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• Cursing Smertuccus: Some Thoughts on the (Mis)Use of the Patronymic in Latin Defixiones

  167–174.

  Celia Sánchez Natalías

  Views:

  2

  This paper focuses on a defixio against Smertuccus, a text that was found in modern-day Vechten (Fectio, Germania Inferior) under unknown circumstances. This extremely concise inscription was written in capitals following an unusual ordinatio, which runs from bottom to top and right to left. The curse, which written for unknown reasons, merely contains the cognomen of the target together with his paternal filiation. This contribution offers some considerations on these features (i.e. the layout and the presence of the patronym), which are rarely attested among Latin defixiones from the Roman West.

• Epigrafía pública y defixiones: paradigmas (y paradojas) del Occidente Latino

  69–77

  Celia Sánchez Natalías

  Views:

  365

  This paper falls into two main sections. The first deals with the defixio and its traditional definition as an example of so-called private inscriptions. Unlike public epigraphs, which were monumental, crafted by professionals, intended for display, and had (mainly) a commemorative function, defixiones (whether written by magoi or amateurs) are usually considered to be among Antiquity’s most private texts. Nevertheless, curse tablets and public inscriptions share a very important feature: both contained messages meant to endure. This specific feature brings us to the second section of this article, which discusses the influence of public inscriptions on curse tablets: to what extent are defixiones a reflection of monumental epigraphy? Aspects such as the ordinatio of the text, the media employed or the way they were displayed (even inside a tomb) are analyzed in this regard. In an attempt to answer these questions, three publicly displayed curse tablets are discussed in depth.