‘And the impure and abominable priests fled for help to the names of the devils’. Amulets and magical practices in Syriac Christian culture between Late Antiquity and the modern world

Starting from a memrā probably authored by Isḥaq of Antioch (5th century), the paper illustrates how evidence of the magical practices referred to in its text may be found in contemporary incantations featured on Syriac incantation bowls. Magic texts subsequently found their way into the Syriac Christian amulets, which incorporate liturgical utterances, prayers, and references to the Gospels, saints, and articles of the Christian faith. The paper addresses the problem of how the texts evolved from Late Antiquity to the present day and what role the Christian clergy (according to the memrā deeply involved in magic practice since Late Antiquity) played in this transmission and transformation of texts.

A partire da una memrā attribuibile a Isacco di Antiochia (V secolo), l'articolo illustra come le pratiche magiche condannate nel suo testo siano testimoniate dall'uso delle coppe magiche mesopotamiche nel medesimo periodo storico in Mesopotamia. La presenza di riferimenti al Vangelo, all'angelologia e ad articoli di fede cristiana negli amuleti più tardi può inoltre costituire ulteriore prova del coinvolgimento del clero cristiano nelle pratiche magiche di età tardo-antica e fino all'età contemporanea.