WOŹNICE RYDWANÓW W IMPERIUM RZYMSKIM JAKO OFIARY MAGII AGRESYWNEJ W ŚWIETLE DEFIXIONES AGONISTYCZNYCH
CHARIOTEERS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE AS VICTIMS OF HARMFUL MAGIC: EVIDENCE FROM AGONISTIC DEFIXIONES

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the victimhood of charioteers targeted by curse tablets. The evidence of agonistic defixiones indicates that charioteers were frequently targeted by violent magical curses. This paper demonstrates that due to harmful magical practice they were susceptible not only to injury but also death. The article further argues that this hostility may be linked to the charioteers' low social status, the pervasive suspicion of magical practices associated with the circus, and the structural violence embedded in the spectacle of chariot racing itself.

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