{"id":17467,"date":"2023-01-15T04:32:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T04:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?page_id=17467"},"modified":"2023-02-11T04:06:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T04:06:25","slug":"bernhardt-house-2023-congress","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/abstracts\/bernhardt-house-2023-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernhardt-House (2023 Congress)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phillip A. Bernhardt\u2013House
\n(Academic Vagabond<\/em>)<\/h2>\n

“The Ephesia Grammata<\/em> as Grammatical Beings;
\nOr, ‘That Orpheus Is Pretty Good . . .
\nWho’s His Agent?’ “<\/h2>\n

Abstract of Paper
\npresented at the 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies
\n(Kalamazoo, 2023)<\/h3>\n

Session on “Words as Agents”<\/h4>\n

Organized by Phillip Bernhardt-House
\nCo-organized by Mildred Budny<\/h4>\n

Co-Sponsored by the RGME and
\n<\/strong>Polytheism-Oriented Medievalists of North America (P.-O.M.o.N.A.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2023 Congress Program<\/a><\/h4>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ephesia Grammata<\/a> (Greek \u1f18\u03c6\u03ad\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1 \u0393\u03c1\u03ac\u03bc\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1<\/span>, “Ephesian Words”; see Ephesus<\/a>) \u2014 also known as the “Orphic Formula” or the “ASKI KATASKI Formula” \u2014 are a set of either six or seven words found in a variety of Ancient Greek contexts which are, essentially, one of the oldest and most venerable set of “magic words” known to the classical tradition. The attested names also occur in certain non-Greek contexts, such as the Hebrew text known as the apocryphal “Wisdom of Solomon” which understands some of the words as the names of particular spirits, and they also occur as names in other Greek contexts. They are attributed with protective powers, the ability to cause invisibility, and a variety of other uses in the papyrus spell formulae and inscriptions in which they are employed.<\/p>\n

While one could argue that, like any other set of voces magicae<\/a>, the Ephesia Grammata<\/em> are simply words or names from other languages, or are even “nonsense words” that are simply attributed with power more out of tradition than out of any inherent semantic value, understanding them as “grammatical beings” of a supernatural nature might have a larger heuristic utility in understanding the role of any such voces magicae<\/em> in other contexts, and even the usage of individual alphabetic, pictographic, or alphanumeric units and sequences as having esoteric or magical meaning and utilities for the efficacy of ritual operations as well as divination and other employments of occult knowledge.<\/p>\n

Such an exploration gets to the very essence of the phrase “words as agents”!<\/p>\n

\"

Fa\u00e7ade of the Celsus library, in Ephesus, near Sel\u00e7uk, west Turkey. Photograph (1910): Benh LIEU SONG, via Creative Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

Further Reading:\u00a0 For example,<\/p>\n