Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual in a Greek Magical Papyrus

Author(s): Hans Dieter Betz

Source: History of Religions, Vol. 19, No. 4 (May, 1980), pp. 287-295
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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 Hans Dieter Betz FRAGMENTS FROM A
CATABASIS RITUAL
IN A GREEK
MAGICAL PAPYRUS

Since Albrecht Dieterich published his collection of "Reste antiker

Liturgien" in the appendix of his work Eine Mithrasliturgie in
1903,1 a few new fragments of such liturgies have been discovered,
but the total amount of such material is still lamentably small.2
It appears, however, that the magical papyrus Michigan inv. 7,
dated in the late third or early fourth century A.D., contains some
formulae from a ritual of descent (= catabasis) to the underworld
which have found their way into a magical spell. The papyrus first
was published by Campbell Bonner in the Michigan Papyri and
was then included as no. LXX in the new edition of Karl
Preisendanz's Papyri Graecae Magicae, edited by Albert Henrichs,
which is based on Bonner's but takes note of suggestions made by
K. F. W. Schmidt in a review.3
1 A. Dieterich, Eine Mithrasliturgie, 3d ed., ed. 0. Weinreich (1903; reprint
ed.,
Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1966), pp. 213 ff.; see also
pp. 162 if.
2 See the additions in Dieterich, pp. 256 ff.; J. G. Griffiths, Apuleius of Madauros.
The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI) (Leiden: Brill, 1975), pp. 294 ff.; A. J.
Festugiere, L'Ide'al Religieux des grecs et l'evangile (Paris: Gabalda, 1932),
pp. 303 ff.; C. Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1950), pp. 181 ff.
3 C. Bonner Michigan Papyri, III, ed. J. G. Winter (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan, 1936), pp. 123-29 (no. 154); K. Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae.
Die Griechischen Zauberpapyri, II, 2d ed., ed. A. Henrichs (Stuttgart: Teubner,
1974), pp. 202-3 (quotations are given according to this edition); K. F. W.
Schmidt, "Papyri in the University of Michigan Collection," Gottingische Gelehrte
Anzeigen 199 (1937): 149-50.
? 1980 by The University of Chicago. 0018-2710/80/1904-0001$00.88
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Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual
The following discussion is concerned primarily with the inter-
pretation of the spell in terms of the history of religions, not with
papyrological or philological problems. As was so well understood
already by Bonner, it is the interpretation of the spell that has
thus far presented the most problems. For the benefit of readers
not familiar with the primary text, an English translation of the
fragment is provided here:
This name is a means to obtain favor, to dissolve a spell, to protect, and
to win victory. "aa emptokom basym, protect me."
5 (Charm) of Hecate Ereschigal against fear of punishment. If (the
punishment daimon) comes forth, say to him: "I am Ereschigal, the
one holding her thumbs, and not even one evil can befall her." If,
however, he comes close to you, take hold of your right heel
10 and recite the following: "Ereschigal, virgin, bitch, serpent, wreath, key,
herald's wand, golden sandal of the Lady of Tartarus." And you will
avert (him).
"askei kataskei eron oreon i6r mega semnyer bayi three times, phobantia
semne. I have been initiated, and I went down into the (underground)
15 chamber of the Dactyls, and I saw the other things down below, Virgin,
bitch, and all the rest." Say it at (the) cross-road, and turn around
and flee, because it is at those places that she appears. Saying it late
at night, about what you wish, it will reveal (it) in your sleep; and
if you are led away to death, say it while scattering seeds of sesam,
and it will save you.
20 "Phorba phorba Brimo azziebya." Take bran of first quality and
sandalwood
and vinegar of the sharpest sort and mold a cake and write the name
of NN upon it, and inscribe it in such a way that you speak over it
into the light the name of Hecate, and this: "Take away his sleep
25 from this NN," and he will be sleepless and worried.
Against fear and to dissolve (a spell) speak through two knives
loud-sounding (?) this spell; but against evil animals it does not
work compellingly (?)....

Fragmentary at the beginning, lines 1-3 contain the conclusion of

the spell which precedes the one to be discussed here. Since the
first word, ovyota, refers to the magical name in lines 2-3, it is
clear that the preceding spell ended with the summary of its
applications,4 the revealing of its authoritative name,5 and a short
prayer for protection.6 Separated from the preceding by a short
stroke (paragraphos), line 4 begins with a new section title which
describes the content of lines 4-19 correctly.7 The spell is said to
belong to the underworld goddess Hecate-Ereschigal 8 and provides
4 See Bonner, Michigan Papyri, p. 123. The text
according to Preisendanz:
5]vojtca [-ro1[r1] [e'ar] XapLt7a[to]v KaL avaAvTrKOV Kalt pvAaK-r-4p[L]ov K,CL v[tLKV-IrpLov.
5aa e7F"TTWKo/l
favf7L.
6
(aqpvAa\o'v t.e.
7 'EK,TrS
'EpeaXLVA 7TrpOs O,flOV KoAaatos'
8 The identification of the Greek Hecate with the Babylonian Ereschigal, both
underworld goddesses, is made only in the section title, while the formulae have
only Ereschigal (see lines 4, 9). See also PGM IV. 338, 2750. On Hecate see
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History of Religions

a means against "fear of punishment." 9 The question is, of course,

which fear of punishment is meant: punishment as a result of some
court action, or punishment in Hades.10 It is the hypothesis of the
following discussion that 7TpOSpo3ov KOAcdaeos refers to the fear of
punishment in the afterlife, a well-known doctrine of Greek religion
especially in the Hellenistic period.
Line 5 starts out in a way that has always puzzled scholars.
Where the beginning of the spell is expected, a statement about a
situation is made: 'av 2cepXprat, . . . There is no indication as to
who it is that is to come forth. Bonner assumed it is Hecate, the
deity invoked, while Preisendanz, who added ambiguously "(der
Ziichtiger)" thought of someone else. Parallels in the Greek
catabasis literature, however, show that the phrase points to a
situation in the netherworld, where visitors must expect sudden
attacks by underworld demons in charge of the punishments.
Protection against such attacks is advisable for those who dare
enter the land of Hades, whether as visitors or on that last journey
of the soul. At the moment of such an attack, the operator is
advised to identify himself with the goddess Ereschigal by pro-
nouncing this formula:
'Eyo, ELfLp'Epe'XtyaA Kparovra Tovs a&Vr[1]XEtpas.,
KOLtOVOE EV OVVYTt KCKOV ar7) yEVEOTat.
"I am Ereschigal, the one holding her thumbs,
and not one evil can befall her."

The imperative AEyercorequires a change of the subject, so that

the operator is ordered to use the spell against the underworld
figure (AEyeTro'). For such identification of the operator with a
deity, parallels can be adduced in the PGM,11 but the most
interesting parallel comes from Lucian's Necyomantia, a parody of

Heckenbach, "Hekate," PW 14. Halbbd. (1912), cols. 2769-82; Th. Hopfner,

"Hekate-Selene-Artemis und Verwandte in den griechischen Zauberpapyri und
auf Fluchtafeln," in Pisciculi, F. J. Dolger zum 60. Geburtstage (Munster: Aschen-
dorff, 1939), pp. 125-45; Bonner, Studies, pp. 197-98, 263-64; Th. Kraus, Hekate.
Studien zu Wesen und Bild der Gottin in Kleinasien und Griechenland (Heidelberg:
Winter, 1960); A. Delatte and P. Derchain, Les Intailles magiques greco-egyptiennes
(Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale, 1964), pp. 191-92 (no. 254).
9 For cf. Plutarch De prof. in virt. 85B: ol I-ev EKJLeLa-KO'TreCSTa' v,
7rpogpo'flov
'Ia(tcov ovo/LaTa AaK\TAW)V Xpt'vavratpTpoS 7rov Oov
ov avoaToZ9 or &AEeLKaKOL5g, (TpE/Ia
KaTaAe'yoV7ESC EKaa(TOV.
10 KoAaatoS is probably KoAaacs; cf. Bonner, Michigan Papyri, III. For the
term referring to the punishment in the underworld, see A. Dieterich, Nekyia,
3d ed. (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1969), p. 195; H. D. Betz,
Lukian von Samosata und das Neue Testament (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1961),
p. 86, n. 7; idem, ed., Plutarch's Theological Writings and Early Christian Literature
(Leiden: Brill, 1975), pp. 191, 226, 227.
x See PGM V. 146, 248; VIII. 37; XIII. 795.

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Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual
the catabasis genre in the tradition of the Menippean satire. The
work begins by showing the Cynic Menippus as he returns from a
visit to the netherworld, wearing a strange outfit made up of the
felt cap of Heracles, the lyre of Odysseus, and the lion skin of
Orpheus.12 The reason is given by the instructions of Mithro-
barzanes, the Babylonian magician and Menippus's guide to the
netherworld: "... he urged me, if anyone should ask my name, not
to say Menippus, but Heracles or Odysseus or Orpheus." The
rationale is: "Since they had been before us in going down to
Hades alive, he thought that if he should make me look like them,
I might easily slip by the frontier-guard of Aeacus and go in
unhindered as something of an old acquaintance...."13 In PGM
LXX the operator identifies himself with Ereschigal by the
magical formula of identification and probably by performing the
magical gesture of holding the thumbs.14 Line 7 introduces another
situation, in which the danger has apparently increased: eav 8
Eyyvs evE:Xcroo , ....
In other words, the first charm has not worked, so that some-
thing stronger is needed. Such situations in which a frightful
demon "comes close" are known from the catabasis myths.
Plutarch's myth of Thespesius, De sera num. 567 A, provides a
good example. At the crucial moment of his trip to the nether-
world, Thespesius's friendly guide has suddenly disappeared, and
approaching are "certain others of frightful aspect, who thrust him
forward, giving him to understand that he was under compulsion
to pass that way" (that is, to the place of punishment).'5 Fortu-
nately he is saved at the last moment by divine intervention.16
Similarly in Lucian's Philopseudes 22, the reporter relates that
during an appearance of Hecate "a frightful woman I saw
approaching."17

12 Lucian
Necyomantia, chap. 1. The translation is by A. M. Harmon in the
Loeb Classical Library, Lucian (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1953), 4:72.
13
Ibid., chap. 8; cf. Harmon, chap. 10, pp. 86, 90.
14 For this
gesture see PGM IV. 2329; XXXVI. 163; LXIX. 3; and C. Bonner,
"Note on the Paris Magical Papyrus," Classical Philology 25 (1930): 181; L.
Deubner, "Gotterzwang," Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archdologischen Institutes in
Berlin 58 (1943): 88-92; K. Gross, "Finger," RAC, vol. 7 (1969), cols. 926 ff.,
934.
15 Plutarch, De sera num. 567A: ... vp' ervepuovrvcv
pofepcov r)V Otv elS To
1rpoafev 0'ove?vos, os avdyKrav oOcravoVTco
Lte)eAeTv ..., cf. also 568A. The
edition and translation is that of De Lacy and Einarson in the Loeb Classical
Library, Plutarch's Moralia (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1959), 7:293.
16
Ibid., 568A.
17... yvvaLKa opl 7Trpoamovaav
(pofepav; see also Dieterich, Nekyia, pp. 59 ff.
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History of Religions
In such a situation, the operator is advised by PGM ,XX to
take hold of his right heel, another magical gesture,18 and to recite
an invocation of Ereschigal:
'EpegXly&A 7raptE'vE, KV6V, OpKaLVam , UTEJLPa, KAELS, K7)pVKELOV,
[T]S TapTaXPOVXOV XPVUEOVTO craV8aAOV.
"Ereschigal, virgin, bitch, serpent, wreath, key, herald's wand,
golden sandal of the Lady of Tartarus."
This invocation is peculiar because it invokes the goddess not by a
longer prayer but by a list of what elsewhere are called "signs" or
"symbols" (on7jEica).What was the purpose of this list? Are the
signs related to the "things shown" (8EtKVV4EVa) in mystery
religions?19 All the items mentioned are found elsewhere in the
PGM and are always connected with the underworld goddesses
Hecate, Persephone, and Selene.20 In PGM IV. 2334 ff., the list is
part of a hymn to Hecate (Hymn 17, lines 90 ff., vol. 2, p. 253),
but the signs function also apart from the hymn. Apparently,
naming these signs quickly has the same magical effect as a
longer prayer would have.21
Line 11 takes us to the conclusion of the paragraph (paragraphos
again). The term 7rapatTretv(avert) specifies the purpose of the spell,
the aversion of the underworld demon. It is remarkable that the
term 7rapatcrlv occurs in Plutarch De sera num. 567A in the same
context with the same meaning.22
The next section, lines 12-19, belongs to the same catabasis
ritual. It begins with the famous magical formula which is usually
called Ephesia grammata23 (e'cata ypa4tlxaroc) but which in PGM

18 On this
gesture, see PGM IV. 1054, and Bonner, "Note," p. 181, and Michigan
Papyri, III/1, p. 126.
19 I am indebted for this suggestion to Professor Jan Bergman of Uppsala,
mentioning especially PGM VII. 883. Cf. the symbols in the procession of Isis in
Apuleius Met. 11.10. See the collection of material in W. Wittmann, Das Isisbuch
des Apuleius (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1938), pp. 47 ff.
20 For
rTap've see PGM IV. 1403, 2255, 2265, 2340, 2613; VII. 784; for Kicov,
IV. 2122, 2251; VII. 781; for SpacKatva, IV. 2301; VII. 781 (SpaiKWV); for aer4ueua,
IV. 2335; VII. 785 (aTr!Aa); for KAelC, IV. 2293, 2335; VII. 785; for K1qpVKELOV,
IV. 2335; VII. 785; for TrS raprapovxov Xpv'aeov TO aavSaAov, IV. 2123, 2292,
2335; D. Wortmann, "Neue magische Texte," Bonner Jahrbicher 168 (1968):
56-111, esp. p. 62, lines 57-59; p. 78, and "Die Sandale der Hekate-Persephone-
Selene," Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik 2 (1968): 155-60. See also
Heckenbach (n. 8 above), col. 2782.
21 For the
meaning of aeU7leov in PGM, see esp. IV. 2334 and, furthermore, I.
65, 74; III. 499, 536, 624; IV. 209, 1103, 1263-64, 2940; VII. 786; X. 22; XXXVI.
273; LVII. 16, 29.
KVV /LEv 77
. . LKETEVEL22. trEpL
WTapatTelaaL Tov TraTpos OVK eToA/La St' 9KrA7TAtV KCat SEoC,
vrToaJTpeatft Kal qpvyeLv f3ovAoXlZevos
. ..
23 See C. C. McCown, "The Ephesia Grammata in Popular Belief," TAPA 54
(1923): 128-140; K. Preisendanz, "Ephesia Grammata," RAC, vol. 5 (1965),
cols. 515-20.
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Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual
VII. 451 is called "the Orphic formula" (o Aoyos o 'OpqcapKos):
AOKEL KaXTac'KEt epCv opE?V tlOp jLEya CtelJLVVr]p /3aVi
y', cpofavtia creLV?'
"askei kataskei eron oreon ior mega semny6r bayi
three times, phobantia, semne."

Clement of Alexandria attributes the formula to the Idaean

Dactyls,24 the mythical wizards and craftsmen of the company of
Rhea and Cybele, and indeed this is the origin claimed by the
formula in lines 13-15:
TeTE[A]eCT0Lct

KatEl EtS LEyapov KaXTE[]V lAcKTVAAwv

Ktl [(r] aAa eiSov KaTCo, TpEVOS, KVcV,
KCetTa AovT-&'rTVTa.
"I have been initiated,
and I descended into the (underground) chamber of the Dactyls,
and I saw the other things down below, virgin, bitch,
and all the rest."

This formula, stated in the first person singular perfect, has its
parallels in the liturgical formulae collected by Dieterich.25
Clement of Alexandria calls the Eleusinian formula or&V%Lcta,
"password."26 The parallel password in PGM LXX, however,
presupposes a mystery initiation involving Hecate. The expression
T?TEAEr(TcLis technical in this context,27 and the statement ElS
LEyapov assumes that the initiation took place by way of a
Kac'TE)v
descent into an underground crypt. This crypt apparently served
as the entrance to the underworld, comparable to the Ploutonion
in Eleusis28 and the cave of Trophonius in Lebadeia.29 That all
24 Clement of
Alexandria, Stromateis I. 15, pp. 46-47, ed. 0. Stahlin, who also
cites a Pythagorean interpretation in V. 8, p. 356.
25 See n. 1 above.
26 Clement of
Alexandria, Protr. 2.21, cited in Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie, p. 213.
See also G. Mylonas, Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1961), pp. 294 if. On the subject of passwords, see
W. Burkert, Griechische Religion der archaischen und klassischen Epoche (Stuttgart:
Kohlhammer, 1977), pp. 436-37; H. D. Betz, "Die Makarismen der Bergpredigt
(Matthaus 5, 3-12), Beobachtungen zur literarischen Form und theologischen
Bedeutung," Zeitschrift fir Theologie und Kirche 75 (1978): 3-19, esp. 12; W. C.
Grese, Corpus Hermeticum XIII and Early Christian Literature (Leiden: Brill,
1979), pp. 85 ff.
27 See esp. Plato Phaedo 69C; Aristophanes Nubes 258; PGM XIII. 90; H. G.
Liddell, R. Scott, and H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1961), s.v. III; G. Delling, Theological Dictionary to the New
Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972), 8:
57 ff. Cf. Bonner, Michigan Papyri, III, p. 127, who refers as "the best com-
mentary on the passage" to Porphyry Vita Pyth. 17. See also W. Burkert, p. 419.
28 See Mylonas, pp. 144-49.
29 See G.
Radke, "Trophonius," PW, 2. Reihe, 13. Halbbd. (1939), cols.
678-95.
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History of Religions
this syncretism is not impossible can be concluded from Pausanias,
who reports about connections between the cult of the Idaean
Dactyls and Demeter.30 Such combinations of mystery initiation
and descent to the underworld seem to have been particularly
popular in the hellenistic period.31 Also the phrase Kat ra a'AAa
eMtov KaLTcoin lines 14-15 points to the underworld, because the
word "I saw" occurs frequently in underworld myths.32 In line 15
it introduces a list of items, "virgin, bitch, and all the rest."33
The identity of these items was certainly known to the ancients
from the familiar myths.
The next sentences in lines 15-19 contain instructions for using
the password:

AEyEetl TrplooV KCaC aTpacpEs cpevye'

(pav[T]a'ETraLyap EVTOVTOLS'.
AE'yov oe Al'av vvK[ros', 'rrj]ep ov tieAelsc,
Kal KaO' V7TVOVSI/IL7VVoeL,
KOV efl varaTovarTay,, AeyE ravra a9Koprov rnraap,ov,
KMCtocoaUEL (Ts.
"Say it at (the) cross-road, and turn around and flee,
because it is at those places that she appears.
Saying it late at night, about what you wish,
it will reveal (it) in your sleep;
and if you are led away to death, say it while scattering seeds of sesam,
and it will save you."

These instructions present problems especially with regard to the

location. Is the crossroad above ground34 or below in Hades?
That Hecate appears at the crossroads, the rpto0o8, is so well
known that she bears the name TptO8lTIr,35 but these crossroads

30 Pausanias
8.31.3; 9.19.5; 27.8. See 0. Kern, "Daktyloi," PW 8. Halbbd.
(1901), cols. 2018-20; B. Hemberg, "Die Idaiischen Daktylen," Eranos 50 (1952):
41-59; Burkert (n. 26 above), pp. 57, 269, 419, 425.
31 Cf. the myth of Timarchus in Plutarch De genio Socratis
589F-593A; M.
Eliade, Zalmoxis: The Vanishing God (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1972), pp. 21 if.; Apuleius Metamorphoses 11.23, and Griffiths, pp. 297 if., 356.
32 See, e.g., Plato's
myth of Er, Rep. X.614B ff.; Lucian Necyom. 2, 10, and
Philops. 22.
33 Bonner, Michigan Papyri, III,
p. 127, and Preisendanz PGM, p. 202,
assume that KaL ra Aol&ra aravrais not part of the list but a statement by the
redactor indicating that the formula of lines 9-11 is to be repeated. But line 15 is
different in that things seen in Hades are listed. Since these items were familiar,
one does not need to be pedantic and repeat them all, in which case the phrase
could be part of the formula as well. Congruity with lines 9-11 can still be assumed.
Bonner, p. 126, calls the list avp'zFoAa("tokens or 'controls' of the underworld
goddess").
34 So Bonner, Michigan Papyri, III, p. 127, who refers to Theocritus
Idyll. 24.96.
In PGM see IV. 2528, 2825, 2955; XI a. 4; XXXVI. 256. See also Heckenbach
8
(n. above), col. 2775.
35 See PGM IV. 2727, cf. 2526, 2823, 2962; and
Heckenbach (n. 8 above),
col. 2775.
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Fragments from a Catabasis Ritual
can be above ground as well as in the netherworld, where the
triodos has its place already in the Orphic underworld myth.36
The instruction to turn around and flee has an interesting parallel
in Plutarch's catabasis myth of Timarchus. At the crucial moment
when he encounters his father and cannot help him, he wants to
turn around and flee.37
Lines 17-18 point to the connection of the spell to incubation
and dream oracle. That these can be combined with a catabasis is
shown by the myth of Timarchus in Plutarch De gen. Socr.
590A ff. Since all these references point to catabasis, the last one
in line 19 will also have to be interpreted in this way: "And if you
are led away to death." 38 That the dead are brought into Hades is
of course a familiar topos in catabasis myths. The statement here
seems to refer to underworld demons approaching the initiate with
the intention of leading him away to death.39 In that case, he
should pronounce the password and scatter sesam seeds.40 Then he
"will be saved" from such death. Line 19 concludes the section by
paragraphos, and lines 20 ff. turn to a different spell of infliction of
damages, a spell which is also attributed to Hecate-Brimo.41 A
final reference in line 25 confirms that all the material is held
together by the purpose "against fear." 42
In conclusion it can be stated that the papyrus as a whole has
assembled spells from rather diverse origins. The redactor has
combined them because they were related to the underworld
goddess Hecate and can serve as means to avert "fear." Luckily,
because of this interest he has included what seem to be liturgical
remnants from the mysteries of the Idaean Dactyloi, remnants in

36 See Plato Rep. 10.614E;

Gorg. 624A; Phaedr. 249A; and Dieterich Nekyia,
pp. 120, 131, 151. In Lucian Philops. 22 the whole underworld appears together
with Hecate. See also R. Ganschinietz, Hippolytos' Capitel gegen die Magier, Refut.
haer. IV. 28-42 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1913), pp. 64-65.
37 Quoted in n. 22 above. See also Wortmann, "Neue
magische Texte," p. 62,
lines 59-60f.: l8&cvSe eyco fpvyov .... See Wortmann's commentary, p. 78, and his
essay on Hecate's sandal, noted above in n. 20.
38 Differently Bonner,
Michigan Papyri, III, p. 129: "If you are led to exe-
cution."
39 Cf. Plutarch Fragment 178, ed. F. H.
Sandbach, Loeb Classical Library,
Plutarch's Moralia, 15: 316: OSav 'v rC TreAevTrv rj3 yev7Tat.... See also Betz,
Lukian, p. 85, n. 2.
40 For apotropeic rituals, see S. Eitrem, Opferritus und
Voropfer der Griechen
und Romer (Kristiania: Dybwad, 1915), pp. 261-72. Cf. PGM III. 454, 613; IV.
919. See also Bonner, Michigan Papyri, III, p. 128.
41 On the identification of Thessalian underworld
goddess B3rimo and Hecate,
see 0. Kern, "Brimo," PW, 5. Halbbd. (1897), cols. 853-54; Mylonas, Eleusis,
pp. 306 ff. See also Bonner, Studies, pp. 168 ff. (no. 63).
42 Again
7rpos po'fov,line 25.
294

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History of Religions
which scholarship is interested for doubtless quite different
reasons. How much more such material from mystery-cult rituals
may be buried in the Greek magical papyri? 43
University of Chicago
43 Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie,
pp. 213, and 256, had already suggested that the
synthema of Eleusis (see n. 26 above) is in corrupted form contained in PGM IV.
2964-65. See also the citations of the symbola of Hecate-Brimo in IV. 2292-95 and
2326-27; Hymn 17, lines 48-51, 83-84.

295

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