Amuletsthe gallery← amulets.guru
Greece, Etruria & Rome · c. 800 BCE – 500 CE

Magical gems (Abraxas, Chnoubis)

Meaning

Engraved stones with a strange cast of beings: the Anguipede (cock-headed, snake-legged god with whip and shield, often called Abrasax or Iao), the lion-headed snake Chnoubis, the womb as a vessel with a key, Harpocrates on the lotus, with Greek vowel strings, secret names and ring-signs (charaktêres) that had no ordinary meaning.

Intent

Each was made for a purpose: Chnoubis on green stone against stomach pain and for digestion, haematite 'womb gems' to regulate the womb and pregnancy, others for favour, victory, love or protection. The stone, the image and the words had to agree, as recipes in the Greek Magical Papyri explain.

Significance

Magical gems bridge Egyptian, Greek, Jewish and Christian magic, and show a written, learned magic practised by professionals across the Empire. They were collected in the Renaissance as 'Gnostic' gems, and the name Abraxas became a byword for hidden wisdom.

History

They were made from the 1st to the 4th century CE, mostly in Roman Egypt and the eastern Empire. Around 4,000 are known. Jean Chifflet published the first study in 1657, and Campbell Bonner's Studies in Magical Amulets (1950) founded the modern field.

Making yours
1–3 cm oval intaglios in haematite, green jasper, bloodstone or lapis. Wheel-cut, with lettering on the reverse and bevel.
Greece, Etruria & Rome: the tradition

Greeks called amulets periapta or phylakteria, 'things tied on' and 'protectors'; Romans said amuletum or ligatura. Both cultures feared the envious glance, baskania in Greek and invidia or fascinatio in Latin, and answered it with laughter, shock and the power of images: the Gorgon's face, the phallus, the crescent moon. Children, brides, soldiers and livestock were the most protected. Graeco-Egyptian magicians of the Roman Empire engraved gems and gold foils with divine names and signs, forming a written magic that passed to Byzantium, Islam and medieval Europe. Pliny the Elder's Natural History (77 CE) records hundreds of amuletic stones, plants and animal parts, and became the source book for later lapidaries.

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Magical amuletMagical amuletChaniaCharitesion (amulet)Charitesion (amulet)EgyptamuletăamuletăIsacceaWinkekatze als GlücksbringerWinkekatze als GlücksbringerGermanyGNM - Gnostisches GoldamulettGNM - Gnostisches GoldamulettGermanyChalcedony intaglio: Lion-headed serpentChalcedony intaglio: Lion-headed serpentca. 2nd–3rd century A.D.Magical amulet Musée BnF AAbj4Magical amulet Musée BnF AAbj4ancient GreeceAmulet of Mithras Slaying the Bull, and the God AbraxasAmulet of Mithras Slaying the Bull, and the God Abraxas3 rd century date QS:P571,+250-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Carnelian intaglio: Lion-headed serpentCarnelian intaglio: Lion-headed serpentca. 2nd–3rd century A.D.Steatite intaglio: Lion-headed serpentSteatite intaglio: Lion-headed serpentca. 2nd–3rd century A.D.Amulet of Mithras Slaying the Bull, and the God AbraxasAmulet of Mithras Slaying the Bull, and the God Abraxas3 rd century date QS:P571,+250-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Intaglio Chnoubis Musée BnF deClercq3453Intaglio Chnoubis Musée BnF deClercq3453SMYTH(1851) 1.191 A Gnostic AbraxasSMYTH(1851) 1.191 A Gnostic AbraxasEtà imperiale, gemma con chnoubis e iscrizione, II-IV secolo ca., in calcedonio - CopiaEtà imperiale, gemma con chnoubis e iscrizione, II-IV secolo ca., in calcedonio - CopiaHekate with lion-maned serpentHekate with lion-maned serpentOttův slovník naučný - obrázek č. 025Ottův slovník naučný - obrázek č. 025AbraxasAbraxasAbraxas3Abraxas3Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.037Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.037Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.050Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.050Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.052Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.052Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.054Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.054Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.056Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.056Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.058Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.058Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.060Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.060Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.062Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.062Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.064Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.064Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.066Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.066Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.068Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.068Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.070Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.070Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.072Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.072Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.074Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.074Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.076Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.076Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.49Abraxas seu Apistopistus - Talisman pg.49Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e1 150-0Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e1 150-0Intaglio Chnoubis Musée BnF Schlumberger352Intaglio Chnoubis Musée BnF Schlumberger352Lion-faced deityLion-faced deityArte romana, amuleto con dio aguipede e testa di gallo, diaspro sanguigno e oro, III secArte romana, amuleto con dio aguipede e testa di gallo, diaspro sanguigno e oro, III secEtà imperiale, gemma con chnoubis e iscrizione, II-IV secolo ca., in calcedonioEtà imperiale, gemma con chnoubis e iscrizione, II-IV secolo ca., in calcedonio

More from Greece, Etruria & Rome: Gorgoneion (Medusa head) · Bullae · Lunulae (crescent pendants) · Amulet capsules & gold lamellae · Anatomical votives · Herakles knots & Sabazios hands · Other & unsorted Greece
Every type in the gallery

Anything in the gallery can be made: any piece, any tradition, in its own material or yours, by hand from the documented original. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted before anything is made. I reply within one business day.