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| Hades and Cerberus (Photo by Stella maris) |
Why in a grave? It
was believed that the chthonic (underworld) gods would be the ones to carry out dastardly deeds against accursed targets.
Tablets engraved with vengeful instructions were sent along with corpses in order to expedite expletives to these underworld rulers. Blank tablets that had been subject to evil incantations were also included.
These days, barroom curses are a lot simpler. One has merely to swing open those tavern doors, march on down to the counter, have a few beers, and then let loose with some four-letter words.
Seems far less lethal than curses laden with lead. At
least most of the time…
Resources
http://www.livescience.com/54285-curse-tablets-uncovered-in-greece.html
Copyright April 7, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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