Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Curses, Foiled Again?

Long before Mainz, Germany, was home to Johannes Gutenberg, it was the primary seat of the Roman Empire north of the Alps. One artifact of their dominance is a now-subterranean temple to Isis and the Great Mother in the downtown shopping district:


The foundations of the temple

One item on display in the small museum is a curse note, possibly left by a jilted lover. The note is at left, with a more readable graphic rendering at right:


Still not readable enough? This display graphic translates the obscure handwriting into more familiar Latin letterforms:


And this is the English translation:

For Prima Aemilia, the lover of Narcissus, it should be so: Everything that she will try, everything that she will do, everything should go down badly for her.

Her sense should be removed, she should pursue her affairs without sense. Everything that arises should turn out the opposite. For Prima, the lover of Narcissus, it should be as so: As this letter shall never bloom, she should also never bloom.
 No word on whether Isis answered the sender's prayer.

2 comments:

Marsha Qualey said...

DNT--thank you so much for taking us on this trip with you.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

So there.