Phillip A. Bernhardt–House
(Academic Vagabond)
“The Ephesia Grammata as Grammatical Beings;
Or, ‘That Orpheus Is Pretty Good . . .
Who’s His Agent?’ “
Abstract of Paper
presented at the 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(Kalamazoo, 2023)
Session on “Words as Agents”
Organized by Phillip Bernhardt-House
Co-organized by Mildred Budny
Co-Sponsored by the RGME and
Polytheism-Oriented Medievalists of North America (P.-O.M.o.N.A.)
2023 Congress Program
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Abstract
The Ephesia Grammata (Greek Ἐφέσια Γράμματα, “Ephesian Words”; see Ephesus) — also known as the “Orphic Formula” or the “ASKI KATASKI Formula” — 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.
While one could argue that, like any other set of voces magicae, the Ephesia Grammata 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 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.
Such an exploration gets to the very essence of the phrase “words as agents”!
Façade of the Celsus library, in Ephesus, near Selçuk, west Turkey. Photograph (1910): Benh LIEU SONG, via Creative Commons.
Further Reading: For example,
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We thank Phillip for his contributions to our Sessions over the years, as Organizer, as Presenter, and as Respondent. For example:
- Bernhardt–House, Phillip A. (2022 Congress)
- Bernhardt–House, Phillip A. (2021 Congress)
- Bernhardt-House (2019 Congress).
- Bernhardt-House (2018 Congress).
- Bernhardt-House (2008 Congress).
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