dEjournals Home Page
Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis
Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement Current Archives Search Authors’ guidelines for ACD Submissions
Register Login

Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis

Vol. 57 (2021)
Articles

Magic Symbols (Charaktêres) on North African Curse Tablets as a Regional Feature

Published:
October 10, 2021
DOI Linkhttps://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2021/12
Author
György Németh
View
Keywords
magic charaktêres North Africa
License

Copyright (c) 2021 Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How To Cite
Selected Style: APA
Németh, G. (2021). Magic Symbols (Charaktêres) on North African Curse Tablets as a Regional Feature. Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 57, 199–215. https://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2021/12
Abstract

This study examines the practice of magic symbols in North Africa to find out whether there was a regional peculiarity in the use of charaktêres that distinguished this area from other parts of the Roman Empire. Two phenomena appear to be more common in North Africa, though they may also occur elsewhere: first, charaktêres as encrypted names, and second, charaktêres as framing devices. First and foremost, though, some introductory remarks concerning charaktêres in general are made.