Citation with stable link: Philip A. Harland, 'Persians: Derveni papyrus on the activities of Magians (ca. 400 BCE),' Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World, last modified March 25, 2024, https://philipharland.com/Blog/?p=18831.
Ancient author: Anonymous, Derveni Papyrus, column 6 = Theokritos Kouremenos, George M. Parássoglou, and K. Tsantsanoglou, The Derveni Papyrus (Florence: L.S. Olschki, 2006).
Comments: The so-called Derveni Papyrus was found in a tomb of the mid-fourth century at Derveni in Macedonia. The papyrus also contains a commentary (in columns 7-26) on an Orphic poem about the origin of the gods. But in the first six columns, which are very fragmentary with the exception of our column, the author makes various comments about rituals and ritual experts and quotes Heraklitos as support.
In our column, the Greek author sketches out some of what he considers the practices of the Magians, including singing to drive away lower spirits, offering sacrifices, and making libations and other offerings for the sake of protecting souls. Overall, it seems that the author’s main point is that initiates in his own Greek circle engage in similar rites. It may be that the poem that follows is thought to supply the ideological backdrop for the rituals themselves, but it is hard to tell.
This seemingly positive take on Magian skills can be contrasted to the completely negative perspective of a contemporary Hippokratic author (link).
Works consulted: G. Betegh, The Derveni Papyrus: Cosmology, Theology and Interpretation (Cambridge: CUP, 2004).
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(column 6) . . . prayers and sacrifices soothe the souls, while the. . chant (epōdē) (?). . . of the Magians (magoi) is able to drive away the lower spirits (daimones) who are . . . hindrances (?) . . . . The lower spirits who are hindrances are . . . hostile to souls (?). This is why the Magians do the sacrifice, just as if they are paying blood-money. They also pour water and milk on the offerings, from which they also make the libations to the dead. The cakes they offer are countless and knobby, because the souls are likewise countless. Initiates (mystai) make a preliminary sacrifice to the Furies (Eumenides) [the roughly equivalent Erinyes are also mentioned in column 2] in the same way as the Magians do, because the Furies are souls. On their account anyone who is going to sacrifice to the gods must first sacrifice a bird . . . [remainder of column too fragmentary to translate].
Photo of portions of the Derveni papyri, now in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (photo by Harland).
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Source of translation: Translation by Harland in consultation with Kouremenos, Parássoglou, and Tsantsanoglou 2006.