Considering PGM I as GEMF 31: exploring the form and purpose of a magical formulary

Abstract

Within the context of the reedition of the magical formularies of Greco-Roman Egypt (Faraone and Torallas Tovar 2022), PGM I has been re-edited as GEMF 31. Following the methodology applied to the study of such texts in the above-mentioned work, this paper contemplates the contents of the formulary, namely recipes for gaining a supernatural assistant, a prayer for protection, invisibility procedures, a recipe for enhancing the memory, and an elaborate recipe containing a hymnic text, in the light of the material characteristics of the roll, from its dimensions and the use of the writing space to the graphic choices made by the scribe in terms of the script, and the presence of symbols, abbreviations, and lectional signs. The outcome of such analysis produces the picture of an educated member of the provincial elite who writes for himself (and/or his friends) in a fast, able, and somehow attractive manner a “useful” compilation of recipes serving everyday purposes.