Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World, John G. Gager's 1992 edited volume from Oxford University Press, is a scholarly, thematically arranged survey of the ancient Mediterranean defixio evidence, curse tablets, with commentary situating each within its ritual and legal context. Gager was an established scholar of ancient Mediterranean religion and the volume's authority rests on that specialist curation of primary inscriptional evidence alongside expert commentary. Its limit is that as a survey and sourcebook it prioritizes breadth of examples over exhaustive treatment of any single tablet. Cite it for the general practice and its documented examples; a claim about one specific tablet's full context needs its own dedicated study.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
John G. Gager's Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World, Oxford University Press, 1992, the top tier reflecting a specialist scholar's curation of primary inscriptional evidence alongside expert commentary. Its limit is that as a survey and sourcebook it prioritizes breadth of examples over exhaustive treatment of any single tablet; a claim about one specific tablet's full context needs its own dedicated study. NotesIn copyright. A thematically arranged survey of the defixio evidence with commentary.
Citation
AuthorJohn G. Gager (editor)
PublisherOxford University Press, New York
Publication Year1992
URLhttps://global.oup.com/academic/product/curse-tablets-and-binding-spells-from-the-ancient-world-9780195134827
Source TypeEdited volume
Claims Backed By This Source (18 claims)
This source backs 18 claims across the atlas. As facts: 14 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Articles, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- Incantations, Spells & Curses, 2 claims: 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.
Scholarly debate
1Incantations, Spells & Curses
General References
2Incantations, Spells & Curses
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