I’ve researched all the PGM references. And I’m pretty sure you’re right with your idea that it’s from Egyptian influence. Creating images from wax and clay is also a frequent element in Egyptian literary texts, most from the Graeco-Roman period but also earlier. It’s a magical practice and also refers to creation in myths (humans made from clay…) But that’s stuff from my upcoming book:)
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B.Peiser
The Egyptian tradition is indeed unique. The closest analogue seems to be a (much later) Jewish tradition of putting God on trial. It rests on the idea that God is bound by his own standards of justice so humans may hold him to account. Its roots are biblical. Abraham challenges the divine destruction of Sodom. Job frames his suffering as a legal case, demanding a ‘courtroom’ hearing and an answer. The rabbis named this boldness chutzpah kelapei shemaya, “audacity toward Heaven,” and debated whether it was sin or virtue. See: Doc Weiss, 2017, Pious Irreverence: Confronting God in Rabbinic Judaism. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Caterina Moro
Job 3:1-9 contains a curse of the day in which Job was born (the Hebrew text is very difficult)