draft poetic language - miriam blanco

8/13/2019 Draft Poetic Language - Miriam Blanco

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THE MAGICIANS WHO SANG TO THE GODS1

MIRIAM BLANCOUNIVERSITY OF VALLADOLID

The relationship between magic and religion has long been discussed

among religious historians and my purpose is not to restart this debatehere; however, I am going to deal with the syncretism between them,focusing on the poetic-religious sources of Greco-Egyptian magicians

2. In

particular, I want to examine the religious sources of some lgoi thatappear in metric form

3 in the Greek magical papyri, these metric

compositions are called hymns and they have, as magic prayer, the

quintessence of religion(Graff 1991, 188). But, in contrast to prose-lgoi,

both the choice of the poetic form, and the use of the Greek language as

instruments of communication, lead their authors to find formal and

lexical models in Greek poetry.E. Szepes has proved the complex reasons why these hymns

(abbreviated as Mag.Hymn.) are to be considered as magical (Szepes1976). In these texts we recognise the same elements that make other

forms of addressing the divinity magical, and the same regularities thatconstitute the essence of magic words in order to satisfy the demands of

their magic character.

In these hymns we can find different forms of compelling; sometimes

they are very explicit, such as when the magician uses the imperative to

order (not to pray for) something, or he openly compels the divinity with

1This study is part of Research Project no. FFI2011-27438 funded by the Spanish

MINECO and it has been made with the academic and economic support of the

National Program of F.P.U. Fellowships.2 For some guidelines of the Greek literary knowledge of the authors of magicalpapyri see Surez de la Torre 2013.3These texts were selected, edited and published in the second edition of Papyri

Graecae Magicae (abbreviated as PGM) of K. Preisendanz (Preisendanz 19742,237-266). Some general studies on magical hymns can be found in Heitsch 1959;Szepes 1976; Graff 1991; Poccetti 1993.


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Magicians Who Sang280

However, when we compare these compositions with spells and prose-

lgoi, they seem to be different: less magical. They are not only written

in verse, which gives hymns a diverse sonority, but one can detect there issomething religious in them: i.e. the tone and the solemnity. Partly, thiseffect is created through the use of poetic vocabulary, even inserting

Homeric verses in these compositions. But, in their search of Greek poeticmodels in form and content, magicians also used traditional poetic Greek

forms of communication with the divinity, such as the religious hymn. Thehymn is a genre with an ancient religious tradition and magic hymns

depend on it too. In addition to the characteristics of magic language,

common to other magical forms of addressing the divinity, magicians use

formal elements and features from religious hymns for two main reasons.

Firstly, the poetic and formulaic expression of religious hymns raises the

tone of magic compositions and increases their solemnity. Besides, if thereligious hymnal features effectively manage to invoke the gods while

worshipping, they are also useful for magicians to make them appear.The analysis of fixed formulas recurring in magic hymns is a good

example of this dependence on religious speech:

Formulas with poetic-religious tradition18: (as propitiatoryformula), , , , , , , , ,

, , and , / , , , , , .

Formulas without poetic-religious tradition: , 19, () /

as propitiatory formula, , , , and only appear in hymnal lgoi, thus magicians employ them becausethey consider them characteristics of hymnal speech. In the same way,

and are variations of verbs employed in prose lgoi20,specific for hymnal expression. Poetic tradition also formally marks the

use of these formulas: , , , , , and always appear at the beginning of the verse because thisis their conventional position in Greek poetry.

18For the use and frequency of this formulaein Greek religious speech, especiallyin hymns, see the important contributions by Ausfeld 1903, 505-547; Adami 1900,

251-262; Ziegler 1905; Pulleyn 1997, 132-155.19This formula exists in the aretalogy and Old Testament, but in reference to adivine speaker. Its use and function are different in magic.20and /respectively.


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Miriam Blanco 281

Magic dialogue has a strong imperative character and, as a result, some

of these formulae change their meaning. For example , which is an

interjection in classical Greek, recovers its original jussive sense as animperative in this coercive context. In general, imperatives used in prayerbecome stronger and lose their precatory character (this phenomenon is

clear informulaeof hearing21

, and , and coming22-, , , , and ). However, the remarkableabsence of verbs of praise as or , so frequent in the genre ofhymns, should ring a bell. Only is regularly used, but in magiccontexts loses its meaning and becomes simply call or name, a cletic

verb with a neutral meaning similar to . So, in magic, sometraditional religious formulas experimented with a semantic adaptation of

this new context.

Undoubtedly, the magical hymns more connected with the religioushymnal tradition are Apollinean magical hymns

22. I have chosen to

analyse only the Mag.Hymn.XII23

, because although the text condition isunfortunately very fragmentary, it is an exceptional example that

illustrates the connection between magical texts and the use of Greek

literature as a model. 23D1

[], , [q kk] [kq a 1

[],[ . . . . ]o[q a[? . . . . . ]] [. . . . . ]- ] [ . . . . . ] [q a 5

. . . . . ], [] ,[.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[ ][ ][ ][ ]] [] ][. 10, [ ][

[ ][, [[] [ kkq a[] [q kkq ] 15 [ ][ ][

21I use Pulleyns terminology.22Mag.Hymn. IX, X, XIa and XII, the first three verses of Mag.Hymn. XXIII

(Mag.Hymn. VIII + vv.1-2 Mag.Hymn. XXIII) and two hymns to Daphne

(Mag.Hymn. XIII and XIV), a feminine oracular divinity closely associated withApollo in magic.23PGMIII 234-258. Text edited by Preisendanz 1974, 247.
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. . . . . ], , , ,[, ], [][], , , [], , [ q kk q a [] [] 20, [] [ ]. [] [.[] , [ ][ ], , [,][] []. 25 [], [] .

The hymn begins with the formula of praise , it is the onlyoccurrence of this kind of formulain magical hymns. We can find as a petition to Apollo inMag.Hymn.XI 11, but it is a metaphoricaloracular request similar to (Mag.Hymn. XI 6). But inthe case ofMag.Hymn.XII it is the magician who sings to praise the god.In addition, in the praxis instructions this lgos is called and itsperformance is called , thus the magician is aware of its laudatorycharacter

24. In this context, it is also possible to consider that (4)

keeps its original sense as a verb of praise. Also, the composer encourages

an anonymous collective to sing in honour of the god with their zithers

(15-16). In these two verses, the divinity goes from being the direct

addressee of the hymn (second person)-to the person receiving thepraise 25(third person)-. The change from Du-stilto Er-stil, isagain the only occurrence in magical hymns and reinforces the perception

of the existence of a third dialectical person in this dialogue: the composer,the god and the others (a choir, an audience?). This is the only way we can

explain this change in the personal deixis.

The presence of choirs that invoke the god with their songs in

Apollinean rites, especially with paeans, become a usual topic in this kind

of poetry (Furley and Bremer 2001, 87). Callimachus exhorts the

24The lgosdenomination as occurs several times in magical papyri, as dothe verb and other kindred terms, but the use of and arerare: has the only other occurrence in PGM(PGMIII 312);is morefrequent, but usually the action is realised by other divinity entities (e.g. PGMXIII 149) and it is never used for the performance of hymniclgoi.25 is a divine epithet, usual of Apollo in this period (Orph.Hymn 34.4;Orph.A.1; Athenag.Leg. 21.6.1; Oenom.fr.2.34, 6.47, 10.150, etc.); the magicians

called themselves with other denominations such as ,as Garca Molinoshas shown in Designaciones del adivino en los PGM, paper presented at theXXXVI Simposio de la SEL, Madrid, 2006.
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celebration of the god with the music of the zithers (Ap. 12-13) and then

he orders a choir to sing in 28-31. Alcaeus paean describes a choir of

young boys that appeal to the god from the Delphic sanctuary with when he goes away with the Hyperboreans. Also in our magichymn a Delphic choir appears in 22. Female choirs celebrate the gods

advent in Bacchylides Dith. 2, 9ss. In Pindar's 6th Paeanchoirs of bothsexes sing to honour the god

26.

The wooden summits of Mount Parnassus are mentioned in line 10 asa place frequented by Apollo. These summits also appear in the

Apollinean invocation at the beginning of the Orphic Argonautica (Orph.A. 2), in Delphic

poetry Ath. Pean Delph. 4; [ / ] Limen. Pean Delph. 21-22; and there are frequentreferences in magical hymns

27. The subject of Mount Parnassus as

Apollos main seat was a traditional motif in Apollinean poetry and itbecame a formulary reference in his hymns: Apollo is placed in the

Delphic sanctuary and he comes and goes from there when invoked by

someone.

There is a request for silence in line 11, which is reinforced bya stillness petition in 13 -. But in this calm context, the musicand songs are allowed (15-16) and, maybe, we should understand (11) in this way: dont let go of (the plectrum, the zither) ordont relax (the songs, the voice, the music?). We can find the samemotive in Callimachus, who orders the worshippers to keep silent during

the singing of the paean; even the sea is quiet while Apollos praises aresung

28. In Hellenistic poetry, the notion that the natural world observes a

ritual silence during gods epiphanies is frequent and becomes a topic in

Apollinean poetry29

. Perhaps, the request that we have in Mag.Hymn. XII

is of this kind. Undoubtedly, the natural world is present in its near

context: the wooded Parnassus summits (10) and the myrrh tree (12).Other elements frequently mentioned in the descriptions of Apollos

epiphanies are the shaking of the laurel tree, especially when they take

place in Delphi. Line 21 is very damaged, even in the metric aspect. The

26The choirs are feminine in Pi. Pean6, 15-18, but masculine in ibid. 121-122.27] , / ], (Mag.Hymn.XIII5); / [] (Mag.Hymn. IX 4-5); ,

(Mag.Hymn.XXIII 1-2).28Call.Ap.17-1829Limen. Pean Delph. II 9-10; Heitsch ed.Hymn. 51, 8-9; Mesom.fr. 2, 1-6.


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papyrus reading is [.][ ]. Preisendanzsconjecture, following Schmidt, is , [] [ ]

. But, Preisendanzs corrections change the original sense of theverse: [] [?, ], you, Phoebus, shake thelaurel branches, that is coherent with a tradition, even lexically:

(Ar. Pl. 213)

(Call.Ap. 1)

/, [] / , /, , (Aristonous,Ap. 10-13)

So, I consider the reading of the papyrus perfectly acceptable in spite

of the metric mistakes.Magical Hymn XII follows the Hellenistic fashion of hymns not

restricted to a particular ritual field, but with a supra-local character, that is

very functional. Although Delphi is mentioned frequently, in the hymn we

can find some of the main epithets of Apollo: (3,18), (18), (6, 20, 21) and mentions of Delos(1) and Dodona30(2). Thereis a third damaged mention in the first line and there were possibly more

in the other damaged parts of the text. The hymn focuses on a functional

aim: invoking the god in his oracular capacity. The poet invokes Apollo asan oracular divinity; he mentions his main oracular sanctuaries and uses

epiphanic motives and images.The linking of this composition with the paean and the stress on

Delphic context dont affect its supra-local character. From Pindar on,

paean is stereotyped in a series of poetry topics and motives that became

characteristics of this genre (Surez de la Torre, in this volume): Apollo

shaking the oracular laurel in Delphi, choruses that sing to the god, the

epiphanic celebrations and the mention of Mount Parnassus as Apollos

home. Our hymn doesnt have clear indications of its provenance, but in

any case, its composer emulates a paean as a gender of fixed stylisticfeatures.

Magical HymnXII is, maybe, the most extreme example, but also themost interesting for the use of literary sources in magic. As Graf 1991, 196

30 In some late Imperial sources (very lacking) the Apollinean oracular fieldspreads over this oracular sanctuary. The most ancient source for Apollo as god of

Dodona is Strabo, 7.1.1a and Schol. Ael. Arist. 11.17 (vetera). In spite of our

testimony it isnt an isolated example, there wasnt a real tradidition in this way.Maybe, there was an individual phenomenon linked with the cultural instruction ofeach author.


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stated, the magicians used verses and formulas that came from a common

stock of tradition, a stock that both magicians and no-magicians, could

use. In this case, we could also add poetic models. The main distinctionbetween magic and religion, in many cases, lies more in the ritual and inthe intention of the person who pronounces the lgos than in the spoken

parts of the practice.

Works Cited

Adami, F. 1900. De poetis scaenicis Graecis hymnorum sacrorum imitatoribus.Lipsiae: Teubner.

Ausfeld, C. 1903.De graecorum precationibus quaestiones. Lipsiae: Teubner.

Bremer, J.M. 1981. Greek Hymns, In Faith, Hope and Worship, ed. H.S.Versnel, 193-215. Leiden: Brill.

Clodd, E. 1921.Magic in Names and in Other Things. New York: Dutton

Frankfurter, D. 1994. The Magic of Writing and the Writing of Magic: The Power

of the Word in Egyptian and Greek Traditions.Helios21: 189-221.Furley, W.D., and J.M. Bremer, 2001. Greek Hymns. Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck.Graf, F. 1991. Prayer in Magic and Religious Ritual. In Magica Hiera. ed. C.

Faraone, and D. Obbink, 189-213. New York: Oxford University Press.

Heitsch, E. 1964.Die griechischen Dichterfragmente der rmischen KaiserzeitII.Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Poccetti, P. 1993. Forma e tradizioni dell'inno magico nel mondo classico. InL'inno tra rituale e letteratura nel mondo antico,ed. A. Cassio, and G. Cerri,

179-204. Roma: GEI.Preisendanz, K. 1974. Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri

II. 2nd. ed. Stuttgart: Teubner.Pulleyn, S. 1997. Prayer in Greek Religion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Surez de la Torre, E. 2013. The Library of the Magician. In Mapping Magic,ed. Marco F. and G. Bison. Roma: in print.

Szepes, E. 1976. Magic Elements in the Prayers of the Hellenistic Magic Papyri.

AantHung24: 205-225.

Versnel, H. S. 2001. The Poetics of the Magical Charm. In Magic and Ritual inthe Ancient World, ed. P. Mirecki, and M. Meyer, 105-158. Leiden: Brill.

Ziegler, K. 1905. Deprecationum apud Graecos formis quaestiones selectae.

Vratislaviae: Barth.

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