Defixio with a Greek protective spell created by Anna Pokorny Imported from Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg at 2024-04-18T11:46:51, ID there: HD079977 MAPPOLA Database This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. MPL00794 968478 https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscription/show/794 London, British Museum slab lead complete 4.0 13.0 None embossed 0.0-0.0 Londinium 131-200 Londinium Found on the site of the Roman Thames foreshore at Upper Thames Street 51.5133 -0.088949 no

Encoded following EpiDoc guidelines 9.5

 Greek Greek-Latin Latin Multilingual Ancient Greek written in Latin script Latin written in Greek script curse

Brit.44.21
αβραι βαρβασω βαρβασωχ βαρβασωθ ευλιωρ αθεμορφι λάβρου λυμοῦ παράπεμ πε δυσκέλαδον ῥύζημα διήρι ον τανυχιζον νυδρολεες ὀ δύμης διαμηχόμαιμον βα ρύθοιμον εαρκο τακές διατηκόμε νον φλεβίων ἀ πὸ κόλπων μέ γας Ιάω μέ γας Σαβαώθ διαφύλαξον τὸν φοροῦντα Φοῖβε ἀκερσεκόμα το ξότα λοιμοῦ νε φέλησι ἀπέλαυ νε Ιάω Ἀβρασ ὰξ θεέ βοηθεῖ Φοῖβος ἅπαξ ἐ κέλευσεν βρο τοῖς χιλεων ἀ πέχεσθαι Κύρι θεέ τηρῆσον Δημήτριν.

Text follows RIB.

‘Abrai Barbasō Barbasōch Barbasōth. †euliōr (?) of divine form, send away the discordant clatter of raging plague, air-borne, †tanuchizon, †nudrolees, infiltrating pain, heavy-spiriting, flesh-wasting, melting, from the hollows of the veins. Great Iao, great Sabaoth, protect the bearer. Phoebus of the unshorn hair, archer, drive away the cloud of plague. Iao, God Abrasax, bring help. Lord Phoebus ordered mortals to refrain from †chileōn. Lord God, watch over Demetrios.’

Tomlin (2014) recognises the following hexameters: †ευλιωρ θε(ό)µορφε, λάβρου λοιµοῦ παράπεµπε δυϲκέλαδον ῥοίζηµα, διη(έ)ριον, †τανυχιζον †νυδρολεεϲ, ὀδύνη(ν) διανηχόµενον, βαρύθυµον, (ϲ)αρκοτακέϲ, διατηκόµενον, φλεβί(κ)ων ἀπὸ κόλπων. Φοῖβε ἀκερϲεκόµα, λοιµοῦ νεφέλη(ν) ἀπέλαυνε. τοξότα (Φοῖβε) … Φοῖβοϲ ἄ(ν)αξ ἐκέλευϲε βροτοῖϲ †χιλεων ἀπέχεϲθαι.

https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/Brit.44.21 | RIB Tomlin, R.S.O, ‘III. Inscriptions’, Britannia, 44. 2013, pp. 381–396 – AE 2013 Jones, C.P, An amulet from London and events surrounding the Antonine Plague", in Journal of Roman Archaeology, 29, pp. 469–472. AE 2014, 00788 https://edh.ub.uni-heidelberg.de//edh/inschrift/HD079977 | HD079977 R.S.O. Tomlin, in: R. Collins - F. McIntosh, Life in the limes: Studies of the people and objects of the Roman frontiers presented to Lindsay Allason-Jones on the occasion of her birthday and retirement – AE 2014 Tomlin, R. S. O. “Drive away the cloud of plague:” Life in the Limes (2014): 197–205. AE 2013, 00946