Kolossoi: Dolls in Ancient Magic

Sometimes called “ancient voodoo dolls,” kolossoi were a part of the magical arsenal of practitioners in the ancient Mediterranean. In this video I give an introduction to these images, how they were made, and some of the contexts in which they were used by Greek and Roman magicians.

Category Examples:
Ares bound:
Faraone, Christopher A. “Binding and Burying the Forces of Evil: The Defensive Use of ‘Voodoo Dolls’ in Ancient Greece.” Classical Antiquity 10, no. 2 (1991): 165–220.
How to dismiss a ghost:
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, witchcraft, and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds: a sourcebook. Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. (p.164)
Mnesimachos kolossos:
Wilburn, Andrew T. “Figurines, Images, and Representations Used in Ritual Practices.” in Frankfurter, David, ed. Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Netherlands: Brill, 2019.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, witchcraft, and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds: a sourcebook. Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. p.246-7
Louvre kolossos:
Wilburn, Andrew T. “Figurines, Images, and Representations Used in Ritual Practices.” in Frankfurter, David, ed. Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Netherlands: Brill, 2019.
Ovid’s impotence: Amores 3.7.29-30
Cyrene foundation ritual:
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, witchcraft, and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds: a sourcebook. Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. p.245-6
Original Greek inscription: Meiggs & Lewis 5.40-51

For more on kolossoi in antiquity, see:
The work of Christopher Faraone, generally
Wilburn, Andrew T. “Figurines, Images, and Representations Used in Ritual Practices.” in Frankfurter, David, ed. Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Netherlands: Brill, 2019.
Dickie, Matthew W. “What is a Kolossos and how were Kolossoi made in the Hellenistic Period?.” Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 37, no. 3 (1996): 237-257.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, witchcraft, and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds: a sourcebook. Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. (esp. ch. 12)

Theme music: “Descent from the Olympos Pentatonic.” (original)

Website: www.hearthofhaemonia.com 
IG: @hearthofhaemonia
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
06:02 Function and Theory
08:03 How to Make a Kolossos
11:43 1. Gods
14:58 2. Ghosts & Spirits
19:04 3. Curse Targets
21:20 4. Erotic Curse Targets
27:27 5. The Self
30:10 Conclusion

Images:
Louvre Kolosssos assemblage:
Louvre collections, Départment des Antiquités égyptiennes: E27145a, E27145b, E27145C: https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?advanced=1&inventoryNumber%5B0%5D=E27145a;&inventoryNumber%5B2%5D=E27145b;&inventoryNumber%5B4%5D=E27145C.
Wilburn, Andrew T. “Figurines, Images, and Representations Used in Ritual Practices,” p.457. in Frankfurter, David, ed. Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Netherlands: Brill, 2019.
Additional figurines (introduction):
Wilburn, p.487, 490
Colossus of Rhodes, 16th c. engraving: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ludovisi Ares, Roman marble statue: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ruins of Cyrene, modern Libya: Giovanni Boccardi via UNESCO (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/190/gallery/)
Cyrene map: https://www.africanworldheritagesites.org/cultural-places/frontiers-of-the-roman-empire/cyrene.html
Mnesimachos kolossos and “coffin”
Wilburn, Andrew T. “Figurines, Images, and Representations Used in Ritual Practices,” p.484. in Frankfurter, David, ed. Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Netherlands: Brill, 2019.
https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/magicancientworld/greece_gallery
Ancient Thera: Henning Schlottmann (via Wikimedia Commons)

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