Defixio- Part 2

When I think of Curses I think about Louisiana style voodoo, however this has not always been the case in history. The main area that I will be focusing on in regards to curses is Roman Era curses. These were called Defixio in Latin and were widely used throughout their empire. Defixio when broken down, has the word “fix” in it, which essentially means the curse “fixes” the one it was written to. Typically the curse was written on a stone tablet, however this was not always the case as there have been curse tablets found that were engraved in lead sheets or even in the sides of buildings (talk about vandalism).
Each defixio followed a basic set of ideas, which included naming the person they are accusing, their crime and punishment and a plea to a deity to make it happen. A very basic example would be: I curse my brother for eating my pizza(and I linked pizza just cause) and I plea to Mom to spank him. This includes all four parts that make up a basic curse. Next you would need a clever place to hide the tablet that would be within range of your victim. In the Cambridge Latin book that we read, one of the story had an old man curse someone on a lead tablet and then through it into the fountain located in the baths of Aqua Sulis. However, Defixios were not always a bad curse. Defixios could also be used to “curse” people with good luck. These curses were not as common however.

The Roman Empire, with their vast sprawl of land, spread this technique of revenge with them in the lands they conquer. For example, the British natives adopted the tablet making quickly and used them commonly in various places, but particularly the baths. The British loved the process of curses so much that 250 of the 500 tablets recovered have been found in England and 100 of those have been found in baths. British and Roman tourist who would visit the baths would often have their possessions stolen. This in turn lead to the need of alternate forms of justice; those of a supernatural manner (AKA Defixios). The victims of this petty theft would carve out their curse and then throw it into the baths to increase the magical potency of the curse (because who would love bathing in lead water). This was not the only way to increase the defixio’s intensity. Other ways of increasing a curses strength included writing several lines or words on the tablet backwards. Some tablets were also written in a poetic or rhyming tone to increase more of it’s power.


This is is an example of a Defixio that we made to show how they look and to give a basic idea of what a Defixio ACTUALLY is in a better resolution picture. Also you can read a creative story written by Ryan Teng here: The story behind the Defixio
The tablet reads:
I curse Julius
Julius, who killed my clan
Caesar will be killed by his best friend
(lucky for this guy came true)


This a picture of a steel nail found in Glasgow, which is what the British would have used to engrave the curse tablets

This is a black and white picture of an actual Defixio, which includes a picture to help its magical power.

If Defixios were to be used today (based on roman ideals), this is a decent example of what they would look like, made by Ryan T.

In reality though they would look more like this, given to world’s propensity for profanity and social media use and references:
Gosh I hate this blue Cadillac in front of me! it takes up two lanes and wont let me pass. PLease someone(@iMugU953) get him of the road and mug him. #traffic #defixio

#FREAKED! @CreepyGuy623 is staring at me on the bus. GOD! HELP ME STOP THIS CREEP! #defixio

#Bankrobbery, #Crime, #Adventurous just another day in my life. But really wished that @StockingFace62 didn't shank me… #Dead. @God now that we’re neighbors can you kinda smite him? #defixio

Works Cited

"Defixio: Curse Tablets of Roman Britain." Defixio: Curse Tablets of Roman Britain (n.d.): n. pag. Storvik Novice Tournament 2013, 2013. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Gager, John G. Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.
Johnston, Sarah Iles. Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2004. Print.
Natalias, Sanchez C. "The Bologna Defixio(nes) Revisited." The Bologna Defixio(nes) Revisited. Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik, 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.