There is considerable evidence that the ancient Greeks employed binding magic in both public ceremonies to safeguard their cities and private rituals to address personal conflicts. The popularity of private binding magic is evident from the numerous inscribed lead defixiones found as early as the fifth century B.C. in Sicily and Attica. This essay explores another rich source of information: the literary, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence indicating that Greeks across different periods used bound or buried images to control malevolent gods, demons, ghosts, and human enemies.
The goal of these rituals, whether for state protection or individual concerns, was to control, not destroy, the sources of evil, and they were commonly perceived as forms of defensive magic. This essay is structured into four sections. It begins by examining the abundant evidence of defensive rituals involving the binding or burying of Ares’ effigy. This analysis reveals a strong correlation between early Greek myth and later ritual practices, demonstrating the continuity of beliefs about the bound god over time. The second section places this material in a broader cultural context by detailing similar rituals used by the Egyptians and Assyrians.
The third section shifts focus to the use of effigies in Greek magic to protect against ghost attacks. After a detailed examination of the problematic xoXoơơoí in the cathartic inscription from Cyrene, it discusses how Greek ghost-banning uniquely combines funerary ritual and sympathetic magic. The final section reviews archaeological evidence for the private use of “voodoo dolls” in the Greek world from as early as the seventh century B.C., showing that these artifacts were part of a wide spectrum of defensive magical rituals aimed at controlling evil forces.
Binding Ares in Greek Myth and Ritual
The binding of Ares in Greek mythology and ritual provides a fascinating glimpse into the continuity of these practices over time. In the fifth book of the Iliad, Aphrodite collapses into the lap of her mother, Dione, and laments the wound inflicted by Diomedes. Dione comforts her by recounting the suffering of other gods at the hands of mortals, starting with Ares:
Ares had to endure it when strong Ephialtes and Otos,
sons of Aloeus, chained him in bonds that were too strong for him;
and for three months and ten he lay chained in the brazen cauldron;
and now might Ares insatiable of fighting have perished
had not Eeriboia, their stepmother, the surpassingly lovely, brought word to Hermes who stole Ares away out of it as he was growing faint and the hard bondage was breaking him.
(Iliad 5.385-91, trans. R. Lattimore)
This myth, linked to a Boeotian locale, is echoed in a second-century A.D. papyrus chrestomathy that tells a similar story about Enyalius (Ares) in Thrace. Binding is a recurrent theme in Greek myths: Cronus is bound by Zeus (Hesiod, Erga 173a), Zeus is threatened with binding by Poseidon, Apollo, and Hera (Iliad 1.399-401), and Hephaestus binds Ares and Aphrodite (Odyssey 8.296-99) and even his own mother (Pindar fr. 283 Snell; Plato, Republic 378d). This phenomenon reflects the gods’ immortality; since they cannot be killed, they must be imprisoned, bound, or otherwise restricted. The binding of Ares by Ephialtes and Otus stands out as it corresponds to actual Greek rituals performed in later periods.
A first-century B.C. hexametric inscription, likely from the Panhellenic oracle of the Clarian Apollo, describes a ritual in which the people of Syedra, plagued by pirates, are advised to erect a bound statue of Ares in “the iron chains of Hermes” and supplicating a figure of Dike:
Pamphylians of Syedra, inhabiting a land in the bordering territory of the people of mixed race, set up an image of Ares, the blood-stained slayer of men, in the midst of your town and perform sacrifices beside it while holding him [sc. the statue] in the iron bonds of Hermes. On the other side, let Dike giving sentence judge him while he himself is like one pleading. For thus he will be peacefully disposed to you after he has driven out the unholy mob far from your native land and will raise up much-prayed-for prosperity. But also you yourselves together put your hand to the hard task, either chasing them away or manacling them in unloosable bonds and do not delay the terrible vengeance on the plunderers. For thus you will escape from impairment.
(trans. H. W. Parke)
This elaborate ceremony, involving a statue of the bound Ares pleading before a menacing Dike, symbolically restrained and humbled the pirates’ hostile force. Other later testimonies describe similar rituals, such as an anonymous epigram in the Palatine Anthology (9.805) and a historical account by Photius about bound silver statues aimed at averting barbarian invasions. These accounts reflect a pattern of myth and ritual aimed at restraining hostile armies and preventing them from harming Greek communities.
Pausanias also describes a bound image of the war god Enyalius at Sparta, reinforcing the continuity of this ritual practice. According to Pausanias, the statue represents Sparta’s continued excellence in warfare, symbolically chained to ensure it never deserts her. Despite being bound, these statues were treated with deference, offered sacrifices, and considered crucial for the community’s protection. This binding and sacrificing practice reveals a unique aspect of Greek religious and ritual life, blending mythological beliefs with practical defensive strategies.
Bound Statues in Egypt and the Near East: Comparative Data
In ancient Egypt, the use of “voodoo dolls” or bound effigies in rituals was prominent at both state and private levels. From the earliest times, Egyptian priests used wax images to represent and defeat their gods’ enemies. Ritual texts from the Ptolemaic period detail the creation of these effigies, which were bound, mistreated, and then destroyed. For instance, at the temple of Amon-Re in Karnak, red wax figures of the god’s enemy Apophis were bound, abused, and consumed by fire alongside images of pharaoh’s human enemies. Similar practices were conducted at the temple of Osiris at Abydos and Edfou, where effigies of Seth were bound, trampled, cut up, and burned.
These rituals aimed to assist the Egyptian gods in their cosmic battles and symbolically ensured the pharaoh’s dominance over his enemies. The figures were often depicted kneeling and bound, a pose known as the “bound captive.” These images appeared in monumental reliefs showing the pharaoh’s triumph over foreign enemies and were later found in free-standing statues and royal furniture.
Smaller versions of these bound figures evolved artistically, providing a wide surface for inscriptions that cursed entire nations, hostile gods, or individual enemies. These smaller effigies were not for public display but were buried in large caches, often in sealed clay pots, near mortuary temples. The earliest examples date to the Sixth Dynasty, with many belonging to the Middle Kingdom. These figurines, frequently inscribed with the names of individuals described as “dead,” aimed to control the ghosts of recently deceased individuals.
In the Near East, similar practices were observed. Babylonian texts describe military rituals involving bound images of enemies. Assyrian incantation series like Maqlu prescribed burning effigies of demons, ghosts, and hostile humans to exorcise their influence. These rituals, originally private, became national ceremonies in the Neo-Assyrian period. Some rituals did not destroy the effigies but merely bound and buried them, as seen in Namburbi texts aimed at preventing witchcraft.
The Hittites also employed bound effigies in their rituals. For instance, the purification rite of Tunnawi involved abusing wax figures of hostile sorcerers. Similar rituals are documented in Aramaic inscriptions, such as the treaty of Matti’el, which included the blinding of a wax figure as a symbolic curse.
Cyrenean Koaossoi and Early Greek Ghost-Banning Rituals
Two fourth-century B.C. inscriptions from Cyrene provide insight into Greek ghost-banning rituals involving effigies, called xoXoơơoí. These texts, likely paraphrased from earlier documents, date the rituals back to the Archaic and Classical periods. The first inscription describes the oath of the Theran colonists who founded Cyrene, involving the burning of wax images (xoXoơơoí) as part of a binding curse. The second inscription, a lex sacra, outlines a purification ritual to remove an evil spirit from a private house.
This ritual, designed to prevent attacks by hostile visitants (likely ghosts or demons), prescribes the invocation of the sender’s name for three days. If the sender or ghost is unknown, the ritual involves creating male and female effigies from earth or wood, offering them food, and depositing them in an uncultivated area. This practice mirrors Assyrian ghost-banning rites, where effigies were inscribed with names, dressed, offered food, and buried.
The Cyrenean ritual does not explicitly bind the effigies, unlike the Assyrian practices, but the parallels are significant. The Greek practice of erecting cenotaphs or substitute images for the dead, such as the Mycenaean chamber tomb at Midea and the seventh-century B.C. deposit on Thera, suggests a longstanding tradition of using effigies in funerary and protective rituals.
In both Greek and Assyrian rituals, the aim was to remove the ghost from the living world. This involved creating effigies, performing offerings, and burying them in desolate areas. These practices reflect a complex interplay of funerary and magical rituals aimed at controlling supernatural threats.
In summary, the use of bound statues and effigies in Egypt, the Near East, and Greece shows a shared cultural approach to dealing with supernatural threats. These rituals, varying in execution, highlight a common human response to danger through symbolic control and containment of malevolent forces.
Private “Voodoo Dolls” in the Greek and Roman World
Throughout the Greek and Roman world, there is extensive evidence of the use of lead, clay, and wax figurines in private rituals to bind personal enemies. These “voodoo dolls,” as they are commonly referred to, were often bound and buried as part of these magical practices. The earliest known Greek examples are two Archaic bronze figurines, although their classification as “voodoo dolls” has been debated due to the lack of overt signs of magical intent, such as inscriptions or bound limbs.
However, more recent discoveries support their inclusion in this category. For instance, four lead figurines from Attica and Sicily exhibit distorted heads and bound limbs, features consistent with other “voodoo dolls” found across the region. These figurines were used to curse or control individuals by manipulating the dolls’ physical forms.
The production of these early figurines required technical skill, particularly those cast from metal, but they were not intended to be realistic portraits. Instead, their sympathetic action was directed by inscriptions or rituals performed over them. Over time, the quality of these images declined, with later examples being crudely made from clay or lead.
Private binding rituals involving these figurines were widespread. In Italy, North Africa, Egypt, and Palestine, similar practices were observed. Notably, female figurines often appeared alongside male counterparts, suggesting a symbolic representation of larger social groups, such as families or clans. The pairing of male and female dolls, seen in the Cyrenean lex sacra and Assyrian ghost-banning rites, points to a broader cultural motif.
Despite variations in the treatment of these effigies—whether bound, pierced with nails, or distorted—the primary goal was to restrain or contain the enemy, not necessarily to destroy them. This practice is highlighted by a detailed narrative from the sixth-century Christian author Sophronius, who describes how removing nails from a “voodoo doll” relieved a man’s paralysis, emphasizing the non-lethal but immobilizing effects of such spells.
Conclusion
In ancient Greece, as in Assyria and Egypt, binding, burying, or burning effigies was a common ritual practice aimed at preemptively controlling or neutralizing personal and public enemies, whether mortal or supernatural. Greek myths and archaeological evidence, dating back to the Bronze Age, indicate a long-standing tradition of such defensive magic. The binding of Ares in Greek myth, for example, mirrors the practices in Assyria and Egypt, where bound images of enemies were enclosed in containers and buried.
While there were notable differences in how these rituals were performed across cultures, the underlying intent was consistent: to protect the community by controlling harmful forces through symbolic actions. In Egypt, these rituals were often part of regular state ceremonies, whereas in Assyria and Greece, they were typically performed in response to specific crises.
The evidence suggests a significant degree of cultural exchange, with Greek practices likely influenced by the more advanced and sophisticated rituals of the Near East. This is particularly evident in the ghost-banning rites of Cyrene, which bear similarities to Assyrian rituals. The dissemination of ritual knowledge through Panhellenic oracles also played a crucial role in the spread of these practices.
The use of “voodoo dolls” in private rituals across the Mediterranean further underscores the shared human response to danger through magical means. Whether employed in state ceremonies or personal rituals, these effigies served as powerful tools for controlling the forces of evil, reflecting a common cultural heritage in the ancient Mediterranean world.
