It was also necessary to know the name of the devil or person against whom his spells were directed
- Date of account
- Ancient traditions presented in a work published 1916
- Source
- Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria
- Reference
- Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria · selected passage 66
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English synthesis of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian material
- Translation
- Lewis Spence, with cited translations and retellings
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
It was also necessary to know the name of the devil or person against whom his spells were directed
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyIt was also necessary to know the name of the devil or person against whom his spells were directed. If to this could be added a piece of hair, or the nail-parings in the case of a human being, then special efficacy was given to the enchantment. But just as hair or nails were part of a man so was his name, and hence the great virtue ascribed to names in art-magic, ancient and modern. The name was, as it were, the vehicle by means of which the magician established a link between himself and his victim, and the Babylonians in exorcising sickness or disease of any kind were wont to recite long catalogues of the names of evil spirits and demons in the hope that by so doing they might chance to light upon that especial individual who was the cause of the malady.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a passage from a historical religious or interpretive text. Its genre, manuscript history, translation and place within its own tradition are part of the evidence and must remain visible.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice can compare the passage's descriptive features with later reports, but resemblance does not turn a vision, angel, mythic creature or sacred narrative into a modern incident report.
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