ETHNOMEDICINE OF THE MAGICAL PAPYRI

by

OLE ELDOR

B.A. The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 2002.

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Programme o f Master of A r t s i n R e l i g i o u s S t u d i e s )

We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o t h e r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d

P r o f e s s o r Dietmar N e u f e l d

P r o f e s s o r Robert Daum

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

JULY 2003

© O l e Yosef E l d o r , 2003
( t h i s o r i g i n a l copy i s p r i n t e d on a c i d f r e e paper)
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 Abstract

Many a s p e c t s o f the r e l a t i o n s among medicine and

religious ideas i n late antiquity remain t o be
explored from a fresh perspective, particularly
r e g a r d i n g those i d e a s c l a s s e d as s o - c a l l e d "magic."
Much of the p r e v i o u s s c h o l a r s h i p of these r e l a t i o n s
was d o u b l y - b i a s e d by the e t h n o c e n t r i s m o f the Western
b i o m e d i c a l model and a t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t a l p r e j u d i c e
a g a i n s t p r i v a t e r i t u a l . The s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n by
John P i l c h of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l concepts and models t o
the h e a l i n g s i n the New Testament showed an i d e a l way
for s i m i l a r a n a l y s e s t o o t h e r t e x t s from the same
world. T h i s study i s an attempt to apply Pilch's
method t o the s o - c a l l e d "Magical P a p y r i " and overcome
these b i a s e s . In t h i s aim i t was s u c c e s s f u l by
showing t h a t these methods do bear out on t h e p a p y r i .
This study proved the fruitfulness of this
methodology by s u c c e e d i n g i n h i g h l i g h t i n g a s e r i e s of
symbolic h e a l i n g s among the r i t u a l s i n the corpus
w i t h a s p e c t s t h a t under examination appear t o have
been a complex, powerful, and l i k e l y v e r y e f f e c t i v e
combination of therapy and r i t u a l that was the
product of a c a r e f u l l y - d e v e l o p e d t r a d i t i o n a l system.
T h i s work takes some f i r s t steps towards u s i n g the
p a p y r i t o show how the medical system was r e l a t e d t o
the r e l i g i o u s system t o which i t was a t t a c h e d i n l a t e
antique Egyptian society. I t shows that Egypt,
perhaps u n u s u a l l y among t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t i e s , had a
class of symbolic healers who operated i n the
p r o f e s s i o n a l s e c t o r of the h e a l t h c a r e system; i t
thus b e g i n s t o account f o r a s p e c t s of the h e a l i n g
system or systems represented in the p a p y r i .
 iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract
Table of Contents
L i s t of T a b l e s and F i g u r e s
Introduction
A. M e t h o d o l o g i c a l Background
I n t r o d u c i n g Medical Anthropology
M e t h o d o l o g i c a l Apparatus: D e f i n i n g Concepts and Models 7
B a s i c Terms and D e f i n i t i o n s 7
Value O r i e n t a t i o n 9
The H e a l t h Care System 10
Core C l i n i c a l F u n c t i o n s : 11
c u l t u r a l h i e r a r c h i e s of h e a l t h v a l u e s 11
e x p e r i e n c e of i l l n e s s 11
c o g n i t i v e response 12
healing a c t i v i t i e s 12
p o t e n t i a l outcome 13
E x p l a n a t o r y Models: L i s t of F i v e S t r u c t u r a l Q u e s t i o n s 13
Transaction 15
Symbolic H e a l i n g 16
Summary Model f o r Examining Symbolic H e a l i n g Systems 18
Efficacy 19
B. A n a l y s i s of the H e a l t h Care System i n the P a p y r i 20
Background S c h o l a r s h i p and the S t a t e of the Q u e s t i o n 20
Disclaimer: T e x t - C r i t i c a l Cautionary Reservations 24
H e a l i n g i n i t s C u l t u r a l Context 25
Reading the P a p y r i as H e a l i n g t e x t s i n C u l t u r a l Context 27
S e l e c t i n g A p p r o p r i a t e Test Cases from the P a p y r i 28
Selection List 28
PDM x i v 554-669: Symbolic H e a l i n g S c r i p t s 29
A p p l y i n g the Models and Concepts of P a r t A 31
The V a l u e O r i e n t a t i o n Model 31
The P r o c e s s of H e a l i n g i n PDM x i v 525-669 36
Kleinman's Schematic Model: 7-point summary 36
. E f f i c a c y i n the p a p y r i 56
The Element of Power i n the p a p y r i 57
C. C o n c l u d i n g D i s c u s s i o n , Questions and C h a l l e n g e s 58
Desiderata 58
Conclusions 59
Post S c r i p t : T h e s s a l u s the M a g i c i a n 62
Bibliography 64
Appendix: Overview of H e a l i n g Texts i n the Corpus 68
Table l :

S u b d i s c i p l i n e s of M e d i c a l Anthropology

Table 2 :

Value O r i e n t a t i o n Chart

Figure 1:

The H e a l t h Care System

 1

Introduction

T h i s i s an i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the Greek and Demotic M a g i c a l P a p y r i e d i t e d

in a new c o l l e c t i o n by H. D. B e t z . 1
The g o a l s o f t h i s study are t o i s o l a t e and
analyze medical r i t u a l s i n t h i s corpus u s i n g methods and concepts developed
in the f i e l d s o f m e d i c a l and Mediterranean anthropology, i f possible to
uncover the f e a t u r e s o f a " h e a l t h care system," a f t e r the manner s u c c e s s f u l l y
modeled by John P i l c h i n h i s a n a l y s i s o f h e a l i n g i n the New Testament. I t i s
e a r n e s t l y hoped t h a t t h i s study w i l l r a i s e new q u e s t i o n s t o c o n t r i b u t e t o
ongoing research 2
i n t o the complex r e l a t i o n s between m e d i c a l and religious
ideas and r i t u a l s i n late antiquity, among d i f f e r e n t cultural, religious, or
s o c i a l groups, as w e l l as h e l p to d e l i n e a t e more o f the s o c i a l c o n t e x t o f the
u s e r s o f the p a p y r i r i t u a l s . 3

I will f o l l o w the l e a d of the s c h o l a r s who have been c e a s e l e s s l y

d e b a t i n g the s t a t u s o f "magic" as an i n t e r p r e t i v e term and a l a b e l and will
o n l y use i t w i t h q u o t a t i o n marks. 4
I will endeavour everywhere t o r e f e r t o the
r i t u a l p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f these i n s t r u c t i o n s not as magicians but as
ritualists, a n e u t r a l and d e s c r i p t i v e term, i f s l i g h t l y vague and e v a s i v e .
"Magic" o r "magician," i f used at a l l , i s meant t o convey emic self-
understanding, and s h o u l d never be taken t o i n t e n d an e t i c interpretive
meaning. 5

To speak a t a l l o f r i t u a l requires d e f i n i t i o n , and t h i s study will

f o l l o w Evan M. Zuesse's Encyclopaedia of Religion article i n understanding
"ritual" as "those c o n s c i o u s and v o l u n t a r y , r e p e t i t i o u s and stylized symbolic
b o d i l y a c t i o n s t h a t are c e n t r e d on cosmic s t r u c t u r e s and/or s a c r e d presences.

1 Based on the previous c o l l e c t i o n of Preisendanz with additional materials, including

the Demotic corpus. The writer apologizes i n advance i f material referred to appears
unduly mysterious; in order to follow, the reader should have a copy of Betz to
consult the references and should be f a m i l i a r with the material by pre-reading the
whole at least once.
2 If only my own.
3 The provenance of these manuscripts can only be specified as the region of Thebes
(Luxor-Karnak) i n Upper Egypt, and the major part of them came to l i g h t over a century
ago as they were probably hidden and preserved: through the e f f o r t s of a c o l l e c t o r .
4 See especially Naomi Janowitz, Rebecca Lesses, Marvin Meyer, and Richard Smith, who
a l l have published recent books, helpful to this study, describing what used to be
known as magic i n terms of ritual power.
5 Kenneth L. Pike coined the terms emic and e t i c to describe and d i s t i n g u i s h
respectively the subjective insider and outsider perspectives. These terms are derived
from the words phonetic and phonemic i n his 1969 a r t i c l e , "Language as Behaviour and
Etic and Emic Standpoints for the Description of Behaviour." Pp. 114-31 i n Social
Psychology: Reading and Perspective. E. F. Borgatta, ed. Chicago: Rand-McNally.
 2

(Verbal b e h a v i o u r such as chant, song, and p r a y e r a r e o f c o u r s e i n c l u d e d i n

the c a t e g o r y of b o d i l y a c t i o n s . ) " 6
The s u b - f i e l d of r i t u a l theory 7
at the
i n t e r s e c t i o n of r e l i g i o u s s t u d i e s and anthropology p r o v i d e s concepts to
interpret the s p e l l s o f the p a p y r i as r i t u a l s i n t e x t form, o r as s c r i p t s f o r
t h e i r performance, 8
t h a t are d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e on the b a s i s of response,
imitation, and embodiment from e t h i c a l a c t s (which are marked by decision and
choice) . Naomi Janowitz and Rebecca Lesses both b r i n g the t o o l s of ritual
theory to bear upon the (largely so-called "magical") t e x t u a l m a t e r i a l s they
s t u d i e d , b a s i n g t h e i r t h e o r e t i c a l approaches t o r i t u a l power p r i m a r i l y upon
the work o f S t a n l e y J . Tambiah, M i c h a e l S i l v e r s t e i n , and R i c h a r d Parmentier,
a l l noted a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s of r i t u a l . 9
As the p r e s e n t author r e l i e s on Janowitz
and Lesses f o r h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n to the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of r i t u a l texts, these
s c h o l a r s a r e the b a s i s f o r the author's approach to r i t u a l i n the p r e s e n t
study-as w e l l .

T h i s study i s i n t e n d e d , w h i l e a d h e r i n g c l o s e l y t o the t e x t , t o look at

the 'health c a r e system' i n the world of the p a p y r i as f a r as i t can be
determined. R e c o g n i z i n g the c h a l l e n g e s of d e a l i n g w i t h a c u l t u r e f a r removed
from t h a t o f the contemporary West, t h i s w r i t e r i s t r y i n g t o r e s i s t
b i o m e d i c a l ethnocentrism10
{"medicocentrism"), by a p p l y i n g P i l c h ' s a d a p t a t i o n s
of models from m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g y 11
t o these t e x t s of l a t e a n t i q u e Egypt as
they have a l r e a d y been s u c c e s s f u l l y a p p l i e d by him and by o t h e r b i b l i c a l
s c h o l a r s as w e l l as by h i s t o r i a n s of a n t i q u i t y . 1 2

According to Peter Worsley 13

i n a d i s c u s s i o n o f non-western h e a l t h c a r e
systems, what human b e i n g s worry most about are good f o r t u n e and m i s f o r t u n e ,
and h e a l t h o r w e l l - b e i n g and s i c k n e s s are o n l y a s p e c t s of t h i s dichotomy. In
f a c t , notes P i l c h , " o u t s i d e the Western world, the concepts o f h e a l t h and

6 Evan M. Zuesse, "Ritual," Encyclopaedia of Religion V. 12, Pp. 405-422.

7 For an overview, see Ronald L. Grimes' a r t i c l e "Ritual Studies" in The Encyclopaedia
of Religion, V. 12, Pp. 422-425.
8 The problem of distinguishing these two i s unresolved. This author views the spells
as scripts r e f e r r i n g to the performance of real world embodied actions, and not as
r i t u a l s - i n - t e x t alone.
9 For references to the work of these scholars, please refer to the bibliography. We
w i l l also discuss some of the background research to the study at hand i n the section
"The State of the Question" ahead i n Part B.
10 And "temporocentrism," i f a more suitable coinage for such a concept does not
already exist
11 Pilch, p. 2.
12 Ibid: For b i b l i c a l , see Pilch, 1991a and 1991b; For antiquity, see Shultenover.
13 Worsley, 1982.
 3

sickness o r d i n a r i l y i n c l u d e much more than .bodily o r p h y s i c a l h e a l t h . " 1 4

The
p a p y r i c l e a r l y convey such c o n c e p t i o n s : the overwhelming m a j o r i t y of the
purposive rituals reflect the b a s i c t r u t h that "everyone wants t o know how t o
maintain good f o r t u n e and a v o i d misfortune." 15

According t o P i l c h and W o r s l e y , 16
s i n c e "at a h i g h l e v e l of abstraction,
misfortune including illness i s commonly a t t r i b u t e d t o some k i n d of o f f e n c e
against c u l t u r a l values and s o c i a l norms," i t i s "important t o know w e l l the
c u l t u r a l values and s o c i a l norms of a s o c i e t y i n o r d e r to understand i t s
concepts of i l l n e s s , h e a l t h , and h e a l i n g . " 1 7
T h i s recommendation a p p l i e s t o
t h i s study o f the p a p y r i o f Greco-Roman Egypt. T h i s study b e g i n s w i t h a model
developed w i t h a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l and s o c i o l o g i c a l data from P a l e s t i n i a n s o c i e t y
of the p e r i o d , which i n i t i a l l y w i l l be accepted as g e n e r a l l y representative
of l a t e a n t i q u e E a s t - M e d i t e r r a n e a n c u l t u r e . As we proceed, the background o f
secondary s c h o l a r s h i p w i l l a s s i s t i n the a s s e r t i o n of E g y p t i a n culture into
the model molded i n i t i a l l y upon P a l e s t i n i a n c u l t u r e .

The major advantage of ethnomedical and c r o s s - c u l t u r a l r e s e a r c h i s to

force biomedical p r a c t i t i o n e r s (and s c h o l a r s of e s t a b l i s h e d f i e l d s i n
c l a s s i c s and b i b l i c a l s t u d i e s ! ) out of narrow p r o f e s s i o n a l o r i e n t a t i o n s t o
expose them t o a s p e c t s of human h e a l t h o f t e n hidden by the s o c i a l space and
r o l e such p r a c t i t i o n e r s h o l d i n our modern Western c u l t u r e . T h i s t h e s i s i s
based upon the hope t h a t m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g y can work t h e same e f f e c t f o r
the s i m i l a r l y s p e c i a l i z e d r e l i g i o u s s t u d i e s s c h o l a r ; and e s p e c i a l l y f o r the
researcher of p r i v a t e r i t u a l o r "magic," which has a l s o been adversely
a f f e c t e d by the c o n s t r a i n t s and d e n i g r a t i o n s of both b i o m e d i c a l l y and
r e l i g i o u s l y ethnocentric perspectives.

In the t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r e o f the p a p y r i i t i s n o t p o s s i b l e t o separate

medicine from the r e l i g i o u s system, as we a r e accustomed t o r o u t i n e l y doing
i n the West. T h i s study chooses t o view r e l i g i o n as "a c u l t u r a l l y adaptive
response t o a much wider range of s u f f e r i n g and m i s f o r t u n e , of which," (as
the p a p y r i themselves make c l e a r ) , "human s i c k n e s s i s only a small part." 1 8

14 Ibid.
15 Ibid. p. 3; See for example PGM IV:2170-75, 1167; VII:496; XII 255; XIII: 800-806;
PDM xiv:311-12, 325-56, 333, 386.
16 Worsley, 1982, p. 330
17 Ibid.
 4

A. Methodological Background

T h i s work i s most i n s p i r e d and i n d e b t e d t o the p i o n e e r i n g e f f o r t s of

John P i l c h t o a p p l y the c o n c e p t u a l and m e t h o d o l o g i c a l i n s i g h t s of
anthropology (medical and Mediterranean) to the New Testament (NT) healing
pericopes. 19
Essentially, t h i s study i n t e n d s t o f o l l o w P i l c h ' s l e a d , and h i s
recommendation, by a p p l y i n g t o the medical m a t e r i a l i n the corpus of the
Greek M a g i c a l P a p y r i what he adopted and adapted as i n s t r u m e n t s a p p l i c a b l e to
an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the m e d i c a l m a t e r i a l i n the G o s p e l s . 20

Both t e x t s do c o n t a i n s p e c i a l d e s c r i p t i o n s of i l l n e s s and healing

practices, and i n many cases v e r y s i m i l a r ones, f o r i n s t a n c e the d e s c r i p t i o n s
of daimonic p o s s e s s i o n s and e x o r c i s m s . 21
The arguments P i l c h persuasively
advanced f o r the v a l u e of t h i s type of examination a p p l y e q u a l l y t o o t h e r
l a t e antique texts (examinations P i l c h openly c a l l s f o r ) . I t i s the o p i n i o n
of t h i s w r i t e r t h a t the corpus of the s o - c a l l e d "magical p a p y r i "
(henceforward simply r e f e r r e d t o as the p a p y r i o r shorthand a f t e r Betz "PGM"
or "PDM" ) r e p r e s e n t s an e s p e c i a l l y r i c h and p o t e n t i a l l y rewarding t e x t
22
on
which to undertake Pilch's desideratum.

18 Pilch, 2000, p. 35.

19 Indeed, I confess that owing to the constraints of time under which I had to
operate, this study follows his example so closely that i t r i s k s being somewhat
facile.
20 The anthropological, c u l t u r a l , and h i s t o r i c a l contexts of the papyri are very close
to those of the Gospels: the East Mediterranean of the f i r s t centuries C.E. Even i f i n
actual fact the material of the corpus ranges over a longer period (1st C. B.C.E. to
6th C. C.E.), i t i s i n t e r n a l l y consistent enough to view i t in general as belonging to
"late antiquity," and moreover the majority of the corpus seems to date to the second-
third centuries C.E., contemporaneous with the f i n a l Gospel redactions and touched by
the expansion of C h r i s t i a n i t y .
There are c e r t a i n l y important differences i n the c u l t u r a l and r e l i g i o u s
contexts of these two bodies of text. The NT i s didactic, and edited over time from
various compendia to a few harmonized e d i t o r i a l purposes, for the use of communities.
On the other hand the papyri are p r a c t i c a l instructions, mostly unedited and separate
unrelated units having many d i f f e r e n t purposes, and had probably been composed by, and
subsequently collected together for the use of, single i n d i v i d u a l s .
21 Moreover, the papyri show occasional acquaintance with some of the Gospel healings,
and in places (especially exorcisms) bear a certain Christian stamp: PGM IV:1227-
64,3007-86; LXXX III1-20; CXXVIII:1-11.
22 Papyrae Graecae Magicae, the Greek Magical Papyri, and Papyrae Demoticae Magicae,
the Demotic Magical Papyri.
 5

Introducing Medical Anthropology

The d i s c i p l i n e o f m e d i c a l anthropology i s one o f f i v e sub-disciplines

of that f i e l d 2 3
and one o f the most h i g h l y d e v e l o p e d . 24
I t i s a l s o known as
ethnomedicine by those s e e k i n g t o f u r t h e r d i s t a n c e i t from Western
medicocentrism. Others p r e f e r t o r e s e r v e t h i s l a t t e r term f o r the study o f
healing r i t u a l s , and s i n c e t h i s i s a study of p r e c i s e l y these, we w i l l follow
t h i s nomenclature. T h i s d i s c i p l i n e aims a t d i s e n t a n g l i n g "closely interwoven
n a t u r a l - e n v i r o n m e n t a l , h u m a n - b i o l o g i c a l , and s o c i o - c u l t u r a l t h r e a d s forming
the b e h a v i o r a l and c o n c e p t u a l network o f human responses t o the e x p e r i e n c e o f
illness." 2 5
These a r e the aims and i d e a l s g u i d i n g the p r e s e n t study of the
papyri. Specialties i n t o p i c and methodology have been developed i n this
d i s c i p l i n e w i t h these aims i n f o c u s . P i l c h p r e s e n t s a sample demonstrating
the r i c h n e s s o f m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l s u b - d i s c i p l i n e s as reproduced i n the
following table: 2 6

Biomedical Studies Ethnomedical S t u d i e s S o c i a l Problems

Of A d a p t a t i o n of H e a l t h and H e a l i n g and I n t e r v e n t i o n s
G e n e t i c s and d i s e a s e Culture-bound syndromes Mental h e a l t h

Medical ecology Folk therapies Clinical anthropology

E v o l u t i o n of d i s e a s e s Healing roles Addictions

Social epidemiology Medical p l u r a l i s m Family v i o l e n c e

Nutrition Ethnopharmacology Birthing studies

Demography Ethnoscience Disabilities

Paleopathology Midwifery Public health

S t r e s s and d i s e a s e Shamanism International health

Table 1. S u b - D i s c i p l i n e s o f M e d i c a l Anthropology

Based upon the a u t h o r ' s r e a d i n g of the t e x t , the b o l d f a c e d sub-

disciplines i n d i c a t e those f o r which the p a p y r i demonstrate material that
r e l a t e s t o or at l e a s t touches upon, w h i l e the u n d e r l i n e d ones a r e those f o r
which the m a t e r i a l i s r i c h e s t and most f r u i t f u l to e s p e c i a l l y concentrate
upon. . .

23 Pilch, 2000, p. 20, c i t i n g McElroy and Townsend, 1989, Pp. 13-17.

24 Ibid, p. 21.
25 Ibid, p. 21, c i t i n g Unshuld, 1988:179.
26 Ibid, p. 22, Table 2.1: Sub-fields of Medical Anthropology," c i t e d from McElroy and
Townsend 1989, 17.27 Ibid, p. 22, c i t i n g Kleinman, 1980: 18; 28.
 6

The challenge o f m e d i c a l anthropology i s t o overcome Western

medicocentrism by l i b e r a t i n g itself from b i o m e d i c a l ideology i n order t o take
the t h e r a p i e s o f o t h e r h e a l i n g systems i n t o account - v a r i o u s l y c o n c e i v e d as
a n c i e n t , p r i m i t i v e , non-Western, f o l k , popular, and modern. 27
The papyri
embody one (or even s e v e r a l ) o f such h e a l i n g systems o f a l t e r n a t i v e
t h e r a p i e s , which have y e t to be f u l l y accounted.

Medical a n t h r o p o l o g y o f f e r s a f r e s h approach t o s t u d i e s such as t h i s ,

t h a t i n t e n d t o i n v e s t i g a t e and w r i t e about s i c k n e s s and healing across
c u l t u r e s . Of the t h r e e ways t h a t Kleinman, 28
the preeminent spokesman f o r the
discipline, lists t h i s can be done, the best and most a p p r o p r i a t e for this
study i s t o "develop an e v o l v i n g c o n c e p t u a l system c e n t e r e d upon the social
and e x p e r i e n t i a l p e c u l i a r i t i e s o f s i c k n e s s and healing." Luckily for this
study, John P i l c h l a i d most o f the groundwork i n t h i s way f o r i t i n h i s study
of the Gospel h e a l i n g s , though ongoing m o d i f i c a t i o n s w i l l be r e q u i r e d t o f i t
it t o the papyri.

In t h i s e n t e r p r i s e o f d e v e l o p i n g and advancing a p a r t i c u l a r
ethnomedical paradigm, the task i s t o c o n s t r u c t an "autonomous t h e o r e t i c a l
frame" maximally s u i t e d t o the d e s c r i p t i o n and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a c u l t u r a l l y
unique p a t t e r n o f human e x p e r i e n c e s of health, sickness, and healing. 2 9
The
two e q u a l l y important areas o f h e a l i n g t o keep i n mind are efficacy and
meaning. Both r e f e r t o treatment outcome, but whereas the former term i s
e m p i r i c a l and dear t o the b i o m e d i c a l perspective, i t i s the latter that
comprises the hermeneutic dimension o f h e a l i n g and i s of e s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t t o
medical a n t h r o p o l o g y . The p a p y r i have t h e i r own p e c u l i a r ways o f speaking
about both e f f i c a c y and meaning.

28 Ibid, pp. 22-23, c i t i n g Kleinman, 1988.

29 Ibid. p. 23, (paraphr.) c i t i n g from Kleinman, 1980: 377.
 7

M e t h o d o l o g i c a l Apparatus: D e f i n i n g the Concepts and Models to Apply

B a s i c Terms and Definitions: 3 0

.Ritual: Conscious and voluntary, repetitious and stylized symbolic bodily

actions that are centred oncosmic s t r u c t u r e s and/or sacred presences; Such

actions include verbal behaviour such a schant, song, and prayer. 3 1

Health: "A s t a t e o f complete physical, mental, and social w e l l - b e i n g and not

merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (World Health Organization).

Sickness: A blanket term used to label real human e x p e r i e n c e s o f disease

and/or illness.

Disease: An explanatory biomedical concept describing abnormalities in the

structure and/or f u n c t i o n of human o r g a n s and organ systems, including

pathological s t a t e s even i f not culturally recognized. Operates by attempting

to correlate constellations o fsigns and symptoms f o r the purpose o f

explanation, prediction, and control - using the jargon diagnoses, prognoses,

and therapy - concepts leading into the field of power and politics.

Illness: Anexplanatory concept that describes the human perception,

experience, and interpretation of certain socially disvalued states including

but not limited to disease. I t i s both a personal and a social reality and

thus in large part a cultural construct. Culture dictates what to perceive,

value, and express, and then howt o live with illness.

Curing: The anticipated outcome relative to disease. The attempt to take

effective control o fd i s o r d e r e d b i o l o g i c a l and/or psychological processes.

Healing: The anticipated outcome relative to illness. The attempt to provide

personal and social meaning f o r the life problems caused by sickness.

An expanded definition of h e a l i n g has i t a s "ap r o c e s s b yw h i c h (a)

disease and certain other worrisome circumstances are made into i l l n e s s (a

cultural c o n s t r u c t i o n and therefore meaningful), and (b) the sufferer gains a

degree of satisfaction through the reduction, or even the elimination of the

psychological, sensory, and experiential oppressiveness engendered b y h i s

medical circumstances." 3 2

Placebo: A wholesome meaning created b y the sick person from semantic and

symbolic meanings during a process of healing. An inert of intrinsically

innocuous i t e m p r e s c r i b e d more f o r the mental relief o fthe p a t i e n t than for

30 Many of these d e f i n i t i o n s are paraphrases from Pilch, p. 24.

31 Evan M. Zuesse, "Ritual," Encyclopaedia of Religion V. 12, Pp. 405-422.
32 Kleinman 1980: 265, c i t e d in Pilch, pp. 13-14.
 8

i t s actual effect on the d i s o r d e r . The item i s e f f e c t i v e because o f the

patient's belief system.
Nocebo: The o p p o s i t e : a noxious meaning c r e a t e d by the s i c k p e r s o n i n the
same manner, d u r i n g a f a i l u r e of h e a l t h . An i n e r t o r i n t r i n s i c a l l y innocuous
item that can and does cause r e a l damage. 33

Medicocentrism: A s p e c i e s of e t h n o c e n t r i s m t h a t chooses t o view t e x t s about

s i c k n e s s and h e a l i n g from o t h e r c u l t u r e s and times i n a Western b i o m e d i c a l
perspective.
Folk-Conceptual!zed Disorders o r Culture-Bound Syndromes: Culturally-
c o n s t r u c t e d i l l n e s s e s unique t o a s o c i e t y .
Therapy: A treatment d e s i g n e d t o b r i n g about r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o r s o c i a l
readj ustment.
Therapist: Anyone who i s r e c o g n i z e d as capable of h e l p i n g i n h e a l t h
misfortune.

Value o r i e n t a t i o n : A concept d e f i n e d by Kluckhohn and S t r o d t b e c k i n t h e i r

model as a " g e n e r a l i z e d and o r g a n i z e d c o n c e p t i o n , i n f l u e n c i n g b e h a v i o u r , of
nature, man's [ s i c ] p l a c e i n i t , of man's r e l a t i o n t o man, and of the
d e s i r a b l e and n o n - d e s i r a b l e as they r e l a t e t o human-environment and human-
human relations... l i k e v a l u e s , they v a r y on a continuum from the e x p l i c i t t o
the implicit." 3 4
T h e o r e t i c a l assumptions support t h i s model, and i t i s
necessary t o e x p l a i n them. A c c o r d i n g t o P i l c h : 3 5

1) There a r e o n l y a l i m i t e d number of common human problems f o r

which a l l p e o p l e s i n a l l p l a c e s must f i n d a s o l u t i o n . 2) P o s s i b l e
s o l u t i o n s a r e n e i t h e r l i m i t l e s s nor random; t h e r e a r e t h r e e . 3)
A l l s o l u t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g t h e i r v a r i a n t s and a l t e r n a t i v e s , a r e
p r e s e n t i n v a r y i n g degrees w i t h i n the t o t a l c u l t u r a l s t r u c t u r e of
every s o c i e t y . Though one s o l u t i o n dominates, the o t h e r s o l u t i o n s
are a l s o a v a i l a b l e .

With r e g a r d t o the f i r s t assumption, f i v e common problems and

t h e i r range of s o l u t i o n s e x p e r i e n c e d i n each c u l t u r e can be
p r e s e n t e d i n a t a b l e (below). With r e g a r d t o the second
assumption, t h e range o f s o l u t i o n s a v a i l a b l e t o each problem i n a
g i v e n c u l t u r e i s l i s t e d t o the r i g h t of the problem. With r e g a r d

33 Pilch, 2000, p. 157. He also adds, "In some forms of witchcraft, s t i c k i n g pins i n a
d o l l or an image of a person one wants to harm can indeed cause harm i f both people
share that b e l i e f system." There are two spells i n the papyri that describe how to do
just t h i s ! (PGM IV:321-329, XXIVb:l-15). Moreover, an actual figure with pins was
discovered from the period, and i s reproduced on the cover of Magika Hiera by Faraone r

and Obbink (1991. New York: Oxford U. Press).

34 Quoting Papajohn and Spiegel, i n their report of c l i n i c a l applications of t h i s
model. 1975, p. .2 0.
35 Ibid, pp. 3-4.
 to the t h i r d assumption, w h i l e each c u l t u r e s e l e c t s one o f the
three s o l u t i o n s as primary, the o t h e r two a r e a l s o a v a i l a b l e as
second and t h i r d c h o i c e s e i t h e r f o r d i f f e r e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s o r
for d i f f e r e n t subgroups w i t h i n the same c u l t u r e .

Problem Range o f So l u t i o n s
P r i n c i p a l Mode o f Being
Human A c t i v i t y
Being-in-becoming Doing

Interpersonal Collateral
Relationships
Lineal Individual

Time Orientation Present Past

Relationship of Be s u b j e c t Live i n harmony Master i t

Humans t o N a t u r e t oi t with i t

View o f Human N a t u r e Mixture of Evil Good

good and e v i l

Table 2. V a l u e Orientation Chart

These concepts a r e v e r y u s e f u l i n comparative ethnomedicine. Our

Western c u l t u r e o f h e a l t h c a r e faces the same p e r s o n a l problems as any
other, but whereas we tend t o emphasize the s o l u t i o n s i n the extreme
r i g h t hand column, non-Western and a n c i e n t s o c i e t i e s l i k e the
H e l l e n i s t i c - R o m a n Egypt of the p a p y r i generally tend more t o the r i g h t
hand and c e n t e r columns f o r t h e i r s o l u t i o n o r i e n t a t i o n s .
 10

The Health Care System: This i s a scholarly construct describing a

c o l l e c t i v e view and shared p a t t e r n of usage i n s o c i e t i e s . As these
operate a t a l o c a l l e v e l , the system w i l l be seen and used d i f f e r e n t l y
by different s o c i a l groups and i n d i v i d u a l s . A general s t r u c t u r a l model
of a h e a l t h c a r e system proposed by Kleinman as u s e f u l f o r analyzing
any society or c u l t u r e looks l i k e t h i s :

Local Health Care System: Internal Structure

Boundary l i n e s

P o i n t s of i n t e r a c t i o n , P o i n t s of i n t e r a c t i o n ,
entrance, and e x i t entrance, and e x i t

P r o f e s s i o n a l and f o l k
s e c t o r s may o r may not
overlap i n p a r t i c u l a r
local settings

Health Care System

Figure 1.: The H e a l t h Care System

36 From Kleinman 1980, p. 50; As adapted by Pilch, 1985, p. 144, and 2000, p. 26
 11

Healing i s produced by the whole system and not j u s t by the healer. 3 7

I n v e s t i g a t o r s o f h e a l i n g must thus c o n s i d e r both micro and macro-analyses t o

look at how s m a l l - s c a l e events w i t h i n the t h r e e s e c t o r s o f a h e a l i n g system
might r e l a t e t o l a r g e - s c a l e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e and process. 38

Deducing the b e l i e f s about the causes of i l l n e s s and how t o t r e a t

i l l n e s s w i l l be a s s i s t e d by a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the element o f power and the
search f o r knowledge of the c h i e f sources of power i n a c u l t u r e : whether
political, social, mythological, religious, technological, or others. 3 9
A
concern f o r s e v e r a l sources of power i s e v i d e n t i n the p a p y r i (see below).

Core C l i n i c a l Functions: These are f i v e major f u n c t i o n s of h e a l t h care

systems t h a t work t o g e t h e r to c o n s t r u c t and d e f i n e h e a l t h and illness. 4 0

Together, they p r o v i d e a "comprehensive b a s i s f o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g h e a l i n g and

h e a l t h care i n any g i v e n c u l t u r e and allow f o r more a p p r o p r i a t e cross-
c u l t u r a l comparisons." 41
They need to be d e f i n e d b e f o r e l o o k i n g at them i n the
papyri:

1) Cultural h i e r a r c h i e s of health values: A society organizes the health

values, which i n d i v i d u a l s i n t e r n a l i z e d u r i n g socialization, into a
hierarchy. It f i n d s expression i n semantic illness networks, which tend
to c l u s t e r a v a r i e t y of v a l u e s , concepts, and experiences. The core
values i n the M e d i t e r r a n e a n world t o a t t e n d to have been shown to i n c l u d e
honour and shame, gender-based s o c i a l d i v i s i o n , client-patron relations,
belief in spirits, a t t i t u d e s toward p a i n , and many o t h e r concepts and
values. 4 2
The t a s k at hand w i l l be helped by a s e a r c h f o r semantic illness
networks i n the p a p y r i t o uncover these concepts and values and delineate
their hierarchy.

2) Experience of i l l n e s s : Culture defines illness, dictating "what t o

perceive, value, express, and how to l i v e w i t h illness," while also
playing "a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n symptom formation, as w e l l as the various

37 Ibid, p. 26, c i t i n g Kleinman, 1980, p. 72.

38 Ibid, Op. C i t .
39 Ibid, c i t i n g the proposal of Glick, 1967.
40 Ibid, p. 27, c i t i n g Kleinman, 1978, p. 417.
41 Ibid, p. 29.
42 Ibid, 27, c i t i n g Pilch, 1992a and b; Murdock, 1980; Saler, 1977; Zborowski, 1969;
Zola, 1966.
 12

psycho-physiological processes i n , and r e a c t i o n s to, i l l n e s s . " 4 3

The
g r e a t e s t c o n t r i b u t i o n of c u l t u r e to the i l l n e s s e x p e r i e n c e i s the meaning
given i t . Being t h a t "the experience can be acknowledged and recognized
as something s p e c i f i c t h a t c h a r t s the initial p a t h toward and appropriate
response," 44
the e x p e r i e n c e of i l l n e s s marks the f i r s t stage of h e a l i n g .

3) Cognitive response: ordering i l l n e s s by means of l a b e l i n g ,

classifying, and explaining: General c r i t e r i a are e s t a b l i s h e d i n c u l t u r e s

for guiding t h e r a p e u t i c processes and f o r e v a l u a t i n g outcomes.
" S t r u c t u r e s of r e l e v a n c e " 45
are c r e a t e d to t h i s end: evaluating the
experience as major or minor, important or n e g l i g i b l e . D e t e r m i n i n g a
response i n v o l v e s knowing "the h i e r a r c h i e s of r e s o r t " : f a m i l y , f r i e n d s ,
the v i l l a g e , the h e r b a l i s t , the prophet, the p r o f e s s i o n a l , e t c . " 4 5
Some
aspects of t h i s h i e r a r c h y are apparent i n the p a p y r i ; o t h e r s are not.

Based on the work of Mary Douglas (1970), (who showed that illness
and i t s consequences are d i s r u p t i v e social-communal events threatening
e s s e n t i a l values, behavioural norms, and conceptions of o r d e r ) , the
therapeutic process can be r e c o n c e i v e d as an attempt to r e s t o r e order "by
p l a c i n g the t h r e a t i n i t s proper framework, c o n t r o l l i n g the d i s r u p t i v e
e f f e c t on the s i c k p e r s o n and t h a t person's network, and making the
e n t i r e experience p e r s o n a l l y and s o c i a l l y meaningful." 47
The aim here i s
t h e r e f o r e t o look f o r corresponding elements, and the m a t e r i a l is rich.
As we will see, the p a p y r i do p l a c e t h r e a t s i n t o frameworks of meaning,
e s p e c i a l l y by means of myth and exorcisms to c o n t r o l the d i s r u p t i v e
effects.

Further e x p l o r a t i o n r e q u i r e s one to i n v e s t i g a t e e x p l a n a t o r y models

d i f f e r i n g p e r s o n t o p e r s o n . C o g n i t i v e responses t o s i c k n e s s and
misfortune form the core of symbolic healing (see below).

4) Healing a c t i v i t i e s : As h e a l i n g occurs across the e n t i r e system and in

each of these f i v e f u n c t i o n s , "one must c o n s i d e r i n d i v i d u a l healing

43 Ibid. Pp. 27-28, c i t i n g Pilch, 1988b.

44 Ibid.
45 Ibid. p. 28.
46 Ibid, c i t i n g P i l i u s k and Parks, 1986; Romariucci-Ross, 1969.
47 Ibid. p. 28.
 13

p r a c t i c e s w i t h i n the t o t a l context of the system and indeed of society." 4 8

Important as demonstrable e f f i c a c y may be, h e a l i n g e n t a i l s much more than

that. 4 9
There i s a range of s t r a t e g i e s i n h e a l i n g and preventive
activities, from e m p i r i c a l r e m e d i e s 50
and technological interventions to
symbolic t h e r a p i e s l i k e the placebo. 51

5) Potential outcomes: managing cure or treatment f a i l u r e , recurrence or

chronic i l l n e s s , permanent impairment, and death: Health care often

overlaps w i t h r e l i g i o n and other cultural systems, e s p e c i a l l y as regards
the noted p o i n t that "much of t r a d i t i o n a l h e a l t h c a r e i s dedicated to
preparing f o r death and making the e x p e r i e n c e of d y i n g m e a n i n g f u l . " 52
We
cannot i g n o r e t h i s aspect of the p a p y r i , w i t h t h e i r emphasis on the
underworld powers of death, and a l s o t h e i r connection with a heritage of
Egyptian p r i e s t l y embalming t r a d i t i o n s f o r a f t e r l i f e p r e p a r a t i o n . While
P i l c h i s r i g h t to a l s o note t h a t , " i n the e n t i r e p r o c e s s , of course,
c o n s t r u c t i n g a meaningful l i f e i s equally important," 53
i t is questionable
whether the d i s t i n c t i o n s between l i f e and death t h a t we use today can be
a p p l i e d to the Greco-Roman Egypt of the papyri.

Explanatory Models: These are f o r m a l l y s t r u c t u r e d coherent accounts of

r e a l i t y t h a t attempt to understand i l l n e s s and treatment. A r e a d i n g of the
papyri to understand t h e i r h e a l t h c a r e system w i l l seek t o l o c a t e i n s t a n c e s of
EMs i n the t e x t s , k e e p i n g i n mind that they are t y p i c a l l y mutable, ambiguous
or even c o n t r a d i c t o r y and rationally inconsistent (everyone, no matter their
c u l t u r e , has multiple belief systems to t u r n to i n a c r i s i s ) . EMs comprise
notions about "an e p i s o d e of s i c k n e s s and i t s treatment t h a t are employed by
everyone i n v o l v e d i n the p r o c e s s (the s i c k person, family, friends, village
healers)."

A healing r i t u a l t y p i c a l of the p a p y r i i s meant to be representative of

one such episode, as a template f o r a t y p i c a l type encountered. But in the
papyri, the i n v o l v e d p a r t i e s are c o n s p i c u o u s l y absent, w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of
the r i t u a l i s t - h e a l e r and the h y p o t h e t i c a l p a t i e n t - c l i e n t . EMs are not
i s o l a t e d from l a r g e r c o g n i t i v e s t r u c t u r e s but are embedded i n them and

48 Ibid.
49 Ibid. C i t i n g Frank, 1974.
50 Ibid. Citing Van der Geest and Whyte, 1988.
51 Ibid. C i t i n g Moerman, 1983; and Dow, 1986.
52 Ibid.
 14

anchored t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u r a l and s t r u c t u r a l arrangements t h a t have

been i d e n t i f i e d above as the h e a l t h care system s e c t o r s and s u b - s e c t o r s .

Of g r e a t import t o t h e m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t i s n o t o n l y g r a s p i n g and
u n d e r s t a n d i n g the EMs but a l s o o b s e r v i n g the i n t e r a c t i o n (see T r a n s a c t i o n

below) between s i c k persons and h e a l e r s . T h i s i n t e r a c t i o n i s t h e c e n t r a l

component of h e a l t h c a r e . One can l e a r n about such i n t e r a c t i o n by e x p l o r i n g
and r e c o r d i n g t h e EMs i n v o l v e d . T h i s then, i s another g o a l t o bear i n mind
while reading t h e PGM. EMs a r e s t r u c t u r a l l y broken down i n t o f i v e questions
that they seek t o e x p l a i n r e l a t i v e t o each i l l n e s s episode: 54

1. aetiology
2. time and onset of symptoms
3. pathophysiology
4. course of s i c k n e s s , i n c l u d i n g the degree of s e v e r i t y and the type of

sick role
5. treatment

"Whereas the h e a l e r ' s EM i s concerned w i t h a l l f i v e q u e s t i o n s , those of

the f a m i l y and s i c k i n d i v i d u a l u s u a l l y answer o n l y s a l i e n t q u e s t i o n s " . In the
p a p y r i however, we o n l y r e a l l y have access t o the h e a l e r ' s perspective.
C o n t r a s t i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l and l a y EMs, we a r e t o l d t h a t i t i s t h e l a t t e r that
o r d i n a r i l y d i s c l o s e t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of a g i v e n h e a l t h problem f o r the
p a t i e n t and the f a m i l y , a l o n g w i t h t h e i r treatment g o a l s . 5 5
One of the g o a l s
of t h i s study i s t o determine whether the r i t u a l i s t s of t h e p a p y r i a r e
professionals, lay specialists, or f o l k t h e r a p i s t s . 5 6
To review a l l t h e
information about t h e EMs of everyone i n v o l v e d i n a p a r t i c u l a r i l l n e s s
episode would be d e s i r a b l e and h e l p f u l t o an i n v e s t i g a t o r , b u t w i t h t h e
p a p y r i t h i s i s j u s t not p o s s i b l e . I t i s n e c e s s a r y a l s o t o r e a l i z e that
" e f f i c a c y always i n v o l v e s both symptom r e d u c t i o n and r e s t o r a t i o n of meaning
to l i f e . " 5 7
Yet, t h e p a p y r i almost never recount a c t u a l episodes; r a t h e r they

53 I b i d . 28-29.
54 I b i d . p. 29, c i t i n g Kleinman 1980, p. 105.
55 Ibid.
56 Keeping i n mind t h a t more t h a n one type may be r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e c o r p u s .
57 Ibid.
 15

present templates f o r t y p i c a l o r p o s s i b l e episodes, and hence they have o n l y

the one-sided p e r s p e c t i v e o f the ritualist. 5 8

Transaction: T h i s r e f e r s t o the i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h the h e a l e r . D e s p i t e b e i n g

one o f the most c r i t i c a l a s p e c t s o f our i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t h i s i s a l s o most
difficult to extract from the r i t u a l s o f the p a p y r i . " A l l transactions
between the s i c k p e r s o n and the h e a l e r ( s ) s h o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d h e r m e n e u t i c , " 59

the interaction i t s e l f b e i n g made up of symbolic and s e m i o t i c interpretations

i n terms of "very p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r p r e t i v e schemata," 60
which are themselves
e s t a b l i s h e d i n a p a r t i c u l a r h e a l i n g t r a n s a c t i o n by the combined EMs o f a l l
actors. "The s i c k p e r s o n and the h e a l e r are best u n d e r s t o o d as engaging i n
the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f the c o n t e x t o f the encounter, which is itself symbolic,
and of the symbolic forms t h a t are manipulated by the o t h e r d u r i n g the
encounter. " 6 1

Not e v e r y t h i n g o f t h i s comes through c l e a r l y i n the p a p y r i , but this

l a s t aspect i s most r i c h l y a t t e s t e d : the r i t u a l s are themselves largely such
m a n i p u l a t i o n s of symbolic forms by the r i t u a l i s t f o r the c l i e n t . The r i t u a l s
are guides t o how t h i s i s done, and are made up a t times almost e n t i r e l y o f
symbols, which " i n c l u d e words, a c t s , events, and g e s t u r e s . " 6 2
The r i t u a l
encounter t y p i c a l o f the p a p y r i " s p e l l s " i s r e c o g n i z a b l e as one d i s t i n c t kind
of encounter, but the e f f o r t a t hand i s t o l o c a t e and d e f i n e as f a r as
p o s s i b l e another d i s t i n c t k i n d o f encounter w i t h i n t h a t type: the h e a l i n g
encounter. S p e c i f i c h e a l i n g encounters are " e i t h e r a new form of interaction
or a r e p e t i t i o n o f a p r e v i o u s l y known form of encounter." For the most p a r t ,
the encounters i n d i c a t e d i n the p a p y r i are o f the l a t t e r s o r t , s i m p l y because
they are p r e s c r i p t i v e (and a l s o o f t e n e x p l i c i t l y e m p i r i c a l ) : "for this
s i t u a t i o n , you do t h i s - because i t works." What m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g y most
s t r e s s e s about the h e a l i n g encounter i s that i t "produces understanding
r a t h e r than new knowledge o r e x p l a n a t i o n . " 6 3

58 They are not accounts with many characters as are the stories i n the Gospels and
Acts. This, may make the investigation easier, but perhaps also more d i f f i c u l t to argue
from.
59 Ibid. Citing Good and Good, 1981; and c i t i n g Pilch, 1988b. If this i s so, then this
study i s an hermeneutic of hermeneutics.
60 Ibid.
61 Ibid, p 30
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid. p. 31, c i t i n g Gaines, 1982, p. 244
 16

Symbolic Healing: T h i s concept i n c l u d e s r e l i g i o u s h e a l i n g , shamanism, and

Western psychotherapy among i t s v a r i a n t s . 6 4
The s p e c i a l t y of the symbolic
h e a l e r i s i n mediating culture, and t h i s i s accomplished and u n d e r s t o o d by
attending t o the metaphorical structure of the g i v e n c u l t u r e . For healing,
P i l c h puts the m e t a p h o r i c a l s t r u c t u r e o f c u l t u r e on the same l e v e l of
decisiveness f o r h e a l t h outcome as p h y s i o l o g i c a l o r p h a r m a c o l o g i c a l
elements, 65
which t o many i n the b i o m e d i c a l paradigm w i l l sound extraordinary.
There are f o u r e s s e n t i a l p r o c e s s e s comprising stages o f symbolic healing and
n e c e s s a r y f o r i t s accomplishment, which must be examined:

Stage 1. Symbolic Bridge-. E s t a b l i s h i n g a l i n k between p e r s o n a l experience,

s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s , and c u l t u r a l meanings. Systems o f symbolic healing are
a l l based on models o f e x p e r i e n t i a l r e a l i t y termed the mythic world, which
e i t h e r d e r i v e s from s o c i e t y ' s shared meaning o r from i n i t i a t i o n into a
p a r t i c u l a r system of h e a l i n g o p e r a t i n g as a s u b c u l t u r e . The mythic world
contains e x p e r i e n t i a l , r a t h e r than e m p i r i c a l , knowledge. 66
In c o n s t r u c t i n g
a symbolic bridge together, the h e a l e r and s i c k person reach agreement "to
p a r t i c u l a r i z e a segment o f the c u l t u r a l mythic world f o r use in a
p a r t i c u l a r case o f symbolic healing." 6 7
The mythic w o r l d s u p p l i e s the
symbols n e c e s s a r y t o connect the s o c i a l system t o the s e l f - s y s t e m of the
s i c k person. For example, the f i r s t formulaic r e c i t a t i o n i n a papyri
h e a l i n g o f t e n r e c a p i t u l a t e s a mythic event that r e l a t e s t o the problem -
such as the s t o r y of I s i s s e e k i n g to mend and r e s u r r e c t the dismembered
Osiris (VII: 1000-1005; x i v : 10).

Stage 2. . R e l a t i n g t h e Sick Person to the Mythic World: The healer

endeavours t o do t h i s by p e r s u a d i n g the s i c k p e r s o n t h a t t h e i r illness
experience can be r e l a t e d t o some p a r t of the mythic world, through an
a c t i v a t i o n of symbolic connections. This a c t i v a t i o n i s often accomplished
in the p a p y r i by the r e c i t a t i o n of words o f power and s e c r e t names. In
t h i s stage the p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the h e a l i n g t r a n s a c t i o n are often
i d e n t i f i e d w i t h mythic d e i t i e s i n the p a p y r i as d i r e c t p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the
symbolic v e r b a l reenactment (we s h a l l look at t h i s below).

64 Ibid. p. 32, c i t i n g Dow, 1986, p. 56; and Moerman, 1983; and Kleinman, 1988, p.
131.
65 Ibid. p. 32.
66 With regard to mental i l l n e s s and consciousness states there i s no way to t e l l
difference.
 17

Stage 3. Transactional Symbols: These are m e d i a t i n g symbols o f t e n employed

by a h e a l e r as p a r t i c u l a r i z e d forms of the g e n e r a l meaning system. The
h e a l e r uses them to guide the emotional r e a c t i o n s of the s i c k person
undergoing t h e r a p e u t i c change. A l l p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the h e a l i n g process
"share mutual e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t name and shape the c l i n i c a l reality, that
is, the i l l n e s s . " 6 8
From t h i s base, the h e a l e r can g e n e r a l i z e the personal
experience (the w r i t t e n " s p e l l s " are such g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s ) i n t o the
t h e r a p e u t i c meaning system ( i n our case embodied i n a "magical" handbook),
and thereby enable the s i c k person to p a r t i c u l a r i z e p e r s o n a l experience
out of such symbolic meaning.

Stage 4. Confirmation: When the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the p a r t i c u l a r i z e d

symbolic meaning has taken p l a c e , the h e a l e r pronounces i t an accomplished
f a c t by a symbolic a c t of c o n f i r m a t i o n . A common example from the papyri
i s an e x o r c i s m f o l l o w e d by a t t a c h i n g a p r o p h y l a c t i c amulet t o keep the
daimon from r e t u r n i n g . "In a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l terms, the h e a l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n
fosters this transformation as a work of c u l t u r e , the making o v e r of
psychophysiological process i n t o meaningful e x p e r i e n c e and the a f f i r m a t i o n
of success." 69

Kleinman has d e s i g n e d another comparative model to examine symbolic

h e a l i n g systems; the f o l l o w i n g o u t l i n e i s a key-point summary of i t .
Following i t w i l l help t h i s study i n r e - r e a d i n g s of the p a p y r i m a t e r i a l s , as
it s u c c i n c t l y organizes a list of the many unknowns to watch f o r . P i l c h
recommends i t f o r a n a l y z i n g h e a l i n g i n t e r a c t i o n s i n the f i r s t century era
Mediterranean w o r l d (with the standard c o n s t r u c t i v e procedure of modifying
and fine tuning i t appropriately):

67 Ibid, c i t i n g Dow, 1986, p. 61.

68 Ibid. p. 33.
69 Kleinman, 1988, p 134. Cited i n Pilch, 2000, p. 33.
Summary Model for Examining Symbolic Healing Systems:

1. S e t t i n g : f o l k , popular, or p r o f e s s i o n a l

2. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the i n t e r a c t i o n :
a. Number of p a r t i c i p a n t s
b. Time c h a r a c t e r : e p i s o d i c or continuous, b r i e f o r l e n g t h y
c. Q u a l i t y o f r e l a t i o n s h i p : formal o r i n f o r m a l , authoritarian

or dyadic

3. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e h e a l e r :
a. Personality
b. Training
c. Type o f p r a c t i c e

4. Idioms of communication:
a. Mode: somatic, r e l i g i o u s , moral, s o c i a l
b. Code: n o n v e r b a l , v e r b a l , s p e c i a l semiotic system
c. EM of a p a r t i c u l a r i l l n e s s episode - f o r example, shared,

conflicting, open, t a c i t , e t c .
d. R h e t o r i c a l d e v i c e s f o r n a r r a t i z i n g i l l n e s s and n e g o t i a t i n g
treatment.
e. Interpretation

5. C l i n i c a l r e a l i t y : sacred, s e c u l a r , disease or i l l n e s s oriented,

focus of treatment ( s i c k person, f a m i l y , e t c . ) , symbolic and
/or i n s t r u m e n t a l interventions, etc.

6. T h e r a p e u t i c stages and mechanisms: p r o c e s s , mechanisms of

change c a t h a r s i s , confession, a l t e r e d state of consciousness,

etc.)

7. E x t r a - t h e r a p e u t i c aspects: s o c i a l control, political

implications, e t c .

N.B.* It may b e u s e f u l t o mark o r s e p a r a t e this page for reference.

 19

Efficacy: T h i s i s "the p e r c e i v e d c a p a c i t y o f a g i v e n p r a c t i c e t o a f f e c t
s i c k n e s s i n some d e s i r a b l e way," 70
but can mean a range o f t h i n g s "from total
symptom r e d u c t i o n t o some p h y s i c a l s i g n , l i k e f e v e r , v o m i t i n g , o r the l i k e ,
which can be i n t e r p r e t e d as a r e q u i r e d proximate e f f e c t i n d i c a t i n g t h a t the
u l t i m a t e a n t i c i p a t e d outcome i s on the way." 71
Medical anthropology views
curing as e f f i c a c i o u s when b i o m e d i c a l changes take p l a c e , but healing as
efficacious "when the p e o p l e who seek i t say i t i s ; " 7 2
an etic/emic
distinction.

In e v a l u a t i n g e f f i c a c y i t i s c r u c i a l t o understand the c u l t u r a l
expectations and the b i o l o g i c a l outcomes a t v a r i o u s stages o f the t h e r a p e u t i c
processes, because e f f i c a c y i s always a c u l t u r a l c o n s t r u c t . 7 3
Healing i s
effective "when the bonds between the s i c k i n d i v i d u a l and the group, weakened
by d i s e a s e , a r e strengthened, s o c i a l values r e a f f i r m e d , and the n o t i o n o f
s o c i a l o r d e r no l o n g e r t h r e a t e n e d by i l l n e s s and d e a t h . " 74
But h e a l i n g i s a l s o
e f f e c t i v e i f i t makes an i n d i v i d u a l ' s experience of i l l n e s s meaningful,
shares p e r s o n a l suffering, and transforms the m a r g i n a l s i t u a t i o n of sickness
by a r e - i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f the i n d i v i d u a l i n t o the s o c i a l body, whether i n
h e a l t h o r even death.

70 Young, 1982, p. 277.

71 Etkin 1988, pp. 301-2, c i t e d i n Pilch, 2000, p. 34.
72 Pilch, 2000, p 34.
73 Ibid, c i t i n g Kleinman, 1974a, p. 210.
74 Ibid.
 20

B. A n a l y s i s of the H e a l t h c a r e System i n the Papyri

Background S c h o l a r s h i p and the S t a t e of the Question

In t h i s s e c t i o n I w i l l comment on the most r e l e v a n t background

secondary s c h o l a r s h i p b e a r i n g upon t h i s study, (leaving aside medical
a n t h r o p o l o g y r e s e a r c h which i s a l r e a d y b e i n g a t t e n d e d t o ) . I t f a l l s into
s e v e r a l c a t e g o r i e s . For medical h i s t o r y s t u d i e s , there are those treating
a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n m e d i c i n e , H e l l e n i s t i c m e d i c i n e , o r g e n e r a l s t u d i e s of the
r e l a t i o n s h i p s between r e l i g i o n and medicine i n ancient s o c i e t i e s . Another
body of s c h o l a r s h i p l o o k s a t the s o c i a l - c u l t u r a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l changes
t a k i n g p l a c e i n l a t e a n t i q u i t y , a subset of which c o n c e n t r a t e s on E g y p t i a n
h i s t o r y b e f o r e and d u r i n g the p e r i o d of the p a p y r i . S t u d i e s of E g y p t i a n and
Greek r e l i g i o n a r e r e q u i r e d t o c o n t e x t u a l i z e the r e l i g i o u s m i l i e u i n t h i s
time of r a p i d change and s y n c r e t i s m . L a s t l y , t h e r e a r e a few important
s t u d i e s t h a t t r e a t a s p e c t s of the p a p y r i o r of more g e n e r a l l a t e a n t i q u e
r i t u a l s of power. A l l of these are l i s t e d i n the b i b l i o g r a p h y .

In the h i s t o r y of m e d i c i n e , t h e r e are many books and s t u d i e s of

E g y p t i a n m e d i c i n e , but a l l of them d e a l almost e n t i r e l y w i t h the p h a r a o n i c
period. S t i l l , t h e y are v e r y u s e f u l i n r e v e a l i n g a major source of the p a p y r i
i n the i n d i g e n o u s t r a d i t i o n t o h e l p c o n t e x t u a l i z e them. These works i n c l u d e
e s s e n t i a l overviews such as La medicine Egyptienne au temps des Pharaons by
A. P. Lega, which i n c l u d e s an i n t e r e s t i n g d i s c u s s i o n i n c h a p t e r IV, "Magie,
R e l i g i o n , Medecine," (pp. 57-103); John F. Nunn's A n c i e n t E g y p t i a n M e d i c i n e
i s a l s o good f o r h i s c o n t e x t u a l i z a t i o n of h e a l e r s and h i s d i s c u s s i o n s of the
m e d i c a l p a p y r i as " t e x t b o o k s " and the per ankh "house o f l i f e " as a "medical
school", (p. 131). Of e s p e c i a l r e l e v a n c e i s c h a p t e r 5 "Magic and R e l i g i o n i n
Medicine," (pp. 96-113) i n which he d i s c u s s e s the t h e r a p e u t i c v a l u e of magic
(p. 97), and c h a p t e r 6 "The H e a l e r s , " (pp. 113-136). Paul Ghaliounghui i s
another a u t h o r i t y , whose The House of L i f e : Magic and M e d i c a l S c i e n c e i n
A n c i e n t Egypt o f f e r s s i m i l a r l y e n l i g h t e n i n g d i s c u s s i o n s i n c h a p t e r 2, "Magic
and S a c e r d o t a l M e d i c i n e " (pp. 13-26) and c h a p t e r 6, "The Healers" (pp. 63-
79). A l l of t h e s e and s i m i l a r works suggest t h a t the p a p y r i were grounded i n
a n c i e n t t r a d i t i o n s i n which h e a l e r s were s p e c i a l i s t s w i t h sometimes m u l t i p l e
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , p r a c t i c i n g m u l t i p l e types of m e d i c i n e , closely associated
w i t h the p r i e s t h o o d o r sometimes even p r i e s t s themselves, who passed their
knowledge and c a r e e r s on t o t h e i r o f f s p r i n g . The debate, u n r e s o l v e d , among
 21

these s c h o l a r s 7 5
between v i e w i n g the p e r ankh as a "medical s c h o o l " o r as a
"scriptorium" i s most a p p o s i t e t o the s i m i l a r c h a l l e n g e t o i n t e r p r e t the
p r e c i s e o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t of the p a p y r i .

H e l l e n i s t i c medicine, which i n c l u d e s Greek and Roman Medicine, i s well-

served by a long h i s t o r y of s c h o l a r s h i p . General background works c o n s u l t e d
i n the p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s study i n c l u d e Benjamin Lee Gordon's Medicine
Throughout A n t i q u i t y ; James Sands E l l i o t t ' s O u t l i n e s of Greek and Roman
Medicine; John Scarborough's Roman Medicine; E. D. P h i l l i p s ' Aspects of Greek
medicine; and Ralph Jackson's Doctors and D i s e a s e s i n the Roman Empire. There
are o t h e r s , but each of the above i n c l u d e r e l e v a n t c h a p t e r s on the important
r o l e of the A l e x a n d r i a n m e d i c a l s c h o o l s i n Ptolemaic Egypt and d i s c u s s i o n s of
the r e l i g i o u s i n t e r a c t i o n s and m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of the H e l l e n i s t i c medical
t r a d i t i o n . These bear on t h i s study by demonstrating the c l o s e i n t e r e s t that
H e l l e n i s t i c h e a l e r s had w i t h r i t u a l and symbolic h e a l i n g t e c h n i q u e s i n both
t h e i r own and i n f o r e i g n c u l t u r e s , e s p e c i a l l y but not o n l y c o n c e r n i n g h e a l i n g
c u l t s a t temple s a n c t u a r i e s .

For G r a e c o - E g y p t i a n r e l i g i o u s i d e a s i n Late A n t i q u i t y , G a r t h Fowden's

The E g y p t i a n Hermes: A H i s t o r i c a l Approach t o the Late Pagan Mind i s t r u l y
inspiring i n i t s effort t o e x p l a i n the i n t e l l e c t u a l a s p e c t s o f a l o n g
t r a d i t i o n of c u l t u r a l i n t e r a c t i o n . C. Jacq p r o v i d e s a s e n s i t i v e introduction
to t r a d i t i o n a l E g y p t i a n r e l i g i o n as "magic," and i n c l u d e s a c h a p t e r on
medicine, i n h i s E g y p t i a n Magic. P e t e r Brown's Making o f L a t e A n t i q u i t y and
Jonathan Z. Smith's Map i s not T e r r i t o r y a r e both v a l u a b l e p r o v i d e r s of
general r e l i g i o u s c l i m a t i c i n f o r m a t i o n f o r the p e r i o d and r e g i o n i n g e n e r a l
to which the p r e s e n t author i s i n d e b t e d f o r awareness o f major f o r c e s and
trends'.

S t u d i e s t h a t t r e a t a s p e c t s of the p a p y r i o r of more g e n e r a l late

a n t i q u e r i t u a l s o f power o r o f "magic" i n c l u d e works l i k e Magic and M a g i c i a n s
i n the Greco-Roman World by Matthew W. D i c k i e , which d i s c u s s e s the p l a c e of
"magicians" i n society; Paul M i r e c k i and Marvin Meyer have e d i t e d two
c o l l e c t i o n s of essays, A n c i e n t Magic and R i t u a l Power and Magic and R i t u a l i n

75 Strouhal (1992) and Reeves (1992) both argue for a view that doctors received
training i n the'per ankh "house of l i f e , " suggesting that i t was a place analogous to
both modern medical schools and to those of Greece and Alexandria. Gardiner, (1938),
on the other hand, concluded that the per ankh was neither a school nor a university
 22

the A n c i e n t World, c o n t a i n i n g s t u d i e s e s p e c i a l l y r e l e v a n t t o the one

attempted here: i n the former volume Roy Kotansky examines "An E a r l y
C h r i s t i a n Gold L a m e l l a f o r Headache" (pp. 37-46), Sarah lies Johnston
examines " S a c r i f i c e i n the Greek M a g i c a l P a p y r i " (pp. 344-358), and Lynn R.
L i D o n n i c i i n "Beans, Fleawort, and the Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon: Recipe
I n g r e d i e n t s i n Greco-Roman M a g i c a l M a t e r i a l s " (pp. 359-377), i d e n t i f i e s and
c l a s s i f i e s many o f t h e m a t e r i a medica o f the h e a l i n g r i t u a l s . In the second
volume, Roy Kotansky l o o k s a g a i n at "Greek E x o r c i s t i c Amulets" (pp. 243-278),
Leda Jean C i r a o l o examines " S u p e r n a t u r a l A s s i s t a n t s i n the Greek M a g i c a l
Papyri" (pp. 279-296), and David M a r t i n e z f o c u s e s on the a f f l i c t i n g love
rituals i n "'May she n e i t h e r e a t nor d r i n k : ' Love Magic and Vows of
Abstinence" (pp. 335-360) . P e t e r S c h a f e r and Hans G. Kippenberg edited
E n v i s i o n i n g Magic, which c o n t a i n s u s e f u l essays on a s p e c t s o f the p a p y r i : H.
D. Betz, "Jewish Magic i n the Greek M a g i c a l P a p y r i " (pp. 45-64), R i c h a r d
Gordon's " R e p o r t i n g the M a r v e l l o u s : P r i v a t e D i v i n a t i o n i n the Greek M a g i c a l
Papyri" (pp. 64-92), F r i t z G r a f ' s "How t o Cope w i t h a D i f f i c u l t L i f e : A View
of A n c i e n t Magic"(pp. 93-114), and e s p e c i a l l y David F r a n k f u r t e r ' s " R i t u a l
E x p e r t i s e i n Roman Egypt and the Problem of the Category 'Magician'" (pp.
115-136), which l o o k s a t the PGM as a c o l l e c t i o n of d i s c r e t e text-books and
argues f o r a c o n t e x t u a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the magicians as p r i e s t s who
f u n c t i o n e d as l o c a l a l l - p u r p o s e r i t u a l specialists.

Other works of t h i s type t h a t were c o n s u l t e d i n the p r e p a r a t i o n of t h i s

paper i n c l u d e : Magika H i e r a , a c o l l e c t i o n of essays e d i t e d by C h r i s t o p h e r
Faraone and D i r k Obbink, which i n c l u d e s John Scarborough's look a t the
materia medica i n the p a p y r i , "The Pharmacology of Sacred P l a n t s , Herbs, and
Roots" (pp. 138-174), and H. D. Betz's "Magic and Mystery i n the Greek
Magical P a p y r i " (pp. 244-259). In another c o l l e c t i o n o f essays, Magic and
D i v i n a t i o n i n the A n c i e n t World, e d i t e d by Leda C i r a o l o and Jonathan Seidel,
A n i t r a Bingham Kolenkow examines "Persons of Power and T h e i r Communities"
(pp. 137-144), i n an i n t e r e s t i n g attempt t o r e c o v e r the s o c i a l context of
r i t u a l p r a c t i c e . C h r i s t o p h e r Faraone's book A n c i e n t Greek Love Magic examines
the a f f l i c t i o n s p e l l s of the p a p y r i . The World of A n c i e n t Magic c o n t a i n s
u s e f u l d i s c u s s i o n s of theory, and another h e l p f u l a r t i c l e c o n t e x t u a l i z i n g the
r i t u a l i s t / s c r i b e by Matthew D i c k i e , "The Learned M a g i c i a n and the C o l l e c t i o n
and T r a n s m i s s i o n o f M a g i c a l Lore" (pp. 163-194). Most h e l p f u l were the

but r a t h e r a s c r i p t o r i u m where books connected w i t h r e l i g i o n and cognate m a t t e r s were

compiled. See John Nunn f o r d i s c u s s i o n o f t h i s debate.
 23

aforementioned t e x t s by Naomi Janowitz, Icons of Power, and Rebecca Lesses,

R i t u a l P r a c t i c e s t o G a i n Power, both of which b r i n g t o g e t h e r r i t u a l theory to
powerfully r e i n t e r p r e t l a t e antique r i t u a l a c t s from many r e l i g i o u s
traditions.

T h i s f o r e g o i n g m a t e r i a l i s of a s s i s t a n c e i n the r e a d i n g o f these texts,

e s p e c i a l l y i n the ongoing e f f o r t t o c o n t e x t u a l i z e the m a g i c i a n - h e a l e r s o f the
p a p y r i - S e v e r a l o f t h e s t u d i e s t h a t d i s c u s s s o c i a l c o n t e x t l o o k t o the
h e a l i n g r o l e o f the r i t u a l i s t as a powerful i n t e r p r e t i v e anchor. However, as
can be seen; v e r y few d e a l w i t h the h e a l i n g a s p e c t s of the p a p y r i as the
c e n t r a l t o p i c of concern - these have r a t h e r a v e r y l i m i t e d f o c u s upon s i n g l e
aspects such as the m a t e r i a medica/pharmacology.

In sum, the s t a t e of the q u e s t i o n i n r e s p e c t of key i d e a s of t h i s paper

sketches out f e a t u r e s of the s u r r o u n d i n g landscape, but has l e s s than one
would hope t o o f f e r d i r e c t l y t o the c h a l l e n g e of the q u e s t i o n a t hand. 76
And
none of them a p p l y m e d i c a l anthropology t o the t e x t i n the manner attempted
here.

Secondary s c h o l a r s h i p can s i t u a t e the p a p y r i i n a l a t e and d e c l i n i n g

p e r i o d of temple s c r i b e s h o l d i n g on t o what they can, o f f o l k medical
p r a c t i c e a t t a c h e d t o a n c i e n t l i n e a g e s o f p r i e s t l y a u t h o r i t y ; i n an E g y p t i a n
s o c i e t y t h a t i n t h i s p e r i o d was l o s i n g i t s r e l i g i o u s c u l t u r e i n the urban
c e n t r e s but r e t a i n i n g i t - f o r a time - i n the p e r i p h e r a l townships. In the
l a r g e r world f o r c e s sweeping over the urban c e n t r e s and s u r r o u n d i n g areas,
the s h i f t i n worldview and r e l i g i o u s o u t l o o k from "locative" temple
t r a d i t i o n s was t a k i n g p l a c e as i t was i n the r e s t of Roman e a s t t o a
"Utopian" and r o o t l e s s r e l i g i o s i t y emphasizing the power o f c h a r i s m a t i c
individuals. 7 7
In upper-Egypt, i t i s suggested i n the l i t e r a t u r e t h a t t h e r e
was a more, g r a d u a l change t h a t a l l o w e d the t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r a l institution
of the v i l l a g e r i t u a l specialist and h e a l e r t o a d j u s t t o the changes coming,
to become more mobile, and e v e n t u a l l y t o make the t r a n s i t i o n t o the
monastery. 78

76 Guy Stroumsa suggested this topic to me as a thesis because he thought i t to be

understudied.
77 Concepts coined by J. Z. Smith.
78 Unfortunately I cannot include a reading of Egyptian C h r i s t i a n materials as well at
this point, although the richness of what i s available would probably give a great
l i g h t to shine on the s i t u a t i o n of the papyri which was so near i n time and content to
Coptic Christian r i t u a l papyri.
 24

The importance i n H e l l e n i s t i c medical h i s t o r y o f t h e A l e x a n d r i a n

medical s c h o o l s i n P t o l e m a i c Egypt i s well-known, as i s t h e p e r s i s t e n t but
ambiguous r e l i g i o u s i n t e r a c t i o n s and m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f the H e l l e n i s t i c
medical t r a d i t i o n throughout l a t e a n t i q u i t y , which a l l o w s us t o s p e c u l a t e
about c o n t a c t i n Egypt between Greek p h y s i c i a n s perhaps i n t e r e s t e d t o l e a r n
from E g y p t i a n r i t u a l healers, or v i c e versa. I t i s a l s o known t h a t the p a p y r i
are grounded somehow i n an a n c i e n t c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n of s p e c i a l i z a t i o n i n
which h e a l e r s c o u l d be q u a l i f i e d t o p r a c t i c e s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t types of
medicine, even as p r i e s t s s p e c i a l i z e d i n d i f f e r e n t types of r i t u a l ; that
h e a l e r s were c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the p r i e s t h o o d o r sometimes even p r i e s t s
themselves; and t h a t they passed t h e i r o c c u p a t i o n s on t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n . The
i n t e r e s t i n g unresolved debate whether the per ankh was a "medical s c h o o l " o r
as a " s c r i p t o r i u m " shows t h a t the acute problem o f i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e p a p y r i
as products of a t e x t u a l t r a d i t i o n o r of a p r a c t i c a l h e a l i n g tradition i s
also a chronic problem.

T e x t - C r i t i c a l Issues: Cautionary Reservations, a Disclaimer

The p a p y r i a r e not a u n i f i e d t e x t but r a t h e r r e p r e s e n t an assembled

c o l l e c t i o n o f fragments i n v a r i o u s stages o f e d i t o r i a l r e d a c t i o n . 7 9
But the
p a p y r i a r e not merely l a t e l y assembled fragments o f s e p a r a t e "spells"
conceived as a s c h o l a r l y p r o j e c t ; among them a r e whole "handbooks" which
d i s p l a y a t times p a t t e r n s of c e r t a i n order and an e d i t o r i a l intention,
p a r t i c u l a r l y where m e d i c a l m a t e r i a l s and h e a l i n g a r e concerned. I t i s even
p o s s i b l e t h a t most of the fragments come from such handbooks as w e l l . 8 0

Moreover, the Betz e d i t i o n i s a compendium of E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n s made

by d i s p a r a t e scholars from t h e Homeric and Koine Greek, Demotic, and C o p t i c ,

79 As a comparative aside, the papyri are not as u n i f i e d a text as the NT or even the
separate gospels are, but rather represent an assembled c o l l e c t i o n of fragments which
could compare to an early stage i n the well studied process of NT redaction (with
appropriate reservations about imputing such an e v o l u t i o n i s t theory on texts i n
general).
80 Furthermore, as such, the papyri are comparable i n NT terms to the hypothetical
pre-Gospel source materials (aretologies, parable books, and so on), which
considerably lessens the distance between the texts as comparable e n t i t i e s . In fact,
since the papyri are so 'unedited' and hence, immediate, they represent a snapshot of
practice that we mostly lack for the e a r l i e s t Christian textual strata, and lack
almost absolutely i n early rabbinic strata. As a neophyte, t h i s writer i s thankful
that as such, the material to hand i s not burdened with the same degree of c r i t i c a l
problems faced by the scholar of Jewish magic trying to unravel the rabbinic texts.
 25

and a few scraps o f o t h e r languages. I t i s u n f o r t u n a t e l y not a c r i t i c a l

e d i t i o n with p a r a l l e l t e x t i n the o r i g i n a l , and" g i v e s v e r y little discussion
to the p a r t i c u l a r word c h o i c e s o f the t r a n s l a t o r s , which cannot have been
s t a n d a r d i z e d t o a l l the m a t e r i a l , and do not o f t e n render number'or gender
s p e c i f i c a t i o n s i n the t r a n s l a t i o n of pronouns. A l t h o u g h the w r i t e r i s not
fluent i n any of these languages, a d i c t i o n a r y and a grammar can go a l o n g
way to e n t e r i n g i n t o the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of meaning t h a t a r e u n a v a i l a b l e when
presented with E n g l i s h alone.

Healing in i t s cultural context

Appropriate t h e r a p i e s i n d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s v a r y as the d e f i n i t i o n s o f
h e a l t h and sickness vary. In contemporary western c u l t u r e , the focus on
disease d r i v e s t h e r a p y i n an a e t i o l o g i c a l d i r e c t i o n : toward a cure. Medical
Anthropology t e l l s us t h a t i n n o n - s c i e n t i f i c a l l y o r i e n t e d c u l t u r e s , t h e r a p i e s
are r a t h e r symptomatic, (aimed at a l l e v i a t i n g or managing the symptoms).
P i l c h d e s c r i b e s how t h i s becomes a process o f c r e a t i n g new meaning f o r the
sufferer, (and t h a t the h e a l i n g a c t i v i t y of Jesus i n the NT was o n l y of this
k i n d ) . I n the p a p y r i , we see i n d i c a t i o n s of symptomatic h e a l i n g s i m i l a r t o
t h a t of J e s u s , 81
with s i m i l a r daimonic a e t i o l o g i a l theories, 8 2
but. some
t h e r a p i e s a l s o p o s s i b l y r e f l e c t a type of d i s e a s e t h e o r y 83
(though not
s t r i c t l y biomedical). In most cases, the therapy i s nameable as healing, but
in some i t must i n c l u d e curing a l s o , as d e f i n e d above.

Those t h e r a p i e s i n the p a p y r i t h a t do not f i t the NT model refer

sometimes to p h y s i c a l remedies and a f f l i c t i o n s and to e m p i r i c a l "testing,"
and m a i n t a i n d i s t i n c t i o n s between the p h y s i c a l remedy (cure) and the

81 Take, for example, the many amulets that ask for fevers and headaches to be taken
away, especially PGM XCIV: 39-60, "...to you I speak, pounding headache; don't throb,
don't rage, don't shake the teeth, don't produce mucus, don't produce a 'black-out,'
don't s t i r up convulsions. For i f there i s throbbing, raging, shaking of teeth,
producing of mucus, producings of 'black-out,' or s t i r r i n g s of a convulsion..." See also
PGM LXXXIII, LXXXVII-XCI, etc.
82 See amulet PGM LXXXIX:l-27 "I, Abrasax, s h a l l d e l i v e r . Abrasax am I! ABRASAX
ABRASICHOOU, help l i t t l e S o p h i a - P r i s k i l l a get hold of and do away with what comes to
l i t t l e S o p h i a - P r i s k i l l a , whether i t i s a shivering f i t - get hold of i t ! Whether a
phantom - get hold of i t ! Whether a daimon - get hold of it!..."
83 Such disease theories include for example mechanical obstructions (PDM xiv:574-85;
620-26), contamination be a noxious substance, such as venom, pus, or poison (PDM
xiv:554-62,563-74,585-93,594-620), or disordered organs (famously, the uterus, PGM
VII .-260-71) .
 26

p r o d u c t i o n of meaning (healing) . 84
In f a c t , t h e r e seems t o be a t times i n the
papyri at least a p r o t o - s c i e n t i f i c orientation. A d d i t i o n a l l y , and connected
with a e t i o l o g y , i s the f a c t t h a t the p a p y r i are not j u s t concerned w i t h
i l l n e s s i n r e l a t i o n t o h e a l i n g , but a l s o i n r e l a t i o n t o i n t e n t i o n a l l y
afflicting it: symptoms i n t a r g e t e d i n d i v i d u a l s a r e produced by a v a r i e t y of
techniques, b o t h symbolic ones (e.g. sending daimons 85
o r using "pin-dolls" ) 8S

and s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y " b i o m e d i c a l " ones (e.g. p o i s o n i n g ) . The f l i p

8 7
side of
placebo, we are i n the realm of nocebo (except where the p o i s o n s worked
b i o c h e m i c a l l y , which seems - w i t h my l i m i t e d knowledge o f t o x i c o l o g y - t o be
q u i t e o f t e n ) . T h i s i s r i c h m a t e r i a l almost t o t a l l y absent from the NT
88

m a t e r i a l P i l c h uses. I t exposes an e n t i r e s e t o f e x p l a n a t o r y models and

symptomatology, and g u i d e s an e n t i r e d i s t i n c t f i e l d o f h e a l i n g : the undoing
of and defense from r i t u a l a t t a c k s coming from enemies. Aetiologically, such
a system i s v e r y s i m i l a r t o the " w i t c h c r a f t " so famously d e s c r i b e d by Evans-
P r i t c h a r d i n h i s s t u d y o f the Azande. 89

84 See PDM xiv:232 " i t has been tested nine times;" And also "tested" i n xiv:711,1110 ;
PGM 111:440; IV:160-62; 2450-55.
85 E.g. PGM 1:99, 213-4; IV:321-329, 1520-30 (esp.),1167 and ,2076.
86 For pin-dolls, see PGM IV:321-29; XXIVb:l-15.
87 PDM xiv:563-74,711-749,911-919.
88 In the potions for " e v i l sleep," the presence of potent herbs and poisons l i k e
mandrake, apple seeds, or narcotics l i k e opium suggests strongly the induction of
catalepsy or coma. See the appendix below.
89 Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande.
Oxford : The Clarendon Press, 1937.
 27

Reading the P a p y r i as H e a l i n g Texts i n C u l t u r a l Context

Modern i n t e r p r e t e r s have even more d i f f i c u l t y r e s p e c t i n g "magicians" as

h e a l e r s than they do Jesus, but t h a t has been changing. J u s t as i n s i g h t s o f
modern medical a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s ( i n i t i a l l y i n t e n d e d t o a l l o w an u n d e r s t a n d i n g
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of o t h e r contemporary c u l t u r e s ) can and have been d i s c o v e r e d
as s e r v i c e a b l e t o b i b l i c a l scholars, so can they a s s i s t s c h o l a r s o f the PGM
i n a s i m i l a r e n t e r p r i s e . Such i n s i g h t s w i l l t e a c h us t h a t , as healers, t h e
"magicians" need t o be r e g a r d e d as cultural mediators. 90
The burden o b l i g a t i n g
the s c h o l a r i s "to become e n c u l t u r a t e d i n t o the M e d i t e r r a n e a n world t o
p r o p e r l y understand and i n t e r p r e t ancient... t e x t s . " 5 1

From b a s i c d e f i n i t i o n s d i s t i n g u i s h i n g t h a t c u l t u r e g e n e r a l l y from our

own, r e f i n e d d e f i n i t i o n s more s u i t a b l e t o the t e x t u a l d a t a of the p a p y r i can
be proposed, j u s t as they have been f o r the b i b l i c a l data. I t i s a s e n s i t i v e
process o f e v o l v i n g and a d a p t i n g the concepts, and of t h e r e b y d e v e l o p i n g more
r e s p e c t f u l i n t e r p r e t i v e s t r a t e g i e s . T h i s i s the p r o c e s s t h a t P i l c h advocates
and which i s a l s o " g e n e r a l l y f o l l o w e d by o t h e r b i b l i c a l s c h o l a r s who
incorporate s o c i a l - s c i e n t i f i c i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of b i b l i c a l
texts." 9 2
There i s e v e r y reason t o t r y i t w i t h the PGM too.

There a r e many c a t e g o r i e s f o r e v a l u a t i n g methods, and models v a r y i n

their u t i l i t y . The c h a l l e n g e f o r the s c h o l a r i s t o s e l e c t o r d e v e l o p a method

best s u i t e d t o the p a p y r i t e x t at hand and i t s l a t e a n t i q u e E g y p t i a n

Mediterranean culture.

90 Pilch, p. 15
92 Ibxd! c i t i n g Hollenbach, 1982; Kazmierski, 1992; Neyrey, 1986b.
 28

Selecting Appropriate T e s t Cases from the Papyri

Embarrassed i n the f a c e of the r i c h e s of r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l i n the

p a p y r i , a study of t h i s s i z e s a d l y cannot address e v e r y r i t u a l r e l a t e d to
illness, nor even e v e r y case example of h e a l i n g they p r o v i d e . 9 3
Some accounts
of symbolic h e a l i n g ought t o be s e l e c t e d as t e s t cases f o r an a n a l y s i s t h a t
w i l l be h o p e f u l l y f r u i t f u l . They should be " r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , " but in a
c o l l e c t i o n such as t h i s i t i s i m p o s s i b l e not to be at l e a s t somewhat
a r b i t r a r y i n one's c h o i c e s of what to address. So, choosing a s e l e c t i o n of
medical m a t e r i a l s to a t t e n d more c l o s e l y to, h o p e f u l l y w i t h sufficient care
and d e l i b e r a t i o n ; they are grouped i n t o s i x types: 94

Most important groups i n s e r i e s :

PDM x i v : 554-669: series of symbolic healing
PDM xiv: 935-1227(end of papyrus): series of non-symbolic healing, plus materia medica
dictionaries/reference handbooks.
PGM XII: 1-343: "unique 8 book of Moses:" (242-250;280;284;320)
ch

PGM XXa: 1-17: s e r i e s ; "patient"

PGM XCIV: 1-18: s e r i e s .
Therapeutic Remedies-Amulets:
PGM XVIIlb: 1-7
PGM XX: 1-4/4-12/13-19
PGM XXXIII: 1-25
PGM LXXXIII: 1-2 0
PGM LXXXVII: 1-11
PGM LXXXVIII: 1-19
PGM LXXXIX: 1-27
PGM XCV: 14-18
PGM CVI: 1-10

Prognostication and diagnosis

PGM I: 42-195: assistant f o r diagnosis foreknowledge
PGM I: 262-347: assistant for diagnosis foreknowledge (328-331)
PGM III: 424-66: (460-65) invocation

Healing God Invocations

PGM VII: 628-42: (640) invocation
PGM XVIIb: 1-23: Hermes prayer as source of power for a healer
PDM x i i : 21-4 9: (esp.) invocation of Iymhotep to secure a remedy
PDM xiv: 239-95: vessel d i v i n a t i o n invocation for healing
PDM suppl.: 168-84: invocation of Iymhotep
Other special s p e l l s informing on healing and sickness:
PGM IV:1227-64,3007-86: healing exorcisms for a "patient"
PGM VII: 191-214: series of amulet treatments
PGM LXX: 26-51: against a f f l i c t i o n s caused by spells
PDM xiv:239-95: vessel inquiry for "healing" and "saving"
PDM xiv:1097-1103: symbolic healing of ophthalmia
PDM xiv:1219-27: fever symbolic healing, mythic correspondence

93 See the appendices: I t r i e d to look at them a l l . ical"

i s t

94 For an attempt at a complete treatment of the entire corpus, see the statistical
appendix.
 29

Spells to produce a f f l i c t i o n s :
PGM .IV:321-29; XXIVb:l-15: p i n - d o l l s .
PDM xiv:563-74,711-749,911-919: " e v i l sleep" poisons
PGM IV:1520-30: sending daimon
PGM IV:2076 sending daimon

The f o r e g o i n g ' s e l e c t i o n i s s t i l l l a r g e , w i t h i n the corpus as a whole,

it comprises a s e l e c t i o n of the most s a l i e n t h e a l i n g - r e l a t e d m a t e r i a l s t o
study more c l o s e l y and s u p p l y exemplary m a t e r i a l . While i t w i l l form the
wider focus upon which the o v e r a l l a n a l y s i s w i l l p r i m a r i l y draw, i t i s
impossible to t r e a t i t a l l i n depth. A more r e s t r i c t e d s e l e c t i o n w i l l be the
focus of d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s and the core of t h i s paper: the most interesting
s e r i e s i n the p a p y r i c o m p r i s i n g a group of symbolic h e a l i n g instruction
spells (the f i r s t i n the l i s t above, h i g h l i g h t e d i n b o l d : PDM x i v : 554-669:
s e r i e s of symbolic h e a l i n g ) . From the p e r s p e c t i v e of ethnomedical r e s e a r c h ,
these a r e a b s o l u t e gems unto themselves. For the b e n e f i t of the r e a d e r t o be
a b l e to r e f e r t o them e a s i l y , here they are i n f u l l , r i g h t out o f Betz, Pp.

226-229

PDM x i v 554-669: s e r i e s o f symbolic h e a l i n g scripts

PDM xiv. 554-62

* [Spell] to be said to the b i t e of a dog: / "My mouth being f u l l of blood
of a black dog, I s p i t t i n g out the redness of a dog, I come from Alkhah.
0 this dog who i s among the ten dogs which belongs to Anubis, the son of
his body, extract your venom, remove your s a l i v a from me also! I f you do
not extract your venom and remove your saliva, I s h a l l take you up to the
forecourt of [the temple of] O s i r i s , my watchtower (?). I w i l l do f o r
'you .../ according to the voice of I s i s the magician, the lady of magic,
who bewitches everything, who i s never bewitched i n her name of I s i s , the
magician."
You [should] pound g a r l i c with gum (?), put i t on the wound of the
dog bite, and speak to i t d a i l y u n t i l i t i s well.
* T r . J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , f o l l o w i n g t h e e d i t i o n s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o f G r i f f i t h a n d
T h o m p s o n , Demotic Magical Papyrus, r e c t o , c o l . X I X / l - 9 . W o r d s p r e c e d e d b y ' a r e
w r i t t e n i n t h e t e x t i n Demotic w i t h O l d C o p t i c g l o s s e s i n s e r t e d above.
PDM xiv. 563-74
* [Spell] to be said i n order to extract the venom from the heart of a
man who has already been made to drink a potion or poison (?): "Hail,
h a i l , IABLY, 0 golden cup of O s i r i s ! / From you have drunk I s i s , O s i r i s ,
and the great Agathodaimon. The three gods drank and a f t e r them I myself
drank i n order that you w i l l not l e t me get drunk, you w i l l not l e t me
l i s t , you w i l l not make me f a l l , you w i l l not make me be thrown down, you
w i l l not make me be troubled of heart, you w i l l not make my mouth curse.
May I be healed of a l l poison, pus, [and] venom. They s h a l l be removed
from my heart. When I drink you, may I vomit them up i n her name of
'SARBITHA, the daughter of the Agathodaimon, for I am SABRA BRIATHA
BRISARA. HER i s my name. I am HORUS SHARON coming from receiving
greetings. IAHO, 'the 'child, i s my name, being my real name" [to be
said] to a cup of wine. Add fresh rue; add i t to i t ; speak to i t seven
times, and make the man drink i t at dawn before he has eaten.
* T r . J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , f o l l o w i n g t h e e d i t i o n s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o f G r i f f i t h a n d
Thompson, D e m o t i c Magical Papyrus, r e c t o , c o l . X I X / 1 0 - 2 1 . W o r d s p r e c e d e d b y a r e
w r i t t e n i n t h e t e x t i n Demotic w i t h O l d C o p t i c g l o s s e s i n s e r t e d above.

PDM x i v . 574-85
* [Spell] to be said to the man, when a bone i s stuck / i n his throat:
"you are SHLATE LATE BELATE the white crocodile, which i s under the foam
of the sea of flame whose b e l l y i s f u l l of bones of every drowned man.
Hail, you should s p i t out t h i s bone for me today, i t acting as a harpoon
head, i t making a point, i t acting as a sack piercer, i t doing
everything, without change, for I am a lion's forepart, I am a ram's
horn, I am a panther's tooth. / G r i f f i n i s my real name, f o r O s i r i s i s he
who i s i n my hand. The man named i s the opener of my neck" (seven times).
You should speak to a l i t t l e o i l , you should put the man's face up;
you should put i t down i n his mouth; you should move your finger and your
thumb [to the] two sinews of his throat; you should make him swallow the
o i l ; you should make him r i s e up suddenly; and you should eject the o i l
which i s i n his throat immediately. / The bone comes up with the o i l .
* T r . J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , following t h e editions a n d translation of Griffith a n d
Thompson, Demotic Magical Papyrus, recto, col. X I X / 2 1 - 3 2 .

PDM x i v . 585-93
*Spell to be said to the b i t e of a dog: the fury of Amoun and T r i p h i s : "I
am t h i s strong Arab SHLAMALA MALET secret one, the black, the dog which
has bewitched t h i s dog, he of these four bitch-pups, the wolf son of
Wepwawet. 0 son of Anubis, seize by your teeth! Put down your secretion,
your face being that / of Seth against O s i r i s , whom I s i s bore [is the
one] with whom you f i l l e d your mouth, NN whom NN bore [is the one] with
whom you f i l l e d your mouth. Hear this speech of Horus, who stopped heat,
who went to the primeval water, who established the earth; l i s t e n , 0 IAHO
SABAHO ABIAHO by name!" You should cleanse the wound and grind s a l t with
Nubian hematite. Apply [ i t ] to i t .
Another: You should grind rue with honey. Apply to i t and say i t also
to a cup of water and make him drink i t .
* T r . J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , following t h e editions and translation of Griffith a n d
Thompson, Demotic Magical Papyrus, r e c t o , col. X I X / 3 2 - 4 0 .
PDM x i v . 594-620
*[Spell] to be said to the sting. / "I am the King's son, greatest and
f i r s t , Anubis. My mother Sekhmet-Isis comes after me a l l the way to the
land of Syria, to the h i l l of the mound of Heh, to the nome of these
cannibals, saying 'Hurry, hurry! Quickly, quickly, my c h i l d , King's son,
greatest and f i r s t , Anubis,' saying, 'Arise and come to Egypt, for your
father O s i r i s i s king of Egypt; he i s ruler over the whole land; a l l the
gods of Egypt are assembled to receive the crown from h i s hand.'
/ "At the moment of saying these [things] she jumped at me. My
strength f e l l from me. She coiled and she came to me with a sting; I sat
down and I wept. I s i s , my mother, sat near me, saying to me, 'Do not
weep, do not weep, my c h i l d , King's son, greatest and f i r s t , Anubis! Lick
from the edges of the wound up to the l i m i t s of your / strength!' What
you w i l l l i c k up, you should swallow i t . Do not spit i t out on the
ground, for your tongue i s the tongue of the Agathodaimon, your tongue i s
that of Atum!"
You should l i c k i t with your tongue while i t i s bleeding. Immediately
afterwards, you should speak to a l i t t l e o i l and you should speak to i t
seven times while putting i t on the sting daily. You should dye a s t r i p
of linen and put i t on i t .
/ [The spell] which you should say to the o i l to put i t on the sting
d a i l y : " I s i s sat speaking to the o i l , ABARTAT, and lamenting to the true
o i l , saying, 'You are praised. I am going to praise you, 0 o i l ; I am
going to praise you. By the Agathodaimon you are praised. By me myself
you are honored. I am going to praise you forever, 0 o i l , 0 vegetable
o i l ' " (another [manuscript] says "true o i l " ) , "O sweat of the
Agathodaimon, amulet of Geb. I s i s i s the one who / i s speaking to the
 31

oil. 0 true oil, 0 drop of rain, 0 water-drawing of the planet Jupiter

w h i c h comes down f r o m t h e s u n b a r k a t dawn, y o u s h o u l d do t h e g o o d
[deeds] o f t h e dew o f dawn w h i c h h e a v e n c a s t t o t h e g r o u n d u p o n e v e r y
tree. You s h o u l d h e a l t h e limb which i s p a r a l y z e d and you s h o u l d a c t as
r e m e d y f o r h i m who l i v e s , f o r I s h a l l e m p l o y y o u f o r t h e s t i n g o f t h e
K i n g ' s s o n , g r e a t e s t a n d f i r s t , A n u b i s , my c h i l d , i n o r d e r t h a t y o u f i l l
i t a n d m a k e i t w e l l . F o r I s h a l l e m p l o y y o u f o r [ t h e ] s t i n g o f NN, whom
NN b o r e , / i n o r d e r t h a t y o u f i l l i t a n d make i t w e l l ' " (seven times).
*Tr. J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , f o l l o w i n g t h e e d i t i o n s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o f G r i f f i t h a n d
Thompson, D e m o t i c Magical Papyrus, recto, c o l . X X / 1 - 2 7 .

PDM xiv. 620-26

* S p e l l t o b e s a i d t o b r i n g a b o n e o u t o f a t h r o a t : " I am h e w h o s e h e a d
r e a c h e s t h e s k y w h i l e h i s f e e t r e a c h t h e p r i m e v a l w a t e r s , who a w a k e n e d
t h i s c r o c o d i l e ... i n P i d j e m e i n T h e b e s , f o r I am *SA ' S I M E . T A M A H O i s my
c o r r e c t n a m e , ' A N Y G A N Y G , f o r a h a w k ' s e g g i s w h a t i s i n my m o u t h , a n d
i b i s e g g i s w h a t i s i n my b e l l y , s a y i n g , ' b o n e o f g o d , b o n e o f m a n , b o n e
of b i r d , bone o f f i s h , bone o f a n i m a l , bone o f e v e r y t h i n g , t h e r e b e i n g
n o t h i n g b e s i d e s , f o r l e tt h a t w h i c h i s i n y o u r b e l l y come t o y o u r h e a r t ;
let t h a t w h i c h i s i n y o u r h e a r t c o m e t o my h a n d h e r e t o d a y , f o r I am h e
who i s i n t h e s e v e n h e a v e n s , who i s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e s e v e n s h r i n e s ; f o r
I am h e w h o i s i n t h e s e v e n h e a v e n s , w h o i s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e s e v e n
s h r i n e s , f o r I am t h e s o n o f t h e l i v i n g g o d ! " [ S a y i t ] t o a c u p o f w a t e r
s e v e n t i m e s a n d make t h e woman d r i n k i t .
*Tr. J a n e t H. J o h n s o n , f o l l o w i n g t h e e d i t i o n s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o f G r i f f i t h a n d
Thompson, D e m o t i c Magical Papyrus, r e c t o , c o l . X X / 2 7 - 3 3 .

A p p l i c a t i o n of the Models and Concepts D i s c u s s e d i n p a r t A.

The Value O r i e n t a t i o n Model 9 5

T h i s model p e r m i t s us t o look a t the way i n which p a r t i c u l a r v a l u e

orientations influence how i l l n e s s e s are c o n s t r u c t e d i n a given society. This
is generally as t r u e of the E g y p t i a n s o c i e t y of the p a p y r i as the P a l e s t i n i a n
one of the NT: "In the a n c i e n t M e d i t e r r a n e a n world, we f i n d a t o t a l l y
different perception of problems and solutions... p r i m a r y v a l u e orientation
p r e f e r e n c e s tend t o emphasize a b l e n d of the p e r s p e c t i v e s under the l e f t and
the middle columns of the c h a r t above" (please r e f e r back t o p. 13) For
first-century Palestine, these a r e : "being (spontaneity), collateral
relationships, the p r e s e n t , s u b j u g a t i o n t o nature, and a view of human n a t u r e
as a mixture of good and e v i l . " The world of the p a p y r i i s only a little
d i f f e r e n t . The "key i n s i g h t " t h a t t h i s model g i v e s us t o b e g i n w i t h i s "that
Mediterranean c u l t u r e would view h e a l t h as a d e s i r a b l e s t a t e , w h i l e Western
c u l t u r e would view i t as a r e s t o r e d ability to f u n c t i o n . " 9 6
Going through the
five parts of the model w i t h the PGM i n mind:

95 The model of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck given above i n the methodology section.
96 Ibid, citing McGoldrick.
 32

1. Human a c t i v i t y : Being-in-Becoming
In common w i t h a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n r e l i g i o n , t h e r e i s i n the p a p y r i an
emphasis on b e i n g and becoming i n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ; t h i s emerges i n the p a p y r i
forcefully i n the r i t u a l s f o r i n i t i a t i o n and " i m m o r t a l i z a t i o n " (PGM IV: 771)
as i n t h i s "Mithras L i t u r g y : "

"0 lord, while being born again, I am passing away; while growing and
having grown, / I am dying; while being born from a life-generating
b i r t h , I am passing on, released to death - as you have founded, as you
have decreed, and have established the mystery." (PGM IV: 719-723) .

What o f doing? Doesn't the expensive performance o f r i t u a l s demonstrate

a commitment t o doing? Of course i t does, but the r i t u a l i s t i s a s p e c i a l and
liminal f i g u r e on the edge o f s o c i e t y , and the r i t u a l d o i n g i s o f t e n a l a s t
r e s o r t , and i s u l t i m a t e l y o r i e n t e d toward the goal o f b e i n g , and not o f
d o i n g . N e v e r t h e l e s s , w i t h r e g a r d t o human n a t u r e i t i s more a c t i o n t h a t
determines good and e v i l , and not b e i n g (see below).

2. Human r e l a t i o n s h i p s :
T h i s a s p e c t seems t o d i f f e r i n the p a p y r i from the NT, f o r t h e r e i s
l i t t l e evidence o f c o l l a t e r a l o r group g o a l s i n the r e l a t i o n s h i p s d e s c r i b e d .
Rather than emphasizing c o o p e r a t i o n , the m a j o r i t y o f the s p e l l s emphasize
c o m p e t i t i o n and i n d i v i d u a l g o a l s , as i s well-known. Even so, i t may be due t o
the n a t u r e o f the genre ( s e c r e t and i l l i c i t ) t h a t t h e r e i s l i t t l e d e s c r i p t i o n
of c o l l a t e r a l social r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n the p a p y r i , except that interpersonal
r e l a t i o n s h i p s w h i c h are i n f e r a b l e between the r i t u a l i s t and h i s / h e r c l i e n t
and the l a t t e r and h i s / h e r enemies o r w i s h e d - f o r l o v e r (and the s p i r i t u a l
p a r t i c i p a n t s who h a d t h e i r own s o c i e t y ) .

3. Temporal focus o f l i f e :
A p r e s e n t - o r i e n t a t i o n appears time and a g a i n i n the p a p y r i as i t does
in the NT. T h i s i s most r e c o g n i z a b l e i n the urgency t h a t p r e s e n t needs be met
w i t h o u t d e l a y : "...now, now; immediately, immediately; q u i c k l y , quickly..." (PGM
IV:1590-95) . 97
There are many e x p r e s s i o n s o f d e s i r e t o know the f u t u r e i n the
papyri (yet v e r y i m p a t i e n t l y s o ! ) , but v e r y few r e f e r e n c e s t o the p a s t a t
all, a s i d e from the m y t h i c 'past,' which i s more p r o p e r l y o u t s i d e o f time and

97 Various versions of this formula and other expressions of immediacy appear ^ a i l

types of materials throughout the entire corpus of the papyri: See PGM I:261; III_258,
IV 153 1920-25, 2449-55; V: 185-195; VII:195,745,246-49,253-4,259,373,410,472,993,
 33

thus e v e r - p r e s e n t . The few e x c e p t i o n s i n v o l v e r e f e r e n c e s t o the p a s t

miraculous power d i s p l a y s of pharaoh Psammetichus, Jesus, and Appolonius of
Tyana, and o t h e r famous "magicians." 98

Some s l i g h t i f vague f u t u r e o r i e n t a t i o n i s apparent i n prayers f o r

g e n e r a l w e l l - b e i n g , and i n promises of s p e l l s f o r r e l a t i o n s h i p s with
attendant s p i r i t s o r d i v i n a t i o n theophanies. But t h i s proves the u n r e l i a b l e
and vague u n c e r t a i n t y of the f u t u r e . There i s a l s o some, perhaps residual,
t r a d i t i o n a l focus on afterlife. 9 9

U n l i k e i n the c u l t u r a l context of the NT, t h e r e seems t o be much l e s s

need "to a f f i r m the p a s t as a primary time v a l u e o r i e n t a t i o n " 1 0 0
i n the p a p y r i .
These r i t u a l i s t s were not so much e l i t e s l i k e the a n c i e n t p r i e s t s who "needed
to know t h e i r p e d i g r e e . " 1 0 1
I f t r u e t h a t "the p a s t l e g i t i m a t e s important status
i n the present, hence people of s t a t u s keep a steady eye on the p a s t , " 1 0 2
then
perhaps the r i t u a l i s t s of the p a p y r i were not people of s t a t u s o r were
otherwise unconcerned w i t h i t ; s a t i s f i e d to be concerned i n s t e a d w i t h power,
perhaps.

4. R e l a t i o n s h i p s of Human Beings to Nature

T h i s aspect i s mixed. While on the one hand t h e r e are c l e a r expressions
of being s u b j e c t to n a t u r e , t h e r e are numerous e x p r e s s i o n s indicating
i n t e n t i o n s to mastery of i t . Overall, i t i s a d e l i c a t e and dangerous harmony

with nature t h a t i s sought.

There i s g r e a t concern w i t h f e a r of v u l n e r a b i l i t y and p r o t e c t i o n from

n a t u r a l dangers, as shown f o r i n s t a n c e i n amulets a g a i n s t s c o r p i o n s . But
nature s u p p l i e s the r e s o u r c e s s u p p l y i n g many r i t u a l s : animals are used f o r
t h e i r substances and p a r t s i n charms and p o t i o n s ; 1 0 3
p l a n t s are harvested to
the same e n d . 104
I t i s not c l e a r where and how the n a t u r a l and s p i r i t u a l worlds
are d i s t i n g u i s h e d , o r even i f such a d i s t i n c t i o n i s t r u l y v a l i d in this

VIII:53,63; X:50; XIC:10; XV:21; XXIIb:25-26; XVIIIb:7; XIXa:16,54; XXXII:19;

XXXIIa:25; XXXVI:85,111,133; XXXVI:360; XLIII:27,11; PDM xiv:1122,1140.
98 PGM IV:154; XIa:l; XII:96,107,121,123,351.
99 E.g. PGM IV:10; LIX:1-15; XXI:16 .
100 Ibid, pp. 10
101 Ibid.
102 Ibid.
103 Re: Living and dead animal parts, e.g. PGM VII:652-60; XII:376-96; XXXVI:232,235;
PDM:xiv:882 , 940 .
104 E.g. See plant-picking s p e l l s : PGM IV:286,2967-3006.
 34

c u l t u r e . On the one hand n a t u r a l hazards are d i s t i n g u i s h e d from spiritual

ones i n p r a y e r l i t a n i e s and prophylactics, 1 0 5
w h i l e on the o t h e r the p l a n t s and
animals of n a t u r e share i n d i v i n e powers and bear the forms of gods. 106

There are a few s p e c t a c u l a r m i r a c u l o u s s p e l l s t o master n a t u r e :

i n c l u d i n g most d a r i n g l y , a s p e l l (PGM X I I I : 283) for riding crocodiles across
the N i l e ! But c o u l d the v e r y m i r a c u l o u s n e s s so o s t e n t a t i o u s l y d e m o n s t r a t i n g
the power of the r i t u a l i s t show the non-mastery f e l t n o r m a l l y ; the exceptions
that prove the rule?

Whatever the case, and i t i s complex, the view of n a t u r e i n the PGM

d i f f e r s from the NT, showing some m a n i p u l a t i o n and mastery but harmony r a t h e r
than submission. N a t u r a l f o r c e s i n the narrow c o n f i n e s of the N i l e sustained
life, but i n the v a s t d e s e r t of the t h r e a t e n i n g periphery were deadly. I t
g e n e r a l l y seems t h a t n a t u r a l f o r c e s were a t t r i b u t e d w i t h a s p i r i t u a l agency
and power ( u s e f u l and indeed e s s e n t i a l f o r the r i t u a l i s t ) above t h a t of human
s o c i e t y but subservient t o the h i g h e r s p i r i t u a l b e i n g s and d e i t i e s . There i s
o v e r a l l a great d e a l more i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h n a t u r e i n the PGM than i n the NT,
which may c o r r e s p o n d w i t h the t h e r i o m o r p h i c and theriohieratic religious
h e r i t a g e of Egypt as opposed t o the I s r a e l i t e one.

5. Assessment of Human Nature

In the p a p y r i , o r d i n a r y human beings are seen to be capable of good and
evil. Some of the s p e l l s ask unashamedly to a c c o m p l i s h e v i l and unjust things
for egocentric ends. Such i n c l u d e "love" s p e l l s that include slanders and
c o n t a i n p r o v i s i o n s f o r s e r i o u s harm-doing, even k i l l i n g . 1 0 7
In o t h e r cases,
legal disputes even between f a m i l y members acknowledge the e v i l done and
curse the d o e r . 1 0 8
There are s p e l l s that are a l s o v e r y (self) righteous and
c l a i m to goodness on b e h a l f of the p e t i t i o n e r t o the gods and ask for
justice. 1 0 9

The d i f f e r e n t d e i t i e s t o whom the r i t u a l i s t and h i s c l i e n t appeal or

even i d e n t i f y w i t h can a l s o be e i t h e r good, l i k e O s i r i s and Horus, or evil,

105 E.g. PGM IV:2170-6 .

106 E.g. PGM VII:780-85.
107 E.g. PGM IV:2622-2707 .
108 E.g. PGM LI:l-27; LVIII:1-14.
109 E.g. also PGM LI:l-27.
 35

l i k e Seth-Typhon. 110
The o r i e n t a t i o n to alignment i s i n s t r u m e n t a l : good or evil
p o t e n t i a l s f o r a l l : something you do, not something you are.
are

In sum, the PGM i d e a of h e a l t h emphasizes: 1) A s t a t e of being-in-

becoming, not of a c t i v e doing; 2) I n d i v i d u a l i s t i c human r e l a t i o n s h i p s , more
than c o l l a t e r a l ones; 3) A p r e s e n t , and sometimes past, time o r i e n t a t i o n , not
a f u t u r e one (exception: some t r a d i t i o n a l focus on a f t e r l i f e ) ; 4) An uneasy
harmony w i t h nature, i n c l u d i n g concern f o r p r o t e c t i o n from the feared
uncontrollable f a c t o r s i n t e n s i o n w i t h a t r a d i t i o n a l r e l i g i o u s concern w i t h
the d i v i n e power of n a t u r a l f o r c e s , and the d e s i r e by the r i t u a l i s t to use,
manipulate, and master them; and 5) Human n a t u r e i s b o t h good and bad, not
n e u t r a l and correctable.

110 PDM xiv: 675-94

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The Process o f Symbolic H e a l i n g i n PDM x i v 525-669

The " s p e l l s " of this series are extraordinary. They c l e a r l y

follow the four-stage processual model o f symbolic h e a l i n g previously
outlined, i n c l e a r order supplying 1) a symbolic b r i d g e from the
personal e x p e r i e n c e t o a symbolic r e a l i t y ; 2) a r e l a t i n g o f the i l l n e s s
e x p e r i e n c e t o the mythic world; 3) t r a n s a c t i o n a l symbols p a r t i c u l a r i z e d
from the mythic w o r l d t o the p e r s o n a l therapeutic e x p e r i e n c e ; and 4) an
a c t o r event o f c o n f i r m a t i o n that the h e a l i n g has been s u c c e s s f u l .

Examining H e a l i n g i n the P a p y r i w i t h Kleinman's Schematic Model

(Please r e f e r t o page 25 t o view the o u t l i n e )

While g o i n g through the p o i n t s i n Kleinman's summary, a l i s t

intended t o d i r e c t f u r t h e r i n q u i r y i n t o the symbolic h e a l i n g process,
e s p e c i a l and p r i m a r y a t t e n t i o n w i l l be p a i d t o t h e above symbolic
healings. However, the o t h e r m e d i c a l s e l e c t i o n s and t h e o v e r a l l corpus
will a l s o be g i v e n a secondary c o n s i d e r a t i o n . I t i s hoped t h a t this
w i l l c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e c o n t e x t u a l i z a t i o n o f PDM x i v 554-669 w i t h i n t h e
healing materials, and those i n t u r n w i t h i n the t e x t as a whole.

1. S e t t i n g : f o l k , p o p u l a r , o r p r o f e s s i o n a l

The s e t t i n g of the s p e c i f i c s e l e c t i o n s above i s d e f i n i t e l y

p r o f e s s i o n a l . They were both p r o f e s s i o n a l s and symbolic h e a l e r s . Pilch
t e l l s us t h a t "most symbolic h e a l i n g around the p l a n e t takes p l a c e i n
the p o p u l a r s e c t o r , that i s the n o n - p r o f e s s i o n a l , non-bureaucratic,
s p e c i a l i s t - s e c t o r e s p e c i a l l y i n s o c i e t i e s that lack

professionalization" 1 1 1
But Egypt was unique, and had many p r o f e s s i o n a l s
i n the a n c i e n t and complex b u r e a u c r a t i c p r i e s t l y and g o v e r n i n g
establishments. P r i e s t s o f the temples had engaged i n symbolic healing,
but i n t h e l a t e Roman p e r i o d they were becoming de-professionalized,
unemployed, and f i n a l l y outlawed, thus f o r c e d i n t o a f o l k d i s g u i s e and
subsumed t h e r e . The r i t u a l i s t s o f the p a p y r i seem not t o be the t y p i c a l
"ordinary folk, considered t o be e s p e c i a l l y g i f t e d t o h e a l . " 1 1 2

111 Pilch, Pp. 33-34.

112 Kleinman 1988, p. 117, c i t e d i n Pilch, Pp 33-34.
 37

Even though i t may be t r u e t h a t "most h e a l i n g (besides ours) i s

not long-term, d i v o r c e d from everyday l i f e encounters between
participants, p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y minded, s e c u l a r , o r o r i e n t e d t o the needs
and r i g h t s of the i n d i v i d u a l v i s - a - v i s those o f the f a m i l y and
community," t h a t does not mean that the r i t u a l i s t s i n the p a p y r i a r e
typical; i n many of these r e s p e c t s they seem t o have i n f a c t been
exceptional: the p a r t i c i p a n t encounter does seem t o have been divorced
from everyday l i f e encounters and o r i e n t e d t o the needs of the
i n d i v i d u a l . But as i n n e a r l y a l l c u l t u r e s except t h e West, t h e
therapeutic r e l a t i o n s h i p i n the p a p y r i i s a u t h o r i t a r i a n ; these
"magicians" r e f e r t o themselves as prophets o r even d i v i n e a u t h o r i t i e s
t a l k i n g not o n l y to, but a l s o as, gods. A u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m i s "what one
would expect i n the s o c i o - c e n t r i c o r c o l l e c t i v i s t i c non-Western
c u l t u r e s as c o n t r a s t e d with egocentric or i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c healing
Western c u l t u r e , " 1 1 3
but the s o c i a l p e r s p e c t i v e i n the p a p y r i displays
q u i t e o f t e n an extreme i n d i v i d u a l i s t egocentrism!

Can we say a n y t h i n g about t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o o t h e r professionals

or f o l k h e a l i n g s p e c i a l i s t s i n the p a p y r i ? There a r e n o t a b l e mentions
of h e r b a l i s t s and p l a n t - s e l l e r s 1 1 4
as w e l l as t o " p h y s i c i a n s " 1 1 5
i n the
papyri t h a t c o u l d be worth c o m p a r i n g . 116
With the degree o f l i t e r a c y and
time r e q u i r e d t h e r e were p r o b a b l y not many types o f p e o p l e who c o u l d
have used these s p e l l s . Some of the s p e l l s c l a i m a " s a c r e d s c r i b e " as
their source, 1 1 7
or a " p r i e s t . " 1 1 8
Others i n the corpus c l a i m t o be "a
prophet." 119
One caveat t o remember i s that the s p e l l s c o m p r i s i n g the
p a p y r i a r e not m o n o l i t h i c , not o n l y having been c o l l e c t e d by d i f f e r e n t
people, but p r o b a b l y having passed through many hands b e f o r e reaching
the c u r r e n t s t a t e of c o l l e c t i o n . T h i s s i t u a t i o n makes i t v e r y hard t o
say a n y t h i n g about t h e g e n e r a l u s e r s of the p a p y r i - maybe t h e r e a r e
nonesuch.

113 Pilch, Pp. 33-34.

114 PDM xiv:142 "the g a r l a n d - s e l l e r / l u p i n e - s e l l e r . "
115 However, i t must be borne i n mind that the "physician" of the ancient world
is not the same as our modern physician.
116 There w i l l be a post-scripted discussion of Thessalus the Magician that
w i l l return to these passages.
117 PGM 1:42 "The s p e l l of Pnouthis, the sacred scribe..."
118 PDM xiv: 232 "Paysakh, p r i e s t of Cusae..."
119 PGM VII: 325 "For I am a prophet..." See also IV: 2455.
 38

There i s a p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m of techniques, such as pill-making, 1 2 0

and of the j a r g o n used: "a p r e s c r i p t i o n for...," "do the u s u a l , " "add the
usual f o r what you want." 121
There are even a few h i n t s of p r o f e s s i o n a l
ethics. 1 2 2
But i t i s the r e f e r e n c e to " p h y s i c i a n s " t h a t are most
i n t r i g u i n g . Why l a b e l some sources of the s p e l l s as p h y s i c i a n s but call
the r e s t "magicians?" The e d i t o r seems to have meant e i t h e r t o
d i s t i n g u i s h these occupations or t o d e s c r i b e the p h y s i c i a n as a
s u b d i s c i p l i n e of "magic." A " p h y s i c i a n from Oxyrrhynchus" (a "suburban"
i n t e r z o n e between H e l l e n i c A l e x a n d r i a and the E g y p t i a n interior) is
responsible for passing on two spells, PDM x i v 1-92 and 528-53, both
v e s s e l d i v i n a t i o n s and have l i t t l e to do d i r e c t l y w i t h h e a l i n g . A group
of r e c i p e s (PGM XII:96-106) i s c r e d i t e d to a famous f o u r t h century
p h y s i c i a n , H i m e r i o s . I t seems to make the most sense t o see physicians
as a d i s t i n c t c l a s s of p r o f e s s i o n a l h e a l e r s , o r i g i n a t i n g i n H e l l e n i s t i c
c u l t u r e , who were i n t e r e s t e d i n r i t u a l s p e l l s and took p a r t i n t h e i r
c o l l e c t i o n and transmission. 1 2 3
T h i s i s supported by no l e s s an
H e l l e n i s t i c p h y s i c i a n than Galen, who i s r e p o r t e d by Alexander
Trallianus (11.1) to have s a i d : 1 2 4

Some think that conjurations are f a i r y t a l e inventions [maintained

by] old wives. This was also my opinion i n the past. On the basis
of the evidence of my own eyes, I have gradually been convinced
that they have power. I examined their usefulness r e l a t i n g to
scorpion b i t e s and to the case of a bone which stuck i n the
someone's throat and was coughed up by means of conjuring. The
conjurations performed their own aim.

The o n l y way f o r Galen to have seen i t w i t h h i s own eyes would

have been by a t t e n d i n g a t r a d i t i o n a l healing r i t u a l . Note e s p e c i a l l y
that the h e a l i n g s he r e p o r t s are the v e r y ones we are examining from
the p a p y r i !

120 Pill-making: PGM IV:2894,2681,2691.

121 "Prescription:" PDM xiv:935,953,961,970, etc. "The usual:" PGM V:489;
VI1:310,315,358,380,384,389,393,395,404,406,410,415,420,450,461,427,685,702;
PGM X:42 .
122 PGM IV:851-55 = an oath to do no harm; 476 = a promise "not for gain but
for i n s t r u c t i o n . "
123 To compare more t r a d i t i o n a l upper-Egyptian culture, a good hypothesis might
be that the professional healers there were not physicians, but the t r a d i t i o n a l
r i t u a l i s t s who came to be c a l l e d "magicians," but who were recognized as kin by
some H e l l e n i s t i c physicians. Supporting this i s the impression that the Demotic
material contains more of an e x p l i c i t l y medical nature than the Greek.
124 Quoted from V e l t r i , p77.
 39

2. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the i n t e r a c t i o n :
a. Number of p a r t i c i p a n t s

In the symbolic h e a l i n g selections highlighted, there are only

the two p a r t i c i p a n t s : h e a l e r and p a t i e n t . The mythic w o r l d has other
characters, but these are symbolically tied to the two human characters
and the illness e n t i t y alone; no c h a r a c t e r r e f e r s to a n y t h i n g in
s o c i e t y beyond the p r i v a t e t h e r a p e u t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p .

There were few human p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the m a j o r i t y of the rituals

( i n many o n l y the r i t u a l i s t a l o n e ) . To go by the texts, i n healing
encounters i t was the r i t u a l i s t and the s i c k p e r s o n by themselves.
Quite often, a boy or youth was employed as a medium i n d i v i n a t i o n s ,
who may have been an a p p r e n t i c e - a s s i s t a n t of the r i t u a l i s t . When the
s i c k person was bedridden, presumably h i s / h e r f a m i l y would have been
the ones to summon the r i t u a l i s t and would be on hand as o b s e r v e r s , but
they r e c e i v e no mention as r i t u a l p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the p a p y r i . On the
other hand, a g r e a t many s p i r i t u a l beings are p e r s o n i f i e d and
c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n the rituals, i n c l u d i n g gods, ghosts, daimons, and
other spirits i n c l u d i n g the r i t u a l m a t e r i a l s themselves (e.g. PGM
LXI:l-38 has Myrrh addressed as a daimon of l o v e a f f l i c t i o n ) . These
non-human c h a r a c t e r s are addressed and i n t e r a c t e d w i t h as though they
were human p a r t i c i p a n t s .

b. Time c h a r a c t e r : e p i s o d i c or c o n t i n u o u s , b r i e f o r lengthy

In the symbolic h e a l i n g s of our concentration, the time duration

seems to have been b r i e f . However, i t was a l s o e p i s o d i c , and provision
for d a i l y r e t u r n v i s i t s as f o l l o w - u p s to c o n t i n u e t h e r a p y and monitor
progress i s e x p l i c i t l y recommended (PDM xiv:562, below).

The r i t u a l p r o c e s s i n most h e a l i n g s seems l i k e l y t o have occurred

over a span of s e v e r a l minutes to an hour, not long. 1 2 5
But the
preparation "homework" f o r a r i t u a l would have been l e n g t h y , and hence
expensive: the r i t u a l i s t had to c o l l e c t the m a t e r i a l s , often performing
rituals f o r these c o l l e c t i o n s ( i n the case of h e r b s ) , or to p r e p a r e

125 Although longer than most doctor's v i s i t s today i n the West.

 40

ointments, p o t i o n s , and powders, a l s o r i t u a l l y d o n e . 126

Ritual healings
are sometimes e p i s o d i c : as i n d i c a t e d t h e r e i s mention of r e t u r n and
repeat v i s i t s to check on the p r o g r e s s and to repeat r i t u a l attendance
to c e r t a i n wounds d a i l y u n t i l h e a l i n g i s complete: "You s h o u l d pound
g a r l i c w i t h gum (?), put i t on the wound of the dog b i t e , and speak to
it daily until i t is well." 1 2 7
T h i s would have meant t h a t a good
ritualist would have had a busy schedule to manage, i n c l u d i n g rounds to
patients' homes throughout the day.

Many r i t u a l s are also time-specific, to draw on the significance

or power of p a r t i c u l a r d i u r n a l and calendrical
astrological/astronomical events. 1 2 8
This i s c l e a r l y an inheritance from
ancient E g y p t i a n r e l i g i o n . Thus, mornings at break of day are key
times, and a l s o the solar zenith. 1 2 9
S e a s o n a l l y too, the annual f l o o d and
its immediate c e s s a t i o n i s a potent time f o r g a t h e r i n g and concocting
Nileside, 1 3 0
the s o l s t i c e s and equinoxes were s i g n i f i c a n t and useful, 1 3 1

among the key h e a v e n l y b o d i e s were the sun, moon, and Ursa Major. 132

c. Q u a l i t y of r e l a t i o n s h i p : formal or i n f o r m a l , authoritarian or
dyadic

The transactions i n the symbolic h e a l i n g s of note have a d e f i n i t e

formal q u a l i t y t h a t i s a l s o v e r y a u t h o r i t a r i a n and p a t e r n a l i s t i c .
P r a c t i c a l e v i d e n c e of the confident authoritarianism of the ritualist
as t h e r a p i s t i s apparent i n the d i r e c t m a n i p u l a t i o n s of the patient's
body, as for instance when removing a bone s t u c k i n the throat:

You should speak to a l i t t l e o i l , you should put the man's face

up,- you should put i t down in his mouth; you should move your
finger and your thumb [to the] two sinews of his throat; you
should make him swallow the o i l ; you should make him r i s e up
suddenly; and you should eject the o i l which i s in his throat
immediately. / The bone comes up with the o i l . (PDM xiv:581-85).

126 PGM IV:286, 2967-3006.

127 PDM xiv:562.
128 PGM XCV:7-13; PDM xiv:237-8, 1005-14, suppl:184.
12 9 PGM IV:94; PDM lxi:30-41.
130 PGM IV:26-30.
131 PDM xiv:878.
132 PGM VI1:686-702; LVIII:15; PDM xiv:237,684,1005-14 , etc.
 41

As mentioned, the ritual r e l a t i o n s h i p s on the papyri are formal,

which makes sense g i v e n the f o r m a l i t y of r i t u a l ! The same goes f o r the
a u t h o r i t a r i a n q u a l i t y of the ritualist as t h e r a p i s t , which i s h e l d in
common w i t h n e a r l y a l l cultures except the West. They r e f e r to
themselves as p r o p h e t s or even speak w i t h the divine authority of a
god. Authoritarianism coexists i n the p a p y r i with egocentric
i n d i v i d u a l i s m because the ritualist i s uniquely able to f u l f i l l private
p e r s o n a l wishes f o r h e a l t h as w e l l as o t h e r benefits.

There are a few places i n the p a p y r i that r e f e r t o the p a t i e n t as

a bedridden s i c k p e r s o n "the s i c k one took to b e d , " 133
or as a
"demoniac," 134
and i n two r a r e cases as a " p a t i e n t : " 1 3 5
i n the first case
a "demoniac" i s r e c e i v i n g an exorcism and i s completely passive and
bedridden. But the second i s most f a s c i n a t i n g , for i t gives a picture
of the r e l a t i o n s h i p expected by the h e a l e r : i t has a provision i n case
"the p a t i e n t recovers [from 'bloody f l u x ' ] and shows i n g r a t i t u d e , - " and
follows with a curse f o r pain!

133 PGM XII:351.

134 PGM XII:281.
135 PGM IV:1254 and XXIIa:5-6.
 42

3. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the h e a l e r :
a. Personality

Those symbolic s p e l l s do not r e v e a l the p e r s o n a l i t y of the

h e a l e r . And g e n e r a l l y , throughout the e n t i r e corpus v e r y l i t t l e of the
p e r s o n a l i t y of the p r a c t i t i o n e r s come a c r o s s , perhaps due t o the
apparent f o r m a l i s m of the p a p y r i . T h i s s i t u a t i o n may reflect the
p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m of the c r a f t of the r i t u a l i s t - h e a l e r , o r t h a t of the
s c r i b e as an outcome of s c r i b a l conventions f o r symbolic spells. It i s
difficult to be c e r t a i n and both may be possible.

b. Training

The symbolic s p e l l s on which we are c o n c e n t r a t i n g are themselves

our best e v i d e n c e of h e a l e r t r a i n i n g . They are books meant f o r the
study of the t h e r a p i s t i n a phase of p r a c t i c a l training perhaps
c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o " i n t e r n s h i p . " Such an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n f i n d s an echo i n
John Nunn (p. 131) and o t h e r s c h o l a r s of a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n medicine who
view the m e d i c a l p a p y r i as "textbooks" f o r e d u c a t i o n and p r a c t i c e . They
have been composed by masters w i t h e x p e r i e n c e and were o b v i o u s l y
r e d a c t e d i n t o c o m p i l a t i o n by someone who had a c c e s s t o s e v e r a l w r i t t e n
s o u r c e s : In PDM x i v : 614 the s c r i b e i n t e r r u p t s the s c r i p t i n mid
q u o t a t i o n f o r an a s i d e " "'...0 v e g e t a b l e o i l ' " (another [manuscript] says
"true o i l " ) , . . . " Such e d i t i n g demonstrates the g r e a t c a r e taken i n study
and the added c a r e t o show i t , at l e a s t as a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of scribal
transmission.

More g e n e r a l l y , the t r a i n i n g of one of these p r a c t i o n e r s must

have been l e n g t h y , d i f f i c u l t , and expensive. Evidence p o i n t i n g t o t h i s
i n c l u d e s the h i g h degree of b i l i n g u a l and m u l t i l i n g u a l literacy
evinced: 1 3 6
they went t o s c r i b a l s c h o o l f o r E g y p t i a n m a t e r i a l s but also
succeeded i n H e l l e n i s t i c paidea to be conversant with, not o n l y the
Greek language, but Homer and the myths. There i s a more than p a s s i n g
awareness shown of wider world c u l t u r e s and t h e i r languages, including
Jewish ("Hebraic," 137
) , Babylonian, A r a b , 138
Nubian, 139
and E t h i o p i a n . (But

136 PGM IV:94-153; XII:262-267; PDM xiv:451-58 - and see B e t z n.352, p. 221.
137 PGM IV:3085.
138 PDM x i v : 5 8 5 .
 43

no r e f e r e n c e , or reverence, i s shown to the p o l i t i c a l l y dominant Roman

c u l t u r e or the L a t i n language).

The f a m i l i a r i t y with Egyptian temple t r a d i t i o n s makes i t l i k e l y

that the t r a i n i n g was based on an o l d e r t r a d i t i o n of p r i e s t l y and
scribal education attached to the temples. Temples r e c e i v e r a r e mention
i n the p a p y r i , sometimes m e t a p h o r i c a l l y . 1 4 0
Such t r a i n i n g i s the
"vertical" t u t e l a g e of a p u p i l under a master w i t h o f f i c e and title. We
know t h a t d u r i n g the p e r i o d the p a p y r i f l o u r i s h e d , these temples were
being shut down and the d i s p o s s e s s e d p r i e s t s pushed out of work by
aggressive C h r i s t i a n monks.

If i t d i d not already exist alongside i t , a new form of such

"vertical" educational upbringing c o u l d have been emerging o r r i s i n g to
prominence without the temples i n the form of a d i r e c t apprenticeship
of the a s s i s t a n t by the r i t u a l i s t who employed him. We know from
abundant examples i n the p a p y r i t h a t boys or young men who were v i r g i n s
were used as mediums and v i s i o n a r i e s i n d i v i n a t i o n - o r a c l e s and
theophanies. 141
The a n c i e n t medical p a p y r i a l s o i n d i c a t e i n h e r i t a n c e of
medical t r a i n i n g and o f f i c e . Although they are not r e f e r r e d to as
d i s c i p l e s or successors, these a s s i s t a n t s would have r e c e i v e d q u i t e an
a p p r e n t i c e s h i p . And to speculate f u r t h e r , the e a s i e s t way to get such a
boy was to employ a r e l a t i v e , and how b e t t e r to p r o v i d e f o r the future
of the f a m i l y than to pass on a c a r e e r to a son or nephew?

But i t i s a l s o c l e a r t h a t from r e f e r e n c e s to the assemblage of

s p e l l s t h a t the t r a i n i n g was at l e a s t i n some cases no longer temple-
based. 142
There are e d i t o r i a l notes i n the t e x t s i n d i c a t i n g that a
c e r t a i n s p e l l was r e c e i v e d from another c o l l e c t o r , and one such
(mentioned i n two separate s p e l l s ) was specifically i d e n t i f i e d as "a
physician i n the nome Oxyrhynchus." 143
Education i n t h i s case was by
peers, maybe a h o r i z o n t a l s h a r i n g analogous to a c o l l e g e of membership
f o r continuing education, i f not merely an a s s o c i a t i o n of s c h o l a r l y
antiquarians.

139 PDM l x i : 9 5 - 9 9 .
140 PGM V I I : 3 2 6 ; X:2; XII:401.
141 See PGM 1:86; 11:55; IV:88; V:45; V I I : 3 4 8 ; PDM xiv:1-92,177,475 - 88,750.
142 It i s possible that the r i t u a l i s t s returned to the d e r e l i c t temples as
powerful places to undertake r i t u a l s , as l o y a l i s t s to the old order.
 44

The a c q u i s i t i o n of a d i v i n e l y - g r a n t e d power t o h e a l , d i s c u s s e d as
a g o a l i n some o f the r i t u a l s , granted q u a l i f i c a t i o n t o a h e a l e r and
should t h e r e f o r e be seen as a p a r t of the t r a i n i n g p r o c e s s , the
c u l m i n a t i o n of e d u c a t i o n 144
. Typically, i n a d i v i n e autophany, the god
grants s p e c i a l power and knowledge t o the h e a l e r t o make him of her
uniquely q u a l i f i e d . For example, t h e r e a r e many i n v o c a t i o n s of the gods
Thoth/Hermes and of I y m h o t e p / A s c l e p i u s , 145
some of which express a
mysticism of i d e n t i t y , and t h e r e a r e s p e l l s t o e s t a b l i s h s p e c i a l
r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h a s s i s t a n t daimons that promise, as the l a s t ina
long l i s t of marvelous s e r v i c e s :

And he w i l l t e l l you about t h e i l l n e s s o f a man, whether he w i l l

l i v e o r d i e , even on what day and a t what hour o f n i g h t . / And he
w i l l a l s o g i v e [you both] w i l d herbs and the power t o c u r e , and
you w i l l be [worshiped] as a god s i n c e you have a god as a f r i e n d .
These t h i n g s t h e mighty a s s i s t a n t w i l l p e r f o r m c o m p e t e n t l y . " (PGM
1:187-191)

Such i n v o c a t i o n s t h a t e s t a b l i s h r e l a t i o n s h i p s and a c q u i r e h e a l i n g
powers as d i v i n e g i f t s f i n d v a l u a b l e comparison i n the a u t o b i o g r a p h y of
Thessalus the M a g i c i a n . There, the same i s apparent as the major theme.
For he i s a l s o rewarded a t the c u l m i n a t i o n of h i s e d u c a t i o n as a
h e a l e r , when i n a r i t u a l produced by an aged p r i e s t o f Thebes,
Thessalus i s g i v e n a long-sought theophany of A s c l e p i u s (Iymhotep)
h i m s e l f who says t o him, "the time i s coming soon when men w i l l honour
you as a god when your accomplishments become known." 146

143 PDM x i v : 1 , 5 2 8 .
144 T h i s i s how T h e s s a l u s a l s o saw i t , (see ahead).
145 PGM IV:2967-3006; V:249; VII:628-42, 1-63; X V I I b : l - 2 3 ; PDM x i i : 2 1 - 4 9 ;
xiv:93-114; l x i : 6 3 - 7 8 ; suppl:168 - 84.
146 More on T h e s s a l u s a g a i n i n the f i n a l d i s c u s s i o n .
 45

c. Type o f p r a c t i c e

As f o r our p r e c i o u s symbolic h e a l i n g s c r i p t s , the p r a c t i c e was

most l i k e l y l o c a l l y mobile. The acute nature of the c o n d i t i o n s (still
bleeding: PDM x i v : 6 0 7 ) , and the i m m o b i l i t y o f the p a t i e n t so s t r i c k e n
makes i t l i k e l i e s t t h a t the t h e r a p i s t was summoned t o a h o u s e - c a l l and
was a b l e t o respond q u i c k l y . These h e a l e r s would have had a bag of
basic medications, t o o l s and s u p p l i e s such as bandages j u s t l i k e the
p r o v e r b i a l doctor's bag, w i t h the p o s s i b l e a d d i t i o n o f r i t u a l tools
l i k e miniature altars, t r i p o d s , and incense.

A range of p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r therapeutic p r a c t i c e types i s

suggested i n the p a p y r i . Since many of the h e a l i n g s p e l l s required
attendance on a b e d r i d d e n s i c k person, as above, the p r a c t i c e would
have been l o c a l l y itinerant: the h o u s e - c a l l i n town o r v i l l a g e . Other
s p e l l s seem more l i k e l y t o have r e q u i r e d the c l i e n t t o seek the
p r o f e s s i o n a l , perhaps a t an " o f f i c e " i n o r near the temple o r a t the
home of the r i t u a l i s t , where indeed many s p e l l s a r e p r e s c r i b e d t o be
done. 147
Other i n d i c a t i o n s suggest t h a t the p r a c t i c e may have been even
more mobile, on the o r d e r of i t i n e r a n c y e s t a b l i s h e d by H e l l e n i s t i c
physicians, and temporary rooms f o r r i t u a l use c o u l d be s e t up almost
anywhere. 148

147 E.g. PGM 11:150 "your bedchamber;" IV:171 "the highest part of your house,-"
VII:490 "your quarters;" VII:727 " i n a ground f l o o r room without l i g h t . "
148 On this, see Jonathan Z. Smith "The Temple and the Magician," i n his Map i s
not T e r r i t o r y . C.f. PDM xiv:283 "a dark storeroom;" PGM 11:50 "a bathhouse;"
111:617 "a deserted place;" 111:690, 700 "a s o l i t a r y place... a pure and
consecrated place."
 46

4. Idioms of communication:
a. Mode: somatic, r e l i g i o u s , moral, social

For the t h e r a p i s t s of the symbolic s e r i e s , most of the

communication proceeds i n a combined somatic and r e l i g i o u s idiom. There
are o n l y h i n t s of the moral o r of s o c i a l idioms, u n l i k e i n many o t h e r
h e a l i n g s p e l l s i n the p a p y r i . The somatic idiom d e s c r i b e s the affected
organs and i n j u r e d t i s s u e s of the body, e x p l i c i t about the mechanical
p h y s i c a l problems of the c o n d i t i o n : a bone stuck i n the t h r o a t , a b i t e -
wound, and a p o i s o n p o t i o n i n the h e a r t . The somatic idiom i s present
i n the mythic script i n t e g r a t e d with the r e l i g i o u s idiom, w h i l e i n the
p r i v a t e i n s t r u c t i o n s to the h e a l e r t h a t f o l l o w , somatic terms appear
more nakedly i n the c l e a r i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r the p h y s i c a l treatment
a c t i o n s : a p p l y the ointment to the wound, t i l t the head up and massage
the t h r o a t , e t c . 1 4 9

The religious idiom i s mythic, and d e s c r i b e s events i n the

s p i r i t u a l world t h a t p r e c i p i t a t e d the a c c i d e n t ( f o r i n s t a n c e the d i v i n e
dog t h a t bewitched the e a r t h l y dog to b i t e ) , as w e l l as the mythic
a f f l i c t i o n s of d e i t i e s and t h e i r treatments. J u s t as the mythic
a f f l i c t i o n preceded the p e r s o n a l one, the mythic healings establish the
model f o r the t h e r a p y to take p l a c e . 1 5 0
There i s v e r y l i t t l e moral
d i s c o u r s e here o r anywhere e l s e i n the p a p y r i , but p o s s i b l e though
vague m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of t h a t idiom are p r e s e n t i n the p o i s o n treatment
i n statement t h a t the gods " w i l l not l e t me get drunk, ... you w i l l not
l e t my mouth c u r s e , " 1 5 1
and maybe a l s o i n the comparison o f the spiritual
dog r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the b i t e w i t h the ( e v i l and contentious) gods Seth
and A p o p h i s . 152
But these may b e t t e r be c l a s s i f i e d as b e l o n g i n g to the
s o c i a l idiom ( r e f e r e n c e s to "drunkenness" i n P h i l o and o t h e r a n c i e n t
l i t e r a t u r e p o i n t a r g u a b l y to more than a moral i d i o m ) . Otherwise, there
i s h a r d l y any social i d i o m i n the symbolic healing r i t u a l s , with the
e x c e p t i o n of the k i n s h i p r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t are mentioned w i t h regard
to the g r e a t mythic gods. 153
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , without a deeper and broader
s o c i o l o g i c a l or a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l understanding of the s o c i e t y of the

149 PDM xiv:562,582-585,592-3 .

150 See PDM x i v : 6 0 2 - 6 0 6 .
151 PDM x i v : 565-568.
152 PDM x i v : 590.
153 PDM x i v 556, 570, 590, 595-600, e t c .
 47

PGM, of the k i n d p r o v i d e d by ethnographies f o r l i v i n g societies, these

c a t e g o r i e s o f idiom are v e r y l i m i t e d and a r b i t r a r y . (It i s t o be hoped
that t h e i r p o t e n t i a l u t i l i t y as t o o l s as new a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l
information i s a s s i m i l a t e d w i l l justify their retention).

In d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s i n the corpus, the PGM t h e r a p i s t s use a l l of

these modes t o v a r y i n g d e g r e e s . 154
Somatic modes o f d i s c o u r s e prevail
with r e s p e c t t o the s i c k n e s s e n t i t y : i t i s n e a r l y always l o c a t e d i n a
s p e c i f i c b o d i l y l o c a l e o r organ, with the e x c e p t i o n o f such general
c o n d i t i o n s as f e v e r , madness, insomnia, and a n o r e x i a . The most
voluminous exemplars come from the l o v e s p e l l s o u t s i d e the realm o f
healing r i t u a l s , a realm I r e f e r t o as r i t u a l s of affliction. There are
many more symptoms and s i c k n e s s c o n d i t i o n s d e s c r i b e d in affliction
s p e l l s than i n those intended t o h e a l o r prevent them. R e l i g i o u s modes
of d i s c o u r s e , by which i s meant r e f e r e n c e s t o s p i r i t u a l and mythic
entities, are a l s o p r e v a l e n t . The c l i n i c a l r e a l i t y most o f t e n has a
s p i r i t u a l aspect, either explicitly i d e n t i f i e d as the antecedent
u n d e r l y i n g cause o r as the u l t i m a t e r e a l i t y o f the i l l n e s s , and
sometimes as both a t once.

The simplest example g i v e n i s the i n v a s i o n and p o s s e s s i o n of the

body by daimons, sometimes under the compulsion o f an enemy's a d j u r i n g
r i t u a l s . The daimon i n the body may e i t h e r a t t a c k s p e c i f i c areas o r
cause g e n e r a l c o n d i t i o n s . Ghosts and phantoms a t t a c k and cause terror.
Deities also a f f l i c t misfortune i f they are convinced, even i f
unjustifiably, t h a t a p e r s o n i s g u i l t y o f an i n f r a c t i o n a g a i n s t them. 155

In these s o - c a l l e d "slander s p e l l s , " l e g a l i s t i c parlance blends t h e

r e l i g i o u s and moral idioms. Prayers and charms t o c o u n t e r a c t malicious
rituals such as these o r t o prevent misfortune and promote well-being
sometimes appeal i n the moral idiom t o the good c h a r a c t e r and
righteousness o f the p e t i t i o n e r , e s p e c i a l l y i n c o n t r a s t t o the
opponent(s) upon whom i l l i s wished. 156
The s o c i a l idiom i s rarest, but
c l e a r i n the case o f p r a y e r s f o r g e n e r a l good f o r t u n e , favour spells,
and c e r t a i n love s p e l l s , where wishes are expressed f o r f r i e n d s , wit,

154 Please see the summary i n the Appendix below.

155 E.g. PGM IV:2622-2707 .
156 PGM LI:1-27; LVIII:1-14
 48

charm, and grace i n the eyes of one or a l l i n s o c i e t y , 1 5 7

or e l s e
expressed n e g a t i v e l y as t u r n i n g the anger of another away, 158
or both
together. 159

b. Code: n o n v e r b a l , v e r b a l , s p e c i a l s e m i o t i c system

In our symbolic s e r i e s , the code of communication i s m o s t l y

verbal, i n c l u d i n g the s p e c i a l verbal semiotics of s e c r e t names to prove
a u t h o r i t y and power f o r a d j u r i n g . T h i s i s not remarkable, but the
i n t e r e s t i n g v a r i a t i o n s i n the communication of t h i s s e r i e s r e g a r d the
subject and the o b j e c t of the speech: the h e a l e r speaks not as himself,
but as a d i v i n e b e i n g or as the p a t i e n t , and t a l k s not to the patient,
but to the illness condition, 1 6 0
the s p i r i t s b e h i n d i t , and/or to the
m e d i c a t i o n used to t r e a t . 1 6 1
There i s no nonverbal communication to speak
of i n these examples., though such i s common elsewhere i n the 'papyri,
(see below).

In the p a p y r i g e n e r a l l y , we can f i n d examples of a l l s o r t s of

codes of communication t h a t r e p r e s e n t d i f f e r e n t t e c h n i q u e s of ritual
power m a n i p u l a t i o n . Nonverbal.types i n c l u d e the p r o d u c t i o n of h i s s i n g
and popping s o u n d s 162
and the r e c i t a t i o n of vowels. Between n o n v e r b a l and
v e r b a l are the r e c i t a t i o n s of powerful but i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e names.
Verbal codes i n c l u d e the r e c i t a t i o n of myth and declarations of
i d e n t i t y w i t h mythic b e i n g s , as w e l l as the u t t e r i n g of p r a y e r s and
petitions, t h r e a t s and commands (PGM XCIV:13-19; XX: 13-19 "flee,
headache"), backed by the names of powerful s p i r i t u a l entities and
deities. Special semiotic systems, r e s o r t e d to f r e q u e n t l y i n amulets,
include w r i t i n g with s i g i l s , 1 6 3
w r i t t e n vowel p e r m u t a t i o n s 164
and "wing
formations" of comprehensible or mysterious w o r d s , 165
f i g u r a t i v e drawings
with or without l a b e l s , 1 6 6
box-tables, 167
w r i t i n g i n c i r c l e s or spirals

157 PGM IV:469-70,833-4; VII:1017-26; XIV:309-34; XII:182-9; XXXV:l-42; XXXVI:

275-83, LXX:l-4, etc.
158 PGM XII:179-81; IV:831-32; VII:948-68; LXXIX; LXXX; XXXVI:1-34,161-77.
159 There i s no sense of anxiety as i n the NT of the ostracism faced by lepers.
160 PGM XX:13-19 XCIV:39-60; PGM XXXVI: 3 5-68,211-30.
161 PDM xiv:582,611-620.
162 PGM XIII:89,415 .
163 PGM XXVI; XXXVI; XLIX.
164 PGM XII:905-914 .
165 PGM CXXX; CXVI; CXX; XCI; LXXXVIII, etc.
166 PGM CXXIII; XXX.
167 PGM XCIV:39-60.
 49

around p e r i p h e r i e s . 1 6 8
D i r e c t a c t i o n s i n t e r p r e t a b l e as communicative
codes i n c l u d e the a c t u a l e n g r a v i n g o r w r i t i n g o f t e x t and images on
papyrus or metal amulets and t h e i r placement upon the p e r s o n , 1 6 9
an
action, l i k e the w r i t i n g of a p r e s c r i p t i o n i n b i o m e d i c a l c u l t u r e , that
s i g n a l s the end of a t h e r a p e u t i c v i s i t and accomplishes the directive
of healing.

c. EM of a p a r t i c u l a r i l l n e s s episode - f o r example, shared,

conflicting, open, t a c i t , e t c .

The e x p l a n a t o r y models i n the p a p y r i are those s o l e l y of the

t h e r a p i s t ; we are not informed w e l l about the s i c k p e r s o n ' s . EMs tend
to be d i v i s i b l e i n t o open r e l i g i o u s ones shared w i t h the client-
patient, and more t a c i t b i o m e d i c a l ones communicated p r i v a t e l y i n the
i n s t r u c t i o n s of the s p e l l s . T h i s i s apparent i n our symbolic therapies,
for the s c r i p t e d s e c t i o n s r e l a t e the mythic dimension w i t h the p h y s i c a l
c o n d i t i o n , but the p r i v a t e treatment i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r the r e a d i n g eyes
of the h e a l e r d i s c u s s p h y s i c a l treatment a l o n e 1 7 0
- t h e r e i s no mythic
r e c i t a t i o n f o r the p r i v a t e use of the h e a l e r . The EMs of t h e s e
p a r t i c u l a r i l l n e s s e p i s o d e s show t h a t a p h y s i c a l cause of the illness
i s r e c o g n i z e d and understood, but i s not enough. The p h y s i c a l event i s
a l s o r e l a t e d t o a d i v i n e event i n the mythic world i n a manner t h a t i s
somehow c a u s a l l y dependent and s u b o r d i n a t e d , but ambiguous i n i t s
temporal r e l a t i o n s h i p ; that i s , i t i s l e f t u n c e r t a i n as to.whether the
p r e s e n t i n g c o n d i t i o n i s synchronous or subsequent 'to the d i v i n e event.
For i n s t a n c e , the dog's b i t e i s a simple wound, and the s a l i v a of the
l i v i n g dog i s viewed as a venom t h a t causes i l l n e s s ; 1 7 1
w h i l e the dog who
did the b i t i n g i s connected w i t h a dog of Anubis i n the mythic world
who bewitched the former dog to b i t e the p a t i e n t and bears the u l t i m a t e
blame and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . 1 7 2
The treatment, c o n s e q u e n t l y i n c l u d e s both a
rebuke-threat-command t o the s p i r i t u a l e n t i t y r e s p o n s i b l e t o undo the
damage, 173
and a p h y s i c a l c l e a n i n g and a n o i n t i n g 1 7 4
of the wound by the

168 PGM XVIIb:l-7.

169 PDM XIV:1103 f o r ophthalmia, text plus image of radiant eye - see n. 593,
p. 247.
170 PDM XIV:562,574,582-5,593,607-10; PDM xiv: 557, 589.
171 This i s often the case i n the biomedical r e a l i t y as well: rabies and other
infections are common consequences of dog b i t e .
172 PDM x i v : 556, 587.
173 PDM XIV:559,589.
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h e a l e r . They a r e always done i n t h i s o r d e r . The two l e v e l s o f r e a l i t y

are r e l a t e d and addressed t o g e t h e r , but the d i s t i n c t i o n i s also
maintained.

Overall, the e x p l a n a t o r y models i n the p a p y r i , though

demonstrating a s p i r i t u a l - p h y s i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n , appear t o be shared and
open, r a t h e r than c o n f l i c t i n g and t a c i t . There a r e i n t u i t i v e reasons,
to t h i n k t h a t these r i t u a l i s t - t h e r a p i s t s b e l i e v e d i n t h e i r conceptions
of the i l l n e s s e n t i t y and the sources of t h e i r h e a l i n g power as much as
the p a t i e n t s they were t r y i n g t o t r e a t . I disagree with Betz's u n f a i r
and unkind assessment t h a t they were d e c e i v e r s merely c a p i t a l i z i n g upon
the desperate human d e s i r e t o b e l i e v e a n y t h i n g t o a l l e v i a t e a n x i e t y and
hopelessness, 175
such a dynamic may operate i n p a r t and i n e v e r y society
and time, but i t cannot e x p l a i n away the i n t e n s e t h e r a p e u t i c
r e l a t i o n s h i p s d i s c o v e r e d here.

The e x p l a n a t o r y models of the p a p y r i show a whole spectrum of

variation i n their aetiology, r a n g i n g from the f a m i l i a r daimons
i n v a d i n g the body t o the noxious r i t u a l s of enemies, the i n t r o d u c t i o n
of p o i s o n s i n t o the body, the venom o r s a l i v a from animal b i t e s and
s t i n g s , the i n t r u s i o n of a f o r e i g n o b j e c t , a d i s o r d e r e d and u n r u l y
organ, the w i l l of d i v i n e f o r c e s e s p e c i a l l y i n a c c i d e n t s , and f a t e

174 PDM xiv:562,592-3,606.

175 I w i l l quote the major part of this passage from Betz, with emphasis.
"Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri," p. x l v i i : "Why i s magic so
i r r e p r e s s i b l e and ineradicable, i f i t i s also true that i t s claims never come
true? Or do they? Do people never check up on the e f f i c i e n c y of the magicians?
The answer appears to be that, i n general, people are not interested i n whether
or not magicians' promises come true. People want to believe, so they simply
ignore their suspicions that magic may a l l be deception and fraud. The enormous
role deception plays i n human l i f e i s well known to us ... Magicians are those
who have long ago explored these dimensions of the human mind. Rather than
decrying the facts, they have exploited them. Magicians have known a l l along
that people's r e l i g i o u s need and expectations provide the greatest opportunity
for the most e f f e c t i v e of a l l deceptions. But instead of turning against
r e l i g i o n , as the skeptics among the Greek and Roman philosophers did, the
magicians made use of i t . A f t e r a l l , magic i s nothing but the art of making
people believe that something i s being done about those things i n l i f e about
which we a l l know that we ourselves can do nothing. Magic i s the art of making
people who practice i t f e e l better rather than worse, that provides the
i l l u s i o n of security to the insecure, the feeling of help to the helpless, and
the comfort of hope to the hopeless. Of course, i t i s a l l deception. But who
can endure naked r e a l i t y , e s p e c i a l l y when there i s a way to avoid i t ? This i s
why magic has worked and continues to work, no matter what the evidence may be.
Those whose l i v e s depend on deception and delusion and those who provide them
have formed a t r u l y indissoluble symbiosis. Magic makes an unmanageable l i f e
 51

itself. In many cases, a p l u r a l i t y of a e t i o l o g i e s a r e acknowledged i n

an i n d i v i d u a l case: an enemy's m a l i c i o u s r i t u a l sends a daimon t o e n t e r
the body and d i s o r d e r i t s h e a l t h y f u n c t i o n i n g , o r by s l a n d e r i t angers
a god a g a i n s t you, who sends an animal t o b i t e o r s t i n g you, and so on.
T h i s i n t e r c o n n e c t a b i l i t y of a e t i o l o g i e s enables a network of meaning t o
connect the s i c k p e r s o n w i t h many l e v e l s o f r e a l i t y .

Time e x p r e s s i o n s i n t h e EMs o f the p a p y r i a r e l i m i t e d t o the

fevers i n H e l l e n i c medical theories: d a i l y , n i g h t l y , tertian,
s e m i t e r t i a n , quartan, every-other-day, e t c . Pathophysiology i s limited
i n the EMs t o o b s t r u c t i n g o r p e n e t r a t i n g o b j e c t s o r substances, and t o
the misbehaviour o f d i s o r d e r e d organs. There a r e d i s t i n c t i o n s between
acute, c h r o n i c , and i m p a i r i n g c o n d i t i o n s : demoniacs and gout a r e
chronic, the f e v e r e d and l o v e - s t r u c k a r e acute, b i t e s , s t i n g s , and gout
are impairments, madness and e p i l e p s y a r e not d e s c r i b e d , o n l y named.
Unlike c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y "medical" l i t e r a t u r e , such as t h e Hippocratic
Corpus, the EMs do not d e s c r i b e much about the courses of sickness,
though i n p l a c e s they do acknowledge the degree of s e v e r i t y and the
type of s i c k r o l e . The treatments of the EM v a r y on a range
c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o the range of a e t i o l o g i e s , and i n c l u d e r i t u a l s t o
n u l l i f y enemies' s p e l l s , exorcisms of daimons, ointments, manipulations
of the body, a n t i d o t e p o t i o n s o r e x p e c t o r a n t s , p r a y e r s t o gods, and the
speech of myths and power names and commands and t h r e a t s t o empower
many of the f o r e g o i n g .

d. R h e t o r i c a l d e v i c e s f o r n a r r a t i z i n g i l l n e s s and n e g o t i a t i n g

treatment.

One major r h e t o r i c a l d e v i c e i s the symbolic d e s c r i p t i o n of mythic

events i n v o l v i n g i l l n e s s . Another i s the f i r s t p e r s o n a d d r e s s t o
nonhuman a c t o r s i n the p r o c e s s , i n c l u d i n g the a i l m e n t and the medicine,
and w i t h i n t h a t , t h e use o f f l a t t e r y - p r a i s e , t h r e a t s , and commands,
backed up w i t h the f o r c e p r o v i d e d by s a c r e d and s e c r e t names and
sounds. Occasionally, t h e p a t i e n t i s d i r e c t l y a d d r e s s e d but w i t h a
transformed mythic identity. 1 7 6

manageable f o r those who believe i n i t , and a profession p r o f i t a b l e for those

who practice the a r t . "
176 PDM xiv:574-80.
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Semantic illness networks i n the p a p y r i p e r t a i n t o the r h e t o r i c

of i l l n e s s . A l i s t of i l l n e s s semantics i s p r o v i d e d i n the appendix
(see below).

e. Interpretation

The t h e r a p i s t i n t e r p r e t s the i l l n e s s as c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o a
c o s m i c - d i v i n e event, which w i l l be engaged t o i n c l u d e the p a r t i c u l a r
microcosmic a i l m e n t i n i t s macrocosmic e f f o r t s at r e c t i f i c a t i o n . The
p a t i e n t becomes a p a r t i c i p a n t i n the myth through the c o n d i t i o n ,
thereby a c h i e v i n g meaning and communion w h i l e b e i n g excused of
individual responsibility.

5. Clinical reality: s a c r e d o r s e c u l a r , d i s e a s e - o r i e n t e d or illness

oriented, focus of treatment ( s i c k person, f a m i l y , e t c . ) , symbolic and
/or instrumental i n t e r v e n t i o n s , e t c .

The c l i n i c a l r e a l i t y of the i l l n e s s i n the symbolic h e a l i n g s has

a both p h y s i c a l and mythic r e a l i t i e s to i t , but the s a c r e d / s e c u l a r
d i s t i n c t i o n i s not v a l i d f o r the r e l i g i o u s c u l t u r e of the PGM i n late
a n t i q u e Egypt. A l l i l l n e s s r e a l i t i e s are s a c r e d . I t i s o n l y weakly
p o s s i b l e t o s p e c u l a t i v e l y p o s t u l a t e t h a t some i l l n e s s r e a l i t i e s are
more " s e c u l a r " than o t h e r s , such as those caused by the p h y s i c a l and
r i t u a l m a c h i n a t i o n s of human enemies, employing n a t u r a l l y harmful
p o i s o n s o r m a l e v o l e n t daimons t o i n f l i c t sickness,- 177
w h i l e , on the o t h e r
hand, a c c i d e n t s c o u l d be thus more s a c r e d because no human
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y can be imputed, and so, as i n our symbolic examples,
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s u l t i m a t e l y more s t r o n g l y l i n k e d t o mythic events i n a
divine realm. 178
A c c i d e n t s are not s e p a r a b l e from the mythic realm, w h i l e
the i l l i n t e n t of an enemy may be so.

The focus of treatment i s always upon the s i c k person, but not

n e c e s s a r i l y them as a "person:" i n the s p e l l s the p a t i e n t i s almost
never spoken t o and i s r a r e l y addressed by name except i n the third

177 PGM IV:1525-45; V I I : 3 8 8 - 9,429 - 3 5 , 6 4 5 - 50; XII:14-95; PDM xiv:711-71.

178 PDM xiv:600.
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person, e s p e c i a l l y i n a d j u r a t i o n s t o s p i r i t u a l entities. 1 7 9
The focus i s
r e a l l y more the c o n d i t i o n i t s e l f , often e x p l i c i t l y r e f e r r e d t o and
addressed p e r s o n a l l y as an i n t r u s i v e a l i e n daimonic entity. 1 8 0
As f o r the
family, they are even more p e r i p h e r a l , and seem t o have no r o l e i n the
treatment except as i n s t r u m e n t s t o e s t a b l i s h the h e a l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p .

I n t e r v e n t i o n s of both the symbolic and i n s t r u m e n t a l s o r t are

common i n the most m e d i c a l s p e l l s . Some i n t e r v e n t i o n s a r e both symbolic
and i n s t r u m e n t a l . For example, i n our symbolic spells, the r e s o r t i n g t o
an engagement w i t h myth i s c l e a r l y symbolic, as we have seen; on the
o t h e r hand i t i s c l e a r l y i n s t r u m e n t a l t o c l e a n s e wounds and use
ointments or do m a n i p u l a t i o n s when someone i s choking on a bone. But
when the i n s t r u m e n t a l i n t e r v e n t i o n i s a reenactment of a mythic event,
i t becomes loaded w i t h symbolic s i g n i f i c a n c e as w e l l , as i s f o r
i n s t a n c e the l i c k i n g o f the s t i n g wound i n PDM x i v : 607, which the
h e a l e r does t o c l e a n the wound i n i m i t a t i o n of the command of I s i s t o
Anubis to l i c k h i s own sting. In f a c t , i t can be seen t h a t the a r t o f
symbolic healing is to invest as f a r as possible the instrumental

intervention with symbolic significance to augment the healing

potential of the intervention. That i s why when a d m i n i s t e r i n g

antidotes, e x p e c t o r a n t s o r remedies of any k i n d , the r i t u a l i s t takes
the time t o address t h a t substance i t s e l f w i t h words o f power t o l o a d
i t with symbolic s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r the p a t i e n t - i t is explicit i n the
i n s t r u c t i o n t h a t such compounding and empowering be done i n the
presence of the p a t i e n t d u r i n g the t h e r a p e u t i c i n t e r a c t i o n : 1 8 1
the
p a t i e n t has t o see i t done!

6. T h e r a p e u t i c stages and mechanisms: p r o c e s s , mechanisms of change

( c a t h a r s i s , c o n f e s s i o n , a l t e r e d s t a t e of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , e t c . )

Our p r i m a r y examples are q u i t e s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d w i t h r e g a r d t o

t h e r a p e u t i c mechanisms. A f t e r the symbolic l i n k a g e through the mythic
particularization, the f i n a l stage of t h e r a p e u t i c a c t i o n i s engaged and
brought to c o m p l e t i o n . There i s an element of c a t h a r s i s ("vomit") i n

179 PDM xiv:591,619.

180 PGM IV:1525-45; VII:388-9,429-35,645-50; XII:14-95.
181 PDM xiv:562,574,587,592-3, 626.
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the p o i s o n a n t i d o t e , 1 8 2
but as these c o n d i t i o n s are v e r y much p h y s i c a l
and mechanical, the t h e r a p e u t i c aim i s to remove the f o r e i g n substance
and to c l e a n s e and h e a l the wound. 183
There i s no c o n f e s s i o n . Nor i s an
a l t e r e d s t a t e of c o n s c i o u s n e s s i n v o l v e d , u n l e s s we consider the shock
and p a i n of the p a t i e n t t o be an ASC t h a t c o u l d augment suggestibility
to the h e a l e r ' s performance. But t h e r e i s c l e a r l y not the same k i n d of
"trance" p r o d u c t i o n t h a t i s e x p l i c i t l y d e s c r i b e d elsewhere i n the
p a p y r i w i t h r e s p e c t t o a t t a i n i n g d i v i n a t i o n theophanies and oracular
184
r e v e l a t i o n s , w i t h which the p a p y r i are r e p l e t e

7. Extra-therapeutic aspects: social control, p o l i t i c a l implications,

etc.

Our p r i m a r y symbolic examples are so s e l f - c o n t a i n e d as to be

q u i t e c l e a r of most any e x t r a - t h e r a p e u t i c a s p e c t s . The one exception to
e x p l a i n i s why i n PDM xiv:626 s p e c i f i c mention i s made of a woman.for
the bone-removing s p e l l while the p r e v i o u s s i m i l a r s p e l l d i d not. There
are i n the b r o a d e r corpus s i g n i f i c a n t e x t r a - t h e r a p e u t i c gender i s s u e s
with s o c i a l c o n t r o l i m p l i c a t i o n s . In the f i r s t directive, the healer
r e c i t e s the mythic s c r i p t and then performs a r a t h e r v i g o r o u s p h y s i c a l
maneuver to e x p e l the b o n e , 185
while i n the second where s p e c i f i c mention
of a woman i s made, the h e a l e r o n l y ends by o f f e r i n g her a ritually
empowered cup of w a t e r . 186
Perhaps i t can be v e n t u r e d t h a t i n the case of
a female p a t i e n t , who i t can be assumed was j u s t as l i k e l y t o present
with a bone s t u c k i n her t h r o a t as a male i n h i s , the h e a l e r who was
probably male was not s o c i a l l y permitted to take her head, neck, and
body i n hand f o r p h y s i c a l m a n i p u l a t i o n . This hypothesis i s weakened to
u t t e r f l i m s i n e s s when we c o n s i d e r the g y n a e c o l o g i c a l and o b s t e t r i c
remedies i n the c o r p u s , 187
i f they are performed by a male ritualist.
N e a r l y a l l of them named i n v a r i o u s s p e l l s are men, and the o n l y female
exceptions d e s c r i b e enchantresses from whom the s p e l l derives (PGM
XX:4-12, "the S y r i a n woman of Gadara,-" XX-.13-19, "Thessalian
Philinna").

182 PDM xiv:589.

183 PDM xiv:563,585,589,620
184 PGM IV:850; VII:550.
185 PDM xiv:581-585 .
186 PDM x i v : 6 2 6.
 55

In the b r o a d e r s e l e c t i o n from the corpus, gender i s s u e s are

explicit and c l e a r l y bear a heavy s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r someone. T h i s i s
e s p e c i a l l y t r u e i n the " l o v e " s p e l l s , which a l t h o u g h certainly
i n v o l v i n g a l o t of s i c k n e s s and affliction, have n o t h i n g to do with
healing i t . 1 8 8
As t h i s m a t e r i a l goes, i n the p a p y r i the i d e n t i t y of the
ritualist as male i s almost always c e r t a i n (PGM 1:194, "share these
t h i n g s w i t h no one except your l e g i t i m a t e son"); such s o - c a l l e d l o v e
s p e l l s are d e s c r i b e d as u s e f u l to him p e r s o n a l l y as the p e r f o r m e r or
for a c l i e n t , a l s o almost always male, w i t h a couple of e x c e p t i o n s of
note however: t h e r e are some female l o v e s p e l l clients targeting a
male. 189
The l a t t e r s p e l l s are too few to g e n e r a l i z e from, but they lack
the e x p l i c i t s e x u a l i t y of the ones f o r the men.

O b s t e t r i c and g y n a e c o l o g i c a l m a t e r i a l i s not e l a b o r a t e , but w e l l -

a t t e s t e d i n the p a p y r i unmixed w i t h o t h e r elements. I t i s p l a c e d i n
s e r i e s w i t h some thought to o r g a n i z a t i o n by the s c r i b e who wrote the
190
papyrus.

One extra-therapeutic p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n i n the p a p y r i i s the

s e c r e c y and p o s s i b l e r e c o g n i t i o n of the i l l e g a l i t y of some of the
p r a c t i c e s by the s c r i b a l e d i t o r s . 1 9 1
There are o c c a s i o n a l e x h o r t a t i o n s to
secrecy. Some of the m a t e r i a medica d i c t i o n a r i e s are concerned with
decoding i n g r e d i e n t s from s e c r e t names i n s p e l l s and p o t i o n s : herbs,
minerals, and animal s u b s t a n c e s . 192
One such e x p l i c i t l y states that the
code was d e v i s e d t o keep the common person i g n o r a n t f o r h i s or her own
protection:

Interpretations which the temple scribes employed, for the holy

writings, in t r a n s l a t i o n . Because of the c u r i o s i t y of the masses
they [ i . e . the scribes] inscribed the names of the herbs and other
things which they employed on the statues so that they [ i . e . the
masses], since they do not take precaution, / might not p r a c t i c e
magic, [being prevented] by the consequences of t h e i r
misunderstanding. (PGM XII:401-7)

187 PDM xiv:953-984 .

188 IV:323-30, 388-9, 1525-45, 2444,2735-4 0,293 0,2 943-66, 3273-4; VII:374-84,
645-50, 990-3; XV:636-9, and many more - see appendix.
189 PGM LXVIII:1-20; XV:1-21.
190 PDM xiv:953-984 .
191 PGM 1:194.
192 PGM XII:401-7; PDM xiv 1065-70.
 56

Such a s i t u a t i o n may be best e x p l a i n e d as t r a d e s e c r e c y in a

g u i l d type o r g a n i z a t i o n . The i l l e g a l i t y of "magic" i n the Roman p e r i o d
was, as a l s o i n Jewish law, ambiguous w i t h r e s p e c t t o h e a l i n g : spells
f o r r i t u a l s and amulets t h a t were deemed t o be t h e r a p e u t i c were o f t e n ,
but not always, excused from p r o s e c u t i o n . 1 9 3
The e a r l y C h r i s t i a n churches
c e r t a i n l y c a r r i e d on t h i s exemption, and developed t h e i r own corpus of
r i t u a l material with a l a r g e l y , though by no means e x c l u s i v e l y ,
therapeutic i n t e n t i o n . 1 9 4

E f f i c a c y i n the P a p y r i

Because the p a p y r i p r e s e n t the p e r s p e c t i v e o f the r i t u a l i s t

h e a l e r s alone, efficacy, "the p e r c e i v e d c a p a c i t y of a g i v e n p r a c t i c e t o
affect s i c k n e s s i n some d e s i r a b l e way," 195
i s d e f i n e d i n t h e i r terms. I t
would be s i m p l e s t t o say t h a t when a r i t u a l has been s u c c e s s f u l l y
completed, i t has been e f f i c a c i o u s . Yet t h e r e a r e s i g n s o f concern with
h e a l i n g outcome i n some s p e l l s , i n s t r u c t i n g the h e a l e r t o r e t u r n and do
d a i l y follow-ups until a wound i s h e a l e d . 196
Some h e a l i n g s such as the
e x t r a c t i o n of a bone a r e c l e a r l y e i t h e r e f f i c a c i o u s o r not by means of
a physical sign. 1 9 7
Similarly, i n the p o i s o n - a n t i d o t e , 1 9 8
i f the p a t i e n t
vomits and/or r e c o v e r s and l i v e s , e f f i c a c y i s undeniable. Many o t h e r
h e a l i n g s c o u l d be o n l y temporary and i n need of c o n s t a n t r e p e t i t i o n and
renewal, o r perhaps they were even r a t h e r i n e f f e c t i v e upon the
s i c k n e s s . But even so, the r i t u a l s a r e e f f i c a c i o u s and worthwhile f o r
these and a l l h e a l i n g s a l i k e , when looked at i n terms of the
meaningfulness c r e a t e d f o r the s u f f e r e r by the r i t u a l connection
through symbolic b r i d g i n g t o the myth world. For the h e a l i n g rituals
enable a s i c k i n d i v i d u a l t o share p e r s o n a l s u f f e r i n g with the v e r y
gods, and t o understand t h e i r i l l n e s s as a s i g n i f i c a n t event r e l a t e d t o
greater general cosmic s t r u g g l e s .

193 Giussepe V e l t r i , "The Rabbis and Pliny the Elder: Jewish and Greco-Roman
Attitudes toward magic and Empirical Knowledge," Poetics Today 19:1, Pp63-89:
See esp. Pp.66, 68, 70, 82, a 84 Re: the Talmudic laws on "the ways of the
Amorite" and Constantine's law against magic.
194 If this were a larger study this would be the place to introduce the Coptic
r i t u a l papyri recently published by Meyer and Smith (see Bibliography below).
195 See previous d e f i n i t i o n above i n Methodology section.
196 PDM xiv:562.
197 PDM xiv:585.
198 PDM xiv:563-74.
 57

The Element o f Power i n the P a p y r i

The p r i n c i p a l s o u r c e s of power f o r h e a l i n g i n the p a p y r i a r e not

distinct from the o t h e r spells: e s t a b l i s h i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s with
s p i r i t u a l beings (daimons, ghosts, gods) who a c t as agents t o c a r r y out
desired tasks. Preconditions f o r t h i s t o work i n c l u d e p u r i t y , 1 9 9
the
knowledge and use of s e c r e t names, 200
and the c o r r e c t p r a x i s of speech o r
a c t i o n w i t h the r i t u a l l y r e q u i r e d m a t e r i a l s (e.g. a p i e c e of the
c l o t h i n g of one who d i e d v i o l e n t l y ) . 2 0 1
The r e l a t i o n s h i p may o n l y i n r a r e
and ambiguous cases be s a i d t o enable the t r a n s f e r e n c e of d i v i n e power
to the r i t u a l i s t to possess p e r s o n a l l y . U s u a l l y i t i s c l e a r t h a t the
power i s superhuman and the r i t u a l i s t has t o use superhuman t o o l s -
s e c r e t names and s p e c i a l r i t e s - to m o b i l i z e i t . There i s p e r f o r c e a
power i n the a c t of speaking and w r i t i n g the potent names, f i g u r a t i v e
descriptions, and d i v i n e myths and a t t r i b u t e s . In many h e a l i n g s p e l l s
there i s a sense t h a t t h i s power can be t r a n s f e r r e d t o a c a r r i e r
substance which i s then a d m i n i s t e r e d e x t e r n a l l y o r i n t e r n a l l y to the
s i c k person t o e f f e c t h e a l i n g by t r a n s f e r r i n g the power t o the body.
Hence the r e c u r r e n t formula "speak t o the oil..." In terms of symbolic
healing, the h e a l e r a c t i v a t e s symbolic c o n n e c t i o n s f o r the p a t i e n t by
the r e c i t a t i o n of words of power and s e c r e t names.

199 PDM xiv:515-16,476; PDM 1:15 0,290-92.

200 PGM XXXVI:201.
201 Sacred plants, animals, or materials - such as the clothes of a prematurely
or v i o l e n t l y deceased person, see PGM CVII:12; LVIII:5-6.
 58

C. C o n c l u d i n g D i s c u s s i o n : Questions and Challenges

Desiderata

Before c o n c l u d i n g , the w r i t e r a p o l o g i z e s f o r a few more d e t a i l s :

Due to l i m i t a t i o n s of time and space, i t i s i m p o s s i b l e here t o engage
as deeply w i t h the secondary s c h o l a r s h i p b e a r i n g on the p a p y r i as i t
deserves; Secondly, i t would have a l s o e n r i c h e d t h i s work t o have read
and i n t e g r a t e d more of the abundant medical history s t u d i e s of Greek,
Roman, E g y p t i a n , and A n c i e n t Near E a s t e r n medicine; Thirdly, g i v e n even
more o p p o r t u n i t y , a broader r e a d i n g of the p o l i t i c a l and social history
of Egypt i n e s p e c i a l l y the Ptolemaic H e l l e n i s t i c p e r i o d would probably
have added g r e a t v a l u e ; F i n a l l y , r e s e a r c h such as t h i s ought to be
grounded i n a more thorough u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n and Greek
religions and myths than the w r i t e r has at the time of writing.

In f a c t , t h e r e were a l o t of t h i n g s I wanted to attempt to

accomplish i n t h i s essay t h a t i n s p i r e d me, but which I have had to lay
a s i d e i n somewhat r e l i e v e d disappointment:

I would l i k e t o have attempted more t o a s s i s t in further

contextualizing magician-healers of the p a p y r i , but the m a t e r i a l I have
uncovered i s s t i l l i n s u f f i c i e n t f o r t h a t . With r e s p e c t t o a few spells
i n the demotic corpus, I have been a b l e to t e n t a t i v e l y s p e c u l a t e about
a g u i l d of v i l l a g e p r o f e s s i o n a l s doing rounds about town and available
on c a l l . T h i s matches the p i c t u r e p r e s e n t e d by o t h e r s c h o l a r s . 2 0 2
I do
not yet know what t h e i r r e l a t i o n i s to the i t i n e r a n t H e l l e n i s t i c medics
or to the u b i q u i t o u s i t i n e r a n t h o l y men of P e t e r Brown's world.

I wish I c o u l d o f f e r a comparison of the r e l a t i o n between settled

medical centers (both o l d temples and new schools) and medical
itinerants w i t h the r e l a t i o n between i t i n e r a n t h o l y men and settled

202
David F r a n k f u r t e r , " R i t u a l E x p e r t i s e i n Roman Egypt and the Problem
of the Category 'Magician'" (pp. 115-136 i n S c h a f e r and Kippenberg,
Envisioning magic), argues f o r a c o n t e x t u a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the
magicians as p r i e s t s who f u n c t i o n e d as l o c a l a l l - p u r p o s e r i t u a l
specialists.
 59

r e l i g i o u s communities (both o l d temples or new monastic communities 203

,
Jewish and C h r i s t i a n ) , and even the r e l a t i o n between itinerant
philosophers and settled philosophical schools.

And I wish t h a t I could explore the speculative idea that the

Greek wandering medics were among the significant c a t a l y s t s i n the
H e l l e n i s t i c w o r l d f o r the s h i f t s from temple to mobile p r a c t i c e , the
l o c a t i v e to U t o p i a n worldview put forward so p e r s u a s i v e l y by Jonathan
Z. Smith.

These are a l l t h i n g s that I wish I c o u l d do and explore, but not

here, not now.

Conclusions

What I t h i n k I have done here and now i s to show f a i r l y w e l l that

the methodology of m e d i c a l a n t h r o p o l o g y t h a t John P i l c h assembled and
adapted f o r h i s New Testament work i s remarkably w e l l s u i t e d to the
a n a l y s i s of at l e a s t some of the medical m a t e r i a l i n the p a p y r i , and
f o r a l l my inadequacy to the task, as f a r as I am aware I am the first
to t r y i t . I t h i n k I found the best b i t s f o r i t , but the r e s t i s still
so r i c h t h a t books c o u l d , should, and I am sure w i l l be w r i t t e n on i t .

I also think I have done s u f f i c i e n t l y w e l l to show t h a t the

p a p y r i are not mere "deception" and "gobbledygook" as someone once s a i d
i n h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n to the corpus. In ethnomedical terms, the texts
preserve earnest, s i n c e r e , and i n many cases no doubt v e r y e f f e c t i v e
techniques to h e a l a g r e a t many c o n d i t i o n s . M e d i c a l anthropological
explanations and t o o l s shine another k i n d of l i g h t on these rituals
that exposes a d i f f e r e n t t e x t u r e of shadows to d e l i n e a t e a s p e c t s of the
c u l t u r e t h a t produced them. There i s more to the p a p y r i than meets the
e i t h e r the b i o m e d i c a l , the c l a s s i c a l , or the r e l i g i o u s eye. From
another view, perhaps s t u d y i n g the medical m a t e r i a l i n the unique
document of the p a p y r i may a l s o h e l p medical a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s to f u r t h e r
t h e i r explanations of how c u l t u r a l f a c t o r s are r e l a t e d t o the healing
process, which i s an ongoing e n t e r p r i s e . The p a p y r i do bear out "the

203 E.g. Qumran of the Dead Sea S c r o l l s and the "Essene" sect of Josephus; The
Alexandrian "Therapeutae" of Philo.
 60

best contemporary h y p o t h e s i s ... t h a t the s i c k p e r s o n i n a specific

context uses the semantic and symbolic resources a v a i l a b l e and creates
meaning." I b e l i e v e t h a t both the r i t u a l i s t s and the H e l l e n i s t i c medics
were i n the b u s i n e s s of c o l l e c t i n g and s h a r i n g such r e s o u r c e s to put
them i n t o p r a c t i c e , and the p a p y r i comprise a r e c o r d of t h a t e n t e r p r i s e
of p r o f e s s i o n a l development.

P i l c h e x p l a i n e d w e l l how " h e a l i n g b o i l s down to meaning and the

transformation of e x p e r i e n c e . The change or t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s created
by a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s who e f f e c t i v e l y enact culturally authorized
interpretations." 2 0 4
In a time and p l a c e of r a p i d c u l t u r a l change, when
there was l e s s and less s t a b i l i t y to what was authorized, the e d i t o r s
of the p a p y r i c o l l e c t e d a n y t h i n g that worked. The collection indicates
the s t a t e of t h e i r world: n a t i v e E g y p t i a n myth j o s t l e s w i t h Greek,
Jewish and C h r i s t i a n elements share paper and i n k w i t h Nubian and
E t h i o p i a n , and languages are muddled t o g e t h e r i n the mix. But a l l were
regarded e q u a l l y as sources of meaning and r i t u a l power t o combine i n
common cause f o r the promotion of w e l l - b e i n g at the expense of
misfortune, one p e r s o n at a time.

T h i s study has shown t h a t the p a p y r i r e p r e s e n t an e s p e c i a l l y rich

and rewarding body of t e x t s on which to undertake P i l c h ' s
recommendation. We have o n l y begun d i s e n t a n g l i n g " c l o s e l y interwoven
natural-environmental, human-biological, and socio-cultural threads
forming the b e h a v i o r a l and conceptual network of human responses to the
experience of i l l n e s s " 2 0 5
i n these texts.

The foregoing e x e r c i s e i n developing and m o d i f y i n g an evolving

conceptual system to account f o r the s o c i a l and e x p e r i e n t i a l
p e c u l i a r i t i e s of s i c k n e s s and h e a l i n g , based on the work of so many
o t h e r s , has shown the v i a b i l i t y of p u r s u i n g a comprehensive b a s i s f o r
understanding h e a l i n g and h e a l t h care i n the c u l t u r e of the p a p y r i ,
which w i l l a l l o w f o r more a p p r o p r i a t e c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons.

We have shown t h a t the p a p y r i have t h e i r own p e c u l i a r ways of

speaking about both e f f i c a c y and meaning. The r i t u a l i s t h e a l e r s of the

204 Pilch, 2000, p. 35.

205 Ibid, p. 21, c i t i n g Unshuld, 1988:179.
 61

p a p y r i were p r o f e s s i o n a l s , and t h e i r explanatory models d i s c l o s e d the

s i g n i f i c a n c e of a g i v e n h e a l t h problem and treatment g o a l s f o r the
p a t i e n t . For them, e f f i c a c y i n v o l v e d both symptom r e d u c t i o n and
r e s t o r a t i o n of meaning to l i f e . The p r o f e s s i o n a l h e a l e r s of upper-
Egyptian c u l t u r e were not " p h y s i c i a n s , " but the t r a d i t i o n a l ritualists
who came to be c a l l e d "magicians," but who were r e c o g n i z e d as k i n by
some H e l l e n i s t i c p h y s i c i a n s . S u p p o r t i n g t h i s i s the impression that the
Demotic m a t e r i a l c o n t a i n s more of an e x p l i c i t l y medical n a t u r e than the
Greek. The therapies i n the p a p y r i do not f i t the NT model, f o r they
r e f e r sometimes t o p h y s i c a l remedies and a f f l i c t i o n s and to empirical
" t e s t i n g , " and maintain d i s t i n c t i o n s between the p h y s i c a l remedy (cure)
and the p r o d u c t i o n of meaning (healing).

We have seen how the p a p y r i p l a c e t h r e a t s i n t o frameworks of

meaning, e s p e c i a l l y by means of myth and exorcisms to c o n t r o l the
disruptive e f f e c t s . This i s a therapeutic process attempting to r e s t o r e
order "by p l a c i n g the t h r e a t i n i t s proper framework, c o n t r o l l i n g the
d i s r u p t i v e e f f e c t on the s i c k person and t h a t person's network, and
making the e n t i r e e x p e r i e n c e p e r s o n a l l y and socially meaningful." 206

We have seen t h a t t h e r e i s a range of s t r a t e g i e s i n the healing

and p r e v e n t i v e a c t i v i t i e s of the p a p y r i from e m p i r i c a l r e m e d i e s 207
and
t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n t e r v e n t i o n s to symbolic therapies l i k e the placebo. 208

The t r a n s a c t i o n s i n the p a p y r i between the s i c k p e r s o n and the

healer(s) are hermeneutics of symbolic and semiotic interpretations in
terms of v e r y p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r p r e t i v e schemata. We tried to understand
the p a p y r i h e a l i n g s to be an engagement of the s i c k p e r s o n and the
h e a l e r i n the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the context of t h e i r symbolic encounter
and of the symbolic forms t h a t are manipulated d u r i n g the encounter.

We examined the four e s s e n t i a l processes comprising stages of

symbolic h e a l i n g and n e c e s s a r y f o r i t s accomplishment. These i n s i g h t s
have taught us t h a t , as healers, the "magicians" need t o be r e g a r d e d as
cultural mediators. We saw t h a t t h e r e are systems of symbolic healing
based on models of e x p e r i e n t i a l r e a l i t y i n the papyri.

206 Ibid. p. 28.

207 Ibid. C i t i n g Van der Geest and Whyte, 1988.
208 Ibid. C i t i n g Moerman, 1983; and Dow, 1986.
 62

We have l o o k e d a t how the r i t u a l s , made up of a r i c h a r r a y of

symbols i n many modes, m a n i p u l a t e symbolic forms f o r the p a t i e n t . We
c o n c e n t r a t e d upon l o c a t i n g and d e f i n i n g the h e a l i n g e n c o u n t e r as a
p a r t i c u l a r t y p e of r i t u a l encounter i n the l a r g e r c o r p u s . These
encounters r e p e a t p r e v i o u s l y known forms of e n c o u n t e r , e s t a b l i s h e d i n
the m y t h i c w o r l d and c o d i f i e d i n handbooks. We have shown t h a t these
h e a l i n g e n c o u n t e r s were b o t h e m p i r i c a l and produced understanding

r a t h e r than new knowledge o r e x p l a n a t i o n .

As G a l e n h i m s e l f observed, the h e a l i n g s of the p a p y r i were

e f f e c t i v e because t h e y worked. They t r e a t e d the c o n d i t i o n , and also
made the i n d i v i d u a l e x p e r i e n c e of i l l n e s s m e a n i n g f u l , s h a r e d p e r s o n a l
s u f f e r i n g , and t r a n s f o r m e d m a r g i n a l s i t u a t i o n s of s i c k n e s s by r e -
i n c o r p o r a t i n g the i n d i v i d u a l i n t o the s o c i a l and m y t h i c body: a l l the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of h e a l i n g .

Post S c r i p t : T h e s s a l u s the Magician

There i s one t e x t t h a t d e s e r v e s mention at l e a s t b r i e f l y again:

the a u t o b i o g r a p h y of " T h e s s a l u s the M a g i c i a n . " The reason f o r t h i s i s
t h a t i t p r o v i d e s a unique w i t n e s s t o the p a p y r i l a c k i n g w i t h i n the
corpus, and j u s t t h a t a s p e c t of c o n c e r n t o us. T h i s paper was
o r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d t o i n c l u d e t h i s document i n the c e n t r a l argument.

I t i s a statement of a p e r s o n a l i t y . T h e s s a l u s i s a Greek who came

to A l e x a n d r i a t o pursue an e d u c a t i o n i n m e d i c i n e , but wanted t o s t u d y
r i t u a l and g a i n s u p e r n a t u r a l h e a l i n g powers. Many s c h o l a r s i d e n t i f y him
w i t h the famous p h y s i c i a n T h e s s a l u s of T r a l l e s . H i s s t o r y i s an account
of h i s j o u r n e y t o Thebes, the source o f our p a p y r i , where he found an
old temple p r i e s t t o produce a p r i v a t e t h e o p h a n i c i n v o c a t i o n of
Asclepius (Iymhotep). J u s t such r i t u a l s a r e d e s c r i b e d i n our corpus
w i t h matching d e t a i l s , and f o r the same e x p r e s s e d purpose: PGM VI1:628-
42; PDM x i i : 2 1 - 4 9 , 3 5 - 4 0 ; x i v : 9 3 - 1 1 4 ; suppl:168 - 89. Some may v i e w the
account of T h e s s a l u s as a conversion t o "magic," but he h i m s e l f
p r e s e n t s i t as the f i n a l s u c c e s s f u l c u l m i n a t i o n of h i s m e d i c a l
e d u c a t i o n whereby he f i n a l l y l e a r n s the a r t of h e a l i n g from the god of
h e a l i n g h i m s e l f , who becomes h i s f r i e n d and i n s t r u c t o r . T h i s i s an
important t e x t t o study i n c l o s e comparison w i t h the p a p y r i i n any
f u r t h e r work of t h i s k i n d . I regret that I can take i t no f u r t h e r ,
this point.
 64

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Appendix: S t a t i s t i c a l Overview of the Corpus

The p r e s e n t g o a l i s to a r r i v e at the m e d i c a l t h e o r y (or t h e o r i e s )

i n the world of the p a p y r i . Thus the study cannot l i m i t i t s e l f to the
h e a l i n g s p e l l s alone, but must seek out and c o n s i d e r a l l of the r i t u a l s
that r e f e r to or a c t on the body: i n c l u d i n g p r a y e r s f o r w e l l - b e i n g ,
curses and a g g r e s s i v e l o v e s p e l l s meant to a f f l i c t o t h e r s , d i v i n a t i o n s
or o r a c l e s f o r d i a g n o s t i c and p r o g n o s t i c r e v e l a t i o n s , drug or p o t i o n
p r e p a r a t i o n s , and the l i k e .

To t h a t end, the p a p y r i have been combed f o r a l l such r e f e r e n c e s

i n o r d e r to c o n c e n t r a t e a t t e n t i o n on them. The next stage i s a
s t a t i s t i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n to c l a s s i f y the separate s p e l l s i n t o c a t e g o r i e s
based on theme, context, method, and any o t h e r n o t i c e a b l e t r o p e . T h i s
i s the s e a r c h f o r p a t t e r n s . I t i s hoped t h a t such an a n a l y s i s , i f not
uncovering something v e r y v a l u a b l e , w i l l at l e a s t be i n t e r e s t i n g and
h e l p f u l i n r e f i n i n g research questions.

Semantic I l l n e s s Network:

Summary of c o n d i t i o n s , a f f l i c t i o n s , ailments, s i c k n e s s e s / i l l n e s s e s
d e s c r i b e d i n the p a p y r i 2 0 9

I n t e n t i o n a l l y A f f l i c t e d by R i t u a l Means:

Love s p e l l s
-heat/steaming/flaming/sweating/cooking i n h e a r t / l i v e r / n a v e l / b e l l y
( t y p i c a l l o v e s p e l l among many IV:115-120)
-send i n a daimon to burn g u t s / b r e a s t l i v e r / b r e a t h / b o n e s / m a r r o w
(daimonic l o v e s p e l l IV:1530-31)
-the same to b u r n / i n f l a m e b r a i n and guts and suck out b l o o d , daimon to
enter "not by s i d e or n a i l s or n a v e l or frame but by ' s o u l ' and remain
i n her" (IV:1520-30)
-make i l l (daimon l o v e IV:2076)
- s i c k n e s s , d e s t r o y s , ...make her i l l , draw out her b r e a t h (love IV:2442,
2496)
-cause s i c k n e s s (love s l a n d e r IV:2625)
-insomnia, "sore d i s t r e s s e d w i t h wakeful c a r e s " (love IV:2735-40,2960;
V:3274)
-madness (love IV:2769)
-"heaving of the sea...punishments" (V:3274)
-burn her h e a r t / g u t s / l i v e r / s p i r i t / b o n e s (love VII:981-93)
-causing insomnia (write a charm or conjure by lamp VI1:374-76,376-84)
- s t r i k e her h e a r t / b e l l y / i n t e s t i n e s / w o m b ; b u r n i n g heat t o
heart/lungs/liver/spleen/womb/large intestine/small
i n t e s t i n e / r i b s / f l e s h / b o n e s / i n every limb/ i n the s k i n ; i n s o m n i a / g r i e f
and a n x i e t y / a n o r e x i a / i n a b i l i t y to d r i n k (daimon sent t o d i s o r d e r b o d i l y
systems = s l a n d e r l o v e s p e l l s , xiv:636-69 , 664 , 665-6)
-cause madness, insomnia, w i t h e r i n g (love xiv:1026-45)
-take away the mind ( l o v e ; female f o r male, XV:11)
-cause her to swoon/sting the s o u l , heart, burn, i n f l a m e (love XIXa:51-
53)
-inflame, burn her h e a r t and s o u l (love XXXIIa:l,6)

209 Condition or situation i s followed by summary reference to treatment i n

parentheses
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-wasting (by daimon Myrrh e n t e r i n g r i g h t s i d e , sent i n l o v e spell

XXXVI:333-60)
i n f l a m e d l i v e r , s p i r i t , h e a r t , s o u l (love LXXXIV:1-21)

Other S p e l l s o f A f f l i c t i o n

-Death and d e s t r u c t i o n (1:99, IV:1167.-)

- c a u s i n g " d i s e a s e " ( i n v o c a t i o n of A p o l l o , 1:330)
-cause p s y c h o l o g i c a l p a s s i o n s , b o d i l y s u f f e r i n g s , i n c a p a c i t a t i n g
i l l n e s s e s (XII:304-307)
-causing a s k i n d i s e a s e t h a t does not h e a l (wash the man w i t h l i z a r d
o i l s xiv:389)
-causing b l i n d n e s s (beer i n eyes xiv:391)
-causing (1 c u r i n g ) e v i l s l e e p / d e a t h / c h i l l s / f e v e r ( r e c i t a t i o n s p e l l t o
sun o r p o i s o n m i x t u r e s w i t h n a r c o t i c herbs xiv:675-
94,706,711,716,724,727,737,911,917)
-causing b l i n d n e s s (xiv:741-42)
-cause menstrual haemorrhage (LXI1:100-104)
-causing madness (xiv;1182-87)

Not Intentionally Afflicted, Prophylactics or Healings

-"my s o u l i s d i s t r e s s e d , I am p e r p l e x e d " (Re: daimonic a t t a c k , 1:213-

214) ;
- " s e m i t e r t i a n f e v e r " ( d i a g n o s i s , 111:466)
- c a l a m i t y and t e r r o r , "plagued by ghosts" (IV:1064,1079)
- n o n s p e c i f i c daimonic p o s s e s s i o n (exorcism IV:1227-64)
-daimonic p o s s e s s i o n (exorcism IV:3007-86; 3084: t r e a t by blowing a i r
from t i p s of f e e t t o face)
-Lovesickness, "throes of g r i e v o u s l o v e " (VI:13)
-uterus movement (conjured by voces Magicae t o r e t u r n VII:260-71)
- s i c k n e s s , s u f f e r i n g s , daimons, phantasms ( p h y l a c t e r y VII:579-90)
-seeing phantoms (love VII:888)
-smitten, a f f l i c t e d ( p h y l a c t e r y r i n g a g a i n s t daimons XII:260)
-demoniacs ( r i n g power XII:281)
-demoniac (exorcism w i t h a s p h a l t and s u l f u r i n h a l a t i o n and s a c r e d name
XIII:242)
- e r i s e p e l a s ( s k i n d i s e a s e cured with c r o c o d i l e dung and s a c r e d name
XIII:245)
- s p r a i n o r f r a c t u r e (cured w i t h name and e a r t h and v i n e g a r XIII:247)
- r e s u r r e c t i o n of dead (by r e - i n s p i r a t i o n and c o n j u r a t i o n by s a c r e d name
XIII:279-83)
- s c o r p i o n s t i n g (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:193-6)
-eye d i s c h a r g e (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:197-8)
-migraine headache (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:199-201, 201-202)
-coughs (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:203-5, 206-7)
-breast h a r d e n i n g (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:208-9)
-swollen t e s t i c l e s (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:209-10)
- f e v e r and s h i v e r i n g f i t s (speak t o o i l and a n o i n t i n g from sacrum t o
f e e t VII:211-212)
- d a i l y f e v e r , n i g h t l y f e v e r (amulet a p p l i c a t i o n h e a l i n g VII:213-14)
-dog b i t e saliva-venom h e a l i n g (symbolic h e a l i n g + c l e a n s i n g and
bandaging xiv:554-62;585-93)
-poison i n h e a r t ; pus, venom a n t i d o t e (symbolic h e a l i n g + v o m i t i n g
xiv:563-74)
-bone stuck i n t h r o a t (removal symbolic h e a l i n g and maneuver xiv:573-
85,621-66)
 70

- s t i n g venom (by snake (?) l i c k and swallow venom out xiv:594-620)

-watery ear d i s c h a r g e ( c l e a n and a p p l y mixture w i t h copper = a n t i b i o t i c
xiv;935-39)
- v a g i n a l b l e e d i n g (to stop i t by d r i n k i n g t o n i c xiv;953-55) (stop by
h e r b a l c o n c o c t i o n a d m i n i s t e r e d i n sex xiv961-65) (stop by s a l t and o i l
m e d i c a t i o n a d m i n i s t e r e d w i t h a tampon i n s e r t time d u r a t i o n s p e c i f i e d
xiv:970-77) ( f a s t i n g , t o n i c d r i n k , and honey soaked r a g i n s e r t xiv:978-
80) (bath and honey i n s e r t xiv:981-84)
- f e r t i l i t y / p r e g n a n c y t e s t ( u r i n a t i o n on a p l a n t xiv:956-60)
-gouty f o o t (anoint w i t h o i l c o n c o c t i o n and breathe at him x i v : 9 0 5 -
9 2 ) ( p o u l t i c e a p p l i e d t o p a i n spot xiv:993-1002)(amulet bound t o the
p l a c e xiv:1003-14) (wash and rub xiv:1021-23)
- h e a l i n g ophthalmia (ointment p l u s t e x t and p i c t u r e amulet xiv:1097)
- a b o r t i o n (?) (xiv:1188-89, p. 249 + n. 614)
-menstruation (fumigate xiv:1196-98)
- f e v e r , headache, body pain...fever of n i g h t , f e v e r of midday, headache,
"burning heat of the f e v e r s of those below the brow t o h i s f e e t , from
the head (mythic d e i t y a f f l i c t e d xiv:1219-27, i n v o c a t i o n t o heal)
-headache p a i n (amulet X V I I I a : l - 4 ) (amulet XX:1-4) (amuletXX13-19)
- s h i v e r i n g f i t , f e v e r , d a i l y o r i n t e r m i t t e n t , by n i g h t o r by day,
quartan (amulet X V I I I b : l - 7 )
-inflammation (amulet XX:4-12)
-bloody f l u x (amulet XXIIa:2-9)(amulet .LXIII:24-25)(amulet LXIII:26-
28)(amulet LXV:l-4)
-pain i n b r e a s t s and u t e r u s (amulet XXIIa:9-10)
- c o n t r a c e p t i v e (amulet XXIIa:11-14)
- e l e p h a n t i a s i s (amulet XXIIa:15-17)
_every s h i v e r i n g f i t , t e r t i a n , quartan, q u o t i d i a n , e v e r y - o t h e r - d a y
f e v e r , one by n i g h t , m i l d f e v e r (amulet XXXIII:1-25)
- u l c e r of the head (prepared ointment lxi:43-48,49-57)
- e r e c t i o n (ointment and d e c o c t i o n t o r e v e r s e e f f e c t l x i : 5 8 - 6 2 )
- f e v e r w i t h s h i v e r i n g f i t s , d a i l y , n i g h t l y , quartan, t o u c h i n g s o u l ,
body (amulet w i t h b i b l i c a l v e r s e s LXXXIII:1-20) •
- s h i v e r i n g f i t and f e v e r , d a i l y f e v e r , headache, n i g h t l y , quartan,
s e m i t e r t i a n , "grant him h e a l i n g " (amulet and p r a y e r LXXXVII:1-11)
- f e v e r (amulet LXXXVIII:1-19)
- p a e d i a t r i c f e v e r s of a l l k i n d s , caused by demons or phantoms
(LXXXIX:1-27)
- f o r poor e y e s i g h t ( d r y i n g powder made w i t h s a f f r o n XCIV:l-6)
-tumors (amulet XCIV:27-35)
-migraine headache (amulet XCIV:39-60)
- e p i l e p s y and s e i z u r e s (amulet XCV:7-13)(amulet XCV:14-18)
-lung d i s e a s e (amulet XCV:14-18)
-eye d i s e a s e (amulet of l i z a r d eye put onto a f f e c t e d eye XCVII:l-6)
- s h i v e r i n g f i t and f e v e r , d a i l y fever... t e r t i a n , quartan, q u o t i d i a n ,
d a i l y , or everyday (amulet CIV:1-8)(amulet CVI:1-10)
- s c o r p i o n s t i n g (amulet CXII:l-5) (amulet C X I I I : l - 4 )
-inflammation of the u v u l a (amulet CXX:1-13)
-death/darkness/mental illness/grief/fear/illness/poverty/disturbance;
rudeness/evil/the e v i l
eye/debauchery/slavery/indecency/lamentation/troublesomeness/emptiness/
malignancy/bitterness/arrogance
( p h y l a c t e r y w i t h a l i t a n y (?) of two columns l i s t i n g a i l m e n t s
p s y c h o l o g i c a l , p h y s i c a l , and moral)
-dangerous drugs (XXXVI:222)
- c o n t r a c e p t i o n ("the o n l y one i n the world"! h e r b a l amulet XXXVI:300-
32)