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ORIENTALIA LOVANIENSIAANALECTA
219
UITGEVERIJ PEETERS en DEPARTEMENT OOSTERSE STUDIESLEUVEN PARIS
WALPOLE, MA
2012
SEALS AND SEALING PRACTICES IN THE NEAR EAST
Developments in Administration and Magic from Prehistoryto the
Islamic Period
Proceedings of an International Workshopat the
Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo
on December 2-3, 2009
edited by
ILONA REGULSKI, KIM DUISTERMAAT andPETER VERKINDEREN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contributors to this volume vii Programme of the conference ix
Preface xi I. Regulski Introduction K. Duistermaat Which Came
First, the Bureaucrat or the Seal? Some Thoughts on the
Non-Administrative Origins of Seals in Neolithic Syria V. Mller Do
Seal Impressions Prove a Change in the Administration during the
Reign of King Den? H. Tomas The Transition from the Linear A to the
Linear B Sealing System U. Dubiel Protection, Control and Prestige
Seals among the Rural Population of Qau-Matmar K. Vandorpe and B.
Van Beek Non Signat Aegyptus? Seals and Stamps in the Multicultural
Society of Greco-Roman Egypt N.C. Ritter On the Development of
Sasanian Seals and Sealing Practice: A Mesopotamian Approach B.
Caseau Magical Protection and Stamps in Byzantium
xiii
1
17
33
51
81
99
115
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TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
J.-Cl. Cheynet and B. Caseau Sealing Practices in the Byzantine
Administration C. Kotsifou Sealing Practices in the Monasteries of
Late Antique and Early Medieval Egypt P.M. Sijpesteijn Seals and
Papyri from Early Islamic Egypt E. Fernndez Medina The Seal of
Solomon: From Magic to Messianic Device S. Dorpmller Seals in
Islamic Magical Literature K.R. Schaefer Block Printing as an
Extension of the Practice of Stamping
133
149
163
175
189
209
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BATRICE CASEAU
Whereas magical rituals could involve complex sets of words and
specific manipulations known only to experts, simple gestures and
one word invocations performed by ordinary persons were also deemed
to work magic in the Ancient World.1 Writing itself was considered
to wield magical powers (Frankfurter 1994: 189-211; Dornseiff
1925). Those who had divine names, divine signs or invocations
inscribed on any of their belongings believed that such
inscriptions could protect them and/or the objects in their
possession. Invocations of deities worked in the context of the
different religious cultures of the Roman Empire, such as Judaism
(Janowitz 2002: 19-31), Early Christianity (Dillon 1985) and the
numerous cults of the Mediterranean world (Porreca 2010). Simple,
everyday magical practices had one purpose, as F. Graf wrote: to
the ordinary men and women of antiquity exposed to the
contingencies of life, (it) was a way to cope with difficulties in
their daily existence (Graf 1997: 113).
A whole branch of magical practices was devoted to rituals and
gestures providing protection. Everyday objects were placed under
the protection of a divine being by being stamped with a protective
sign or inscription (Dauterman Maguire 1989; Vikan 1980). Museum
collections hold many stamps or seals of different forms and
shapes, which could have been used on bread, dough or on fresh
clay. Amphoras, bricks, lamps and other clay objects were often
stamped.2 Made of bronze, wood or clay, stamps bore inscriptions or
images. Some of them were inscribed only with a name, but others
included wishes, or religious messages. It is this last category of
seals (those bearing religious messages) that I wish to study here.
Their intent was to magically convey some form of protection on the
owner of the object or on the object itself. For example, religious
images with specific protecting words were stamped on
1 Tambiah 1968 and 1985; Graf 1994: 231-261. For their help with
bibliography and for lively discussions, I wish to thank J.-L.
Fournet, D. Frankfurter, J. Gascou, M. Perrin, B. Pitarakis and
J.-P. Sodini.
2 Bardill 2004; Garlan 2000; Bakirtzis 1989; Lyon-Caen and Hoff
1986; Hellmann 1985.
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amphora stoppers to protect wine from turning sour, or to make
sure they would travel safely to their destination.3
The stamps under consideration belong to the Roman, Late Roman,
early Byzantine or Byzantine period. One can follow the changes in
seals through time, from when they consisted simply of well-wishing
inscriptions such as health or life, to when they began to bear
Christian images of the cross and inscriptions alluding to Gods
blessing. From the evolution in their shapes and inscriptions, it
is possible to study the Christianization of ancient magical
practices. The Collections Roman and Byzantine stamps are found in
archaeological excavations and preserved in different museums
around the world. Some museums have also received donations of
stamp collections dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods.4 In
this article, I shall take most of my examples from three
institutions: the Bibliothque Nationale de France (Cabinet des
Mdailles), the British Museum and the Muse dArt et dHistoire de
Genve.5 The Cabinet des Mdailles in Paris holds a collection of
metal, clay and wooden stamps, given by different donors throughout
the past century. The largest contribution to the Cabinet des
Mdailles was made by W. Froehner, a German scholar who lived in
Paris and worked at the Louvre museum. Greatly appreciated by
Napoleon III,
3 J.-L. Fournet 2008: 181, n. 16 concerning Christian
inscriptions painted on amphoras: Lobjectif est de protger lamphore
et donc la cargaison. Il est aussi possible que la conservation du
vin soit vise. Ma collgue Hlne Cuvigny attire mon attention sur un
passage des Goponiques (VII 14 tir des Cestes dAfricanus) qui irait
dans ce sens : Pour empcher que le vin ne tourne, tu inscriras sur
lamphore ou la jarre ces paroles divines: Gotez et voyez comme le
Seigneur est bon (Psaumes 33, 9) ( , , ).
4 One of the biggest collections can be seen at the Menil
Foundation in Texas:
http://www.menil.org/collection/antiquities.php (last accessed on
29 May 2011).
5 To study these collections, I have benefited from research
grants from the CNRS. I wish to thank J-Cl. Cheynet, director of
the research center Orient-Mditerrane (UMR 8167), for supporting
this research project and also M. Avisseau, curator at the Cabinet
des Mdailles (BNF, Paris), M. Martinani-Reber, curator in charge of
the Department of Applied Art at the Museum dArt et dHistoire
(Genve), and Ch. Entwistle, curator at the British Museum, for
allowing me to study the stamps.
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MAGICAL PROTECTION AND STAMPS IN BYZANTIUM 117
who sought his advice on archaeological matters, Froehner
started collecting archaeological material for himself. However, as
a result of the ongoing war with Prussia and Froehners German
origins, he lost his job in 1870. Impoverished, he was forced to
work small consulting jobs here and there. He sold part of his
collection of coins, gave some objects to friends and eventually
donated his collection of inscribed objects to the Bibliothque
Nationale. This collection, a bric brac of objects of small sizes,
including seals of different shapes used to stamp bread or clay,
entered the Cabinet des Mdailles upon his death in 1925 (Hellmann
1982: 75-87).
While they are frequently displayed in exhibits concerning the
Byzantine Empire, the late Roman world or the Egyptian Coptic
world,6 such collections are rarely systematically published.
Instances are so rare that we can, in fact, list here the names of
all who have recently published entire collections: in 1985, S. D.
Campbell published the University of Torontos Malcove collection, a
donated set containing four bronze stamps and one wooden one;7 in
2006 and 2009, Michael Grnbart published the 6 metal stamps of the
Bennet collection, a private North American collection, and the 16
metal stamps housed in the British Museum (Grnbart 2006 and 2009);
and in 1986, M. H. Rutschowscaya published the 22 wooden stamps
kept in the Louvre museum.8 Chronology Stamps are usually difficult
to date with precision, unless discovered in a scientific
excavation with stratigraphy. In spite of the difficulty of
accurately dating these objects, they can still easily be matched
with a broad time period according to the religious content of
their inscription and imagery. It is likely that stamps with simple
well-wishing invocations, without any Christian references, date
from anywhere between the Roman period up to the early Byzantine
centuries (4th-5th centuries).
Good luck! Be prosperous! May you be rich or successful! These
invocations are found on bronze stamps from the Roman and early
Byzantine periods. Well-wishing stamps were as popular as
6 Byzanz 2010: 279-280; Wamser 2004: 341-343; Wamser and
Zahlhaas 1998: 151-153; Byzance 1992: 310-311.
7 http://www.utac.utoronto.ca/collections (last accessed on 29
May 2011); Campbell 1985.
8 Rutschowscaya 1986.
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acclamations and are close to them in spirit (Rouech 1984:
181-199; Rouech 2009: 169-177). There is no certainty that they
could not have been used in the 6th or 7th centuries, but stamps
made then were more likely to portray a cross or a Christian
invocation of some sort. A stamp can be in use for a long period of
time. Invocations to the deities of the Roman Empire are most
probably from the Roman period (1st-4th centuries), but a Christian
of the 5th or 6th century could just as well use a stamp inherited
from an earlier generation. However, if he were to make a new one,
it would likely have some reference to the Christian faith, either
by the seals shape (a cross) or by the inscription.
Bearing in mind that there was some freedom in the choice of
stamp one wished to use, the presence or the absence of Christian
signs is a chronological indication. The stamps bearing Christian
signs must have been produced during or after the 4th century.
Those simply inscribed with a name can be Roman or early Byzantine,
but a cross would probably be added to the name, at least from the
5th-6th century onwards. On papyri, crosses appear before all sorts
of texts during the 5th century (Bagnall 2009). These
distinguishable features do not make for a precise tool for dating
seals, but they allow us to make lucid distinctions between a
society not fully Christianized and a society taking for granted
the presence of Christian signs and expressions.
Most of the stamps in the museum collections are dated to the
Late Antique or early Byzantine period (4th -7th centuries), but
some are Roman and some belong to the middle Byzantine period
(8-12th centuries). A stamp of the Cabinet des Mdailles, bought in
Constantinople by W. Froehner, bears an inscription from a
Kalokyros protospatharios (cf. Fig. 1). The dignity of
protospatharios (first sword bearer) was accorded only from 718 CE
onwards, so we can conclude that the stamp dates from the 8th
century, at the earliest (Oikonomides 1972: 297). Denis Feissel
suggests the stamp comes from the 9th-10th centuries, because the
family Kalokyros becomes widely-known during the 10th century
(Feissel et al. 2001: 16 n. 11). However, on the stamp, the name is
in the genitive form, which is no longer used on lead seals after
700-720 CE, when it is replaced by the dative. The use of the
dative form starts at the end of the 7th century. There is a period
of overlap during which both forms are utilized. This particular
stamp has a mixture of the genitive and dative forms (Byzance 1992:
311). Attributing it to the early 8th century (700-750) is
therefore possible and probable. In
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MAGICAL PROTECTION AND STAMPS IN BYZANTIUM 119
this particular case, the dignity helps to date the stamp, but
most stamps do not have this type of well-dated information. Many
stamps bear simple names and probably belonged to artisans rather
than to aristocrats.
Fig. 1: Rectangular stamp inscribed (Of Kalokyros the
protospatharios). BnF Froehner 556, 55 x 160
Was the stamp of Kalokyros his personal stamp? Or was it a stamp
used to mark objects made for him by workers? The stamp may reveal
that aristocrats, such as Kalokyros, had clay objects that were
produced on their estates and stamped in their name or, more
likely, that they ordered large quantities of clay objects, which
were stamped in their name, to be delivered to them. Brick-stamps
reveal that stamps sometimes bore the name of the person or the
institution ordering the bricks (Bardill 2004). The example of clay
lamps reveals that, when stamps were used, the name of the
lamp-maker was under the lamp, and the name of the owner on top of
it (Lyon-Caen and Hoff 1986).
The design of a stamp its shape and inscription was deter-mined
by the use intended for the seal. We can assume that metal stamps
bearing a first name had a practical use. Stamps allowed workers to
mark their work and be paid for it. Stamps could also bear the name
of producers, who wished to identify their merchandise. Amphoras on
a boat, for example, could be distin-guished thanks to stamps, and
to the dipinto added by merchants (Fournet and Pieri 2008). Judging
by these functions, metal stamps inscribed with a first name most
likely had a practical use.
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Well-wishing stamps and their Christianization Stamps are close
to amulets, charms and phylacteries in that they can bear
invocations (Leone 2003). Their well-wishing inscriptions were
meant to magically offer a form of protection. Such was the case
with the many stamps inscribed with ZOH (life) and (health). They
wished a good life and good health for whoever would eat the
stamped bread or would buy the stamped object.
P. Perdrizet wrote a very interesting article on the
significance of such inscriptions (Perdrizet 1914: 266-280). The
stamps, he explains, were used in the temples of Asklepios and
Hygia, the god of medicine and the goddess of health, to stamp
bread offered or sold to pilgrims that took part in sacrifices. The
bread itself was called a hygia. To support such an assertion, he
cites a verse from Herodas (3rd century BCE): , , (dont forget to
bring some of the health bread) and a passage from Athenaeus,
mentioning that the cake (bread?) given to be tasted during the
sacrifices, is called hygeia.9 Such a cake may have been prepared
with barley, oil and wine. This cake or bread was probably stamped
with the word in honor of the goddess. The inscription of the name
of the deity blessed the bread and endowed it with healing
properties.
If some of the stamps preserved in museums and marked are truly
from temples of Asklepios, they can probably be attributed to the
Roman period up to the end of the 4th century CE, date of the
official closing of temples.10 It is probably wrong, however, to
link too closely all of the stamps marked with the cult of
Asklepios and his daughter. Secularized, the invocation was widely
used to convey good wishes of health, rather than to promote a real
religious invocation. The combination ZOH YIA can be found on
different types of stamps, such as a circular stamp (Fig. 2), a
shoe-sole-shaped stamp from the Cabinet des Mdailles (Fig. 4) or an
S-shaped stamp also bearing the message, life for all ( C)
(Weitzmann 1979: 627-628). It would be difficult to determine
9 Herodas, Mimiambi, Mime 4, The Women sacrificing to Asclepios,
Kynno (eds. J. Rusten, I. C. Cunningham, Loeb, 2009); Athenaeus,
III, 82, 15, , (ed. G. Kaibel, Teubner, 1985).
10 Some cultic practices, such as banquets, remained possible
longer (Frankfurter 1998); stamps could be instrumental in
transforming ordinary bread into an offering. Moreover some temples
remained open much longer, at Philae for example (Dijkstra 2004 and
2008).
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what kind of religious background the owner of this last stamp
may have had due to the lack of a clear religious message.
Fig. 2: Circular stamp inscribed ZOH HYIA (Healthy life), bought
in Cyprus in 1898. BnF Froehner 553, diam. 65 mm. Unpublished.
Let us consider shoe-shaped stamps for a moment. Seals of this
form are very intriguing. While shoes cited in papyri and residing
in archaeological collections have been studied, shoe-shaped stamps
have not attracted much attention.11 Shoes and feet once had an
erotic dimension, illustrated by depictions of Aphrodite removing
her shoe or punishing Eros with it. This scene, described in
epigrams, was a favorite of sculptors, painters and poets
(Hodkinson 2007: 25-28). However, past the eroticism of the image,
one must also remark upon the magical aspect of feet and soles.
Shoe-shaped objects can be viewed as allusions to the deities
footprints. Some sanctuaries boasted the finding of footprints left
by the gods and goddesses; these became objects of veneration
(Deonna 1913: 241). Although (according to L. Castaglione) imprints
found in ancient Egyptian temples indicated the deities presence,
footprints and shoe-shaped objects during the Greco-Roman period
referred to pilgrims who left their imprints at temples, in memory
of a visit.12 The pilgrims left both their name, engraved or
painted, and the shape of one of their feet. On the terrace of the
Memnonion of Abydos, one can clearly read the names of Agathon,
Philotera,
11 On shoes in papyri, Russo 2004; on shoes discovered by
archaeology, Montembault 2000.
12 Castaglione 1967: 239-252; dans la symbolique religieuse
gyptienne, limage de lempreinte de pied de la divinit ou du
souverain personnifiant la force divine signifiait leffet
bienfaisant et fcondant de lpiphanie du dieu, p. 251.
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Dionysios, Ermia on each of their respective footprints
(Perdrizet 1919: 117-118). These imprints symbolized the devotion
of the pilgrim towards the deity and perpetuated his or her
prayers.
K. Dunbabin has studied a number of imprints of bare or sandaled
feet that have been discovered, mostly in Egypt (Dunbabin 1990:
85-109). Some, she says, could be votive deposits, calling for the
healing of the foot or wishing for success on a journey, but most
of the imprints simply allude to the presence of a person, either
divine or human.13 Feet are mainly associated with the Egyptian
cults of Serapis and Isis, but can also be linked to the cult of
Zeus Hypsistos. Divine imprints attributed to these deities were
deemed to have healing powers (Leglay 1978: 573-589). This explains
why blessings of good health and life were inscribed on shoe-shaped
stamps (Fig. 3).
If we link these shoe-shaped stamps to the Egyptian cults or to
the cult of Zeus Hypsistos, we should conclude that they are from
the Roman period. If a seal owner wanted to convey an attachment to
the ancient cults without explicitly worshipping the gods, such a
stamp would have been handy, especially in the second half of the
6th century or after, when it had become not only unlawful but also
unsafe for residents of the Byzantine Empire to openly worship the
gods (Caseau 2011). At that time, new stamps most probably included
Christian signs.
Fig. 3: Shoe-shaped stamp, inscribed VIVAS (May you live). BnF
inv.
2388, 34 x 15 mm. Cf. Babelon and Blanchet 1895: II 728.
13 Jacquet-Gordon 2003: 3 (imprints belonged to the priestly
personnel of the temple); Wilson 2007: 116 and 120-123 (imprints
belonged to visitors).
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We should probably not overstate the strictly religious
dimension of the message carried by the depiction of a foot. The
image was simply seen as an auspicious sign in Late Antiquity. This
explains its presence in bathhouses and in private dwellings. The
role of the foot as a good omen also accounts for objects shaped in
its form, whether lamps (Xanthopoulou 2010), amulets, seals or
stamps. Feet or sandals were often depicted in mosaics and
interpreted as a wish for prosperity, success and good fortune
(Dunbabin 1990: 104). They were still popular as late as the 5th
century or early 6th century.
Fig. 4: Shoe-shaped stamp, inscribed (Healthy life). BnF inv.
2372a, 97 x 18 mm. cf. Babelon and Blanchet, 1895: II 727.
So, we are left with two possibilities of interpreting the
shoe-shaped stamp bearing the inscription (Fig. 4): either it was
linked to an Egyptian cult, or it was drawing on this ancient
tradition in a very loose manner. It is not possible to choose the
right interpretation, but in Late Antiquity, many formerly
religious symbols became cultural ones. The many 5th and 6th
century mosaics with Dionysius illustrate how the deity came to
symbolize good cheer and hospitality (Maguire 2001; Stirling 2005;
Bowersock 2006). In the same manner, an image of a foot could have
evolved to simply convey good wishes, rather than to preach
particular religious ideals. As a result of its neutrality and
universal application, it is impossible to be sure of the religious
preference of the owner of stamps with this inscription. If the
owner were a merchant, he could apply such a stamp to amphoras
carrying food, oil or wine. C. Bakirtzis notes that inscriptions
invoking divine help are linked to the Byzantines habit of praying
that the wine in the containers would not turn sour (Bakirtzis
1989: 76). We can understand the appeal such a message would have
had for a merchant selling his products.
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Fig. 5: Cross-shaped stamp, inscribed (Healthy life). BnF inv.
2371, 94 x 87 mm. Cf. Babelon and Blanchet 1895: II 727.
The popularity of the message explains its adoption by
Christians. In itself, such a message contained nothing
repre-hensible (except perhaps its past link to the goddess and
cult of Asklepios). The British Museum, the Cabinet des Mdailles
and the Benaki Museum each have stamps in the shape of a cross
bearing the inscription.14 The former is said to be from ca. 5th
century (Galavaris 1970: 50), the latter from the 4th or 5th
century and Egyptian.15 The ancient message has been Christianized
by its inscription within a cross.
The cross was a very powerful sign for Late Antique Christians,
who believed that crossing oneself, or inscribing the cross on
objects, brought apotropaic protection (Walter 1997). Christians
were reminded of their salvation when they saw the cross. It was
the sign of eternal life. The sign of the cross was widely used by
Christians for protection against evil (Israeli 2000: 127-145).
Thus, we find crosses inscribed on many everyday objects.
Embroidered on clothing, worked into jewels, chiseled on
silverware, etched on lintels above a door or drawn into floor
mosaics, the sign of the cross was omnipresent in Christian
households. Saints Lives reveal that it was used in combination
with words of prayer to exorcise people, to cure them and to bless
them. When the owner of a 6th
14 British Museum n 84/5-9/26; Benaki Museum n. 11473; Cabinet
des Mdailles BnF inv. 2371 (Fig. 5).
15 Fotopoulos and Delivorrias 1997: 172 ill. 294. Dated to the
4th or 5th C CE, coming from Egypt. Size L 0.08 m (inv. 11473).
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MAGICAL PROTECTION AND STAMPS IN BYZANTIUM 125
century Syrian house decided to protect his house, he had the
following words inscribed on the lintel of his door: for as long as
the Cross is set in front of it, the Evil Eye will not have power
(Vikan 2008: 55).
When crosses appear on a stamp, or when the stamp itself has the
shape of a cross, we can presume that the owner was a Christian and
wished to use the protective power of the cross. Yet, some Late
Antique Christians still enjoyed using traditional well-wishing
inscriptions as well. On their stamps, they would mix a Christian
sign with a call for good health and life.
P. Perdrizet was somewhat puzzled by this mixture of traditions.
He admitted that Christians could enjoy good wishes but preferred
to imagine that by life they meant eternal life, and by health they
meant a soul free of sin (Perdrizet 1914: 278). He preferred that
Late Antique Christians transform even traditional invocations to
include a Christian theological agenda. A similar idea was later
developed by G. Galavaris (1970: 51): Life in Christ meant health
of soul; and when the soul is healthy, when it is free from the
consequences of sin, it is ready to enter into Eternal Life.
Galavaris even considered these stamps to be meant for the
prosphora, the Eucharistic bread. There is no need to
over-spiritualize the message. Even if Christ is called medicus, or
, and the Eucharist the medicine of life, it remains unlikely that
a stamp destined for the Eucharist would have included the name of
an ancient goddess. This is true even if by the end of Antiquity,
this reference to Hygia was more cultural than religious. Statues
of Asklepios and Hygia were still very popular in the 4th-5th
century (Jacobs 2010: 114). It is probable that the owner of the
cross-shaped stamp bearing the inscription combined, perhaps
without thinking twice, two types of protection: the powerful
Christian sign of the cross, able to repel demons, and the
well-wishing inscriptions of his ancestors. It seems that the
message was too closely-linked with pagan and magical practices to
become completely Christianized. This explains why it was not
commonly used during the Byzantine period, despite its popularity
during Late Antiquity.
The messages link to magic is undeniable. The word is found on
many magical objects. A tabella ansata discovered in the region of
Tyr shows, on one side, a rider, a group of snakes and the
inscription C C, while the other side reads (Dalton 1901: 543).
Such a syncretistic combination of words and images created
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BATRICE CASEAU 126
a powerful protective message, common on objects used for
magical purposes.16 For example, a bronze bracelet with Christian
scenes (women at the tomb, Mary and Jesus) was also decorated with
a holy rider, under whom was inscribed the word . The bracelet
bears more inscriptions: the first verse of Psalm 91 (he who dwells
in the shelter of the Most High) and holy holy holy is the Lord.17
could be found on a wide range of objects. Some were more
acceptable than others to the Christian authorities, who either
frowned upon or vigorously condemned magical practices (MacMullen
1964, Graf 1994). In itself, it was simply a wish for good health.
Its association with magic came from the numerous amulets on which
it was in presence of figures and words belonging to the magical
lore. Stamps could allude to this world of magic simply by using
the word .
Fig. 6: Shoe-shaped stamp inscribed C C (One God), bought in
Beirut in 1899. BnF Froehner 513, 100 x 35.
This may also be the case with the stamps bearing the
inscription C C.18 This reference to the one God has long been
considered either Jewish or Christian. Recently, it has also been
linked to pagan monotheism (Mitchell 2010). Of all the inscriptions
and citations that E. Peterson studied bearing those words, he
considered a large number to be Christian and originating in Syria
or Egypt (Peterson 1926). L. Di Segni collected all the C C
inscriptions from Palestine and came to the conclusion that C C has
almost no independent Jewish use. It is found as a part of
16 Israeli 2000: The sacred horseman, 159-161; Bonner 1950. 17
Israeli 2000: 162-163; on amuletic bracelets, Vikan 2003. 18 Wamser
1998: 152-153. A stamp in the shape of a shoe, belonging to a
private
collection (cf. Fig. 6).
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pagan inscriptions, a large group of which was connected to the
cult of Helios-Sarapis, on magical Gnostic amulets, in Samaritan
synagogues and within Christian inscriptions (Di Segni 1994:
94-115). Its use in magical inscriptions comes from the formula: ,
One God the victor against evil. Although this group of words is
not the only one associated with C C, it is the one most commonly
seen. The combination forms a formula for magical protection
(Russell 1995: 37-38; Prentice 1906: 137-150).
In 1906, Prentice noticed that, on lintels, the main purpose of
inscriptions and symbols was to bring luck or to avert evil. He
added: certainly the name of God has always been and is now in the
East the most potent charm against evil (Prentice 1906: 138). The
words C C on a stamp played the same apotropaic role.
Although Christians used C C as a proclamation of their faith,19
its use in a magical context and in pagan cults may account for
some wariness on the part of the Byzantines of later centuries. On
stamps, the and C C messages were replaced by other, less tainted
messages of protection such as blessing of the Lord on us ( C; cf.
Fig. 7), common in the 6th century (Cohen-Uzzielli 2006: 172;
Galavaris 1970: 118), or Lord help ( ), a phrase which forms the
opening line of many Byzantine seals, from the end of the 6th
century and the middle of the 7th (see in this volume, Cheynet and
Caseau).
Fig. 7: Circular stamp inscribed + [] () [] []OY + (Blessing of
the Lord on us. From Sergios). BnF Froehner 564,
diam. 105 mm.
19 ajtar 2006: 219: inscribed probably by a monk in the 6th
century as an answer to an earlier graffito (1st-2nd c.) asking the
Lord god Asklepios and Amenothes and Hygia for healing.
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BATRICE CASEAU128
While amulets and phylacteries remained concealed (as magical
practices were illegal and condemned by Church authorities), stamps
were used on bread and on other objects that anyone could see. In
the late Roman and early Byzantine period, stamps with apotropaic
formulae were as popular as amulets, yet their form of magic could
not be as explicitly syncretistic. It was softer and discreet. One
or two words were enough to call on ancient forms of
protection.
Stamps evolved with the societies that created them. Although
originally they called on the benevolence and protection of many
gods, they later asked for the protection of the one God, soon
identified as the Christian god. Stamps were Christianized first by
the adoption of cross-shaped stamps and then by the preference for
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