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RE: Dream Magic from the Greek Magical Papyri
How can this be from the Greek anything! when you need to use materials that did not exist in ancient times - especially the foil, of either kind.
How can this be from the Greek anything! when you need to use materials that did not exist in ancient times - especially the foil, of either kind.
Well, it's obviously an adaptation. The PGM doesn't give complete rites most of the time, so you gotta take what you can get. The phrase for "tin foil" is "πτύχιον κασσιτέρινον" and is found at PGM VII.740. I am not a scholar, so I'm relying on translations from others. Betz translates it "tin foil" and Preisendanz translates it as "zinneres Täfelchen." "πτύχιον" means a tablet that can be folded, so a foldable piece of tin. Why not tin foil?
I went with aluminum because I didn't have any tin handy and I was on a deadline. In any case, it worked. I'm pretty happy with it the results and feel like experiments like this can help others put the PGM to good use. Here is a screenshot of the original Koine in case you want to translate it yourself.
Thanks