1. CHARMS

2. Aims in PGM AIM NUMBER/PERCENT Healing 109/21% Knowledge 102/20% Love
98/19%
Injury
61/12%
Miscellaneous
44/8.5%
Success
42/8.2%
Safety
22/4.3%
Invocation
Service
7/1.4%
Horoscopes and General Astrology
6/1.2%

3. philtrokatadesmos (binding spell) ERÔS agôgê (fetching spell)

4. philtrokatadesmos
Love spell: In conversation, while kissing passionately, say: ANOK THARENEPIBATHA CHEOUCHCHA ANOA ANOK CHARIEMOCHTH LAILAM. —PGM VII
To make a woman love copulating with you: Foam of a stallion's mouth. Anoint your phallus with it and lie with the woman.
PDM xiv

5. Erôs
storm wind fire in the bones poison erôs disease madness loss of self-control destructiveness

6. Eros Spells
• binding (katadesmos) and attraction (agogê) • restriction of sexual attention to NN alone • restlessness, mental disturbance • loss of physical and emotional self-control • physical torture (binding, inflaming, whipping, piercing) • rejection of husband and family • compulsory movement (agogê) from natal/conjugal house to house of NN • culmination in intercourse

7. agôgê
I am BARBAR ADONAI who hides the stars, who controls the brightly shining heaven, the lord of the world [magic formulas]... Attract her, NN, draw her to me and join head to head and fasten lip to lip and join belly to belly and draw thigh close to thigh and fit black together with black, and let her, NN, carry out sex acts with me, NN, for all eternity....” Keep her from eating and drinking, and do not allow her, NN, to accept another man for pleasure, nor even her own husband, but just me, NN. Instead, drag her, NN, by the hair, by her heart, by her soul, to me, NN, at every hour of life, day and night, until she comes to me, NN... Bind her for all the time of my life and help force her, NN, to service me...

8. philtrokatadesmos
Wondrous spell for binding a lover: Take clay from a potter's wheel and make two figures, a male and a female. Make the male in the form of Ares fully armed, holding a sword in his left hand and threatening to plunge it into the right side of her neck. And make her with her arms behind her back and down on her knees. And you are to fasten the magical material on her head or neck.

9. And take thirteen copper needles and stick 1 in the brain while saying, "I am piercing your brain, NN"; and stick 2 in the ears and 2 in the eyes and 1 in the mouth and 2 in the midriff and 1 in the hands and 2 in the vagina and 2 in the soles, saying each time, "I am piercing such and such a member of her, NN, so that she may remember no one but me, NN, alone."

10. Engrave into the obsidian stone a castrated man with his genitals lying alongside his feet and his hands extended downward, as he gazes at his genitals. And inscribe Aphrodite behind his back... turning her face and looking at him. Enclose the "stone" of the kinaidos-fish beneath it. And if you do not have one of the "stones" in its head, set a small root from the kinaidos plant under it and the left top wing of the kinaidos bird, and enclose it in a very flat golden box. And you will place this within the strap [himas] of sinew from the body cavity of a falcon to make it soft, sewing it shut along the middle of the strap so that the box is invisible. This is the strap, like the diadem which is seen in paintings of Aphrodite, which is called the kestos. —Cyranides (3rd century CE),

11. Greek Sexuality • gender identity delineated in terms of power MALE
FEMALE
upper
lower
active
passive
dominant
submissive
“lover”
”beloved”
“(adult) male”
kinaidos

12. If any male, then, touches the strap, he will not become erect
If any male, then, touches the strap, he will not become erect. And if he unwittingly carries it, he will become effeminate. And if he tastes some of the "stone" of the kinaidos-fish, he will become a complete kinaidos, never returning to natural intercourse. And if a woman bears this strap, no man will have sexual intercourse with her, for he will not get erect. The strap measures two fingers wide and five palms long. —Cyranides (3rd century CE),

13. ERÔS (philtrokatadesmos, agôgê) LOVE CHARMS PHILIA (philtron, kharis)

14. philtron (love charm) PHILIA kharis (beauty/favor/sex appeal charm)

15. philtron + philtrokatadesmon
Bring and yoke Urbanus, whom Urbana bore, to Domitiana, whom Candida bore, in love, tortured, sleepless because of his love and desire for her, so that he may take her away to his house to live with him ... yoke them in marriage and love, to live together for the whole of their lives. DT 271 (3rd century CE)

16. kharis
I beg you, lord, do not allow me to be overthrown, to be plotted against, to receive dangerous drugs, to go into exile, to fall upon hard times. Rather I ask to obtain and receive from you life, health, reputation, influence, strength, success, sexiness [epaphrodisian], and charm [kharis] with all men and all women… —PGM XXXVI.211ff.
A little ring for success and for charm [kharis] and for victory... The world has nothing better than this. For when you have it with you, you will always get whatever you ask from anybody. Besides, it calms the angers [orgai] of kings and masters. Wearing it, whatever you say to anyone, you will be believed, and you will be pleasing to everybody.
—PGM XII

17. thymokatokhon
Charm to restrain anger [thymokatokhon] and secure favor [kharis]: Take a silver lamella and inscribe with a bronze stylus the following seal of the figure and the names, and wear it under your clothing, and you will be successful. The names to be written are these: [voces magicae], supreme angels, give to me, NN whom NN bore, victory, favor (kharis), reputation, advantage over all men and over all women, especially over NN, whom NN bore, for ever and all time. —PGM XXXVI. 35ff.

18. breath soul heart life thyein thymos (rage, swell) desire courage anger erection

19. EROS CHARM
PHILIA CHARM
Terms
agogê, philtrokatadesmos
philtron, kharis
Description
incantation over bound images, tortured animals, burning materials
incantation over amulets, knotted cords, rings, potions, ointments
Action
burns, tortures, maddens, impels victim to leave home and come to practitioner
binds and mollifies, reduces anger (thymos), increases esteem for practitioner; increases sex appeal (kharis) of practitioner
Effect
sexual desire (eros)
affection (philia)
Range
specific
diffuse
Social context
outsider to destroy loyalty to natal family or spouse
insider within existing relationship in need of repair
User
man, prostitute
wife, social inferior
Victim
young woman (or man), usually in natal home
husband, king, other authoritative male

20. Fishing with pharmaka is a quick and easy way to catch fish, but it makes them inedible and paltry. In the same way, women who use love potions (philtra) and sorcery (goêteia) against their husbands, and who gain mastery over them through pleasure, end up living with stunted, senseless, crippled men. The men Circe bewitched and drugged were of no service to her, nor did she have any use at all for them after they had become swine and asses.
—Moralia 139a
MALE
FEMALE
upper
lower
active
passive
dominant
submissive
“lover”
”beloved”
“(adult) male”
kinaidos

21. Contexts for Magic
• polis religion and individual piety • communal and individual kharis • prayers, oaths, and curses • deities and daimones • law • contracts and spells • performative language • popular belief and “high” science • sympathy and antipathy • doctrine of signatures • deity in nature