Greek Magical Papyri (PGM)
- Date of account
- Approximately 2nd century BCE–5th century CE
- Location
- Egypt, especially Thebes and Oxyrhynchus-associated collections
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Greek Magical Papyri are a multilingual collection of ritual formularies preserved on papyrus, including invocations, divination procedures, healing rites, erotic spells, voces magicae, and instructions for communicating with or compelling supernatural beings. They matter comparatively because they connect Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, and later esoteric vocabularies in late antique practice. The manuscripts are heterogeneous, often fragmentary, and copied over long periods. Their terminology should be interpreted within ancient ritual and literary contexts, not treated as straightforward reports that spirits objectively appeared.
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