Akanthos curse tablet

The text was composed by a man named Pausanias and was intended to bind down two individuals, Sime and Ainis, of whom the former is identified for certain as a love interest.

Although the tradition of attraction rituals is documented at an earlier period from literary sources (e.g. Jason and Medea), the late 4th century BC Akanthos tablet was until recently the earliest surviving example of this type; two more recently published Greek spells from Sicily that seem to display features of an attraction curse have been dated to the 5th century BC.

By the mid-4th century BC, neighbouring settlements that had now passed under Macedonian control would yield a handful of curse tablets of their own, including the cities of Arethousa, Oraiokastro, and Akanthos.

[8] Following the standard practice of Greek magicians, the tablets were buried at necropolises, in hopes that the spell would be successfully carried to the underworld by the soul of a recently deceased human.

[9] On each side of the tablet, Pausanias expresses his wish to bind down two separate people, Sime (Σίμη) and Ainis (Αἶνις).

[11] Similar to the composer of the Pella tablet, Pausanias wishes to be the only one to have control over the time span of the spell's efficacy, and thus be the only one able to release the binding.

[15] There have been various theories regarding the identity and social status of Sime, including that she may have been a sex-worker, a married woman, or a pallake, though ultimately none of them can be securely confirmed.

Και μήτι ἱερίου Ἀθηναίας ἃψασθαι 5. δύναιτο, μήτηι Ἀφροδίτη ἱλέως αὐτῇ 6. εἲη, πρὶν ἂν Παυσανίαν ἐνσχῇ Σίμη 7.