Occult lore
Greek Magical Papyri
Direct answer
Greek Magical Papyri: The Greek Magical Papyri are a body of handbooks and single sheets from Greek and Roman Egypt, written in Greek, Demotic and Coptic, that contain spells, hymns, charms and rites.
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At a glance
- Also called
- PGM, papyri graecae magicae, theban magical library
- Found in
- Spells & Occult Terms
- Related
- Grimoire, Theurgy, Talisman, Curse Tablet
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What are the Greek Magical Papyri?
The Greek Magical Papyri are the working books of magicians in Egypt under Greek and Roman rule. They were written between about the second century BCE and the fifth century CE, mostly in Greek, with parts in Demotic and Coptic. A single roll may hold dozens of recipes one after another: charms against fever and scorpions, love spells, prayers for a dream, rites to gain a divine helper, and instructions for amulets.
Their religion is thoroughly mixed. Greek gods, Egyptian gods, the god of Israel, angels and strings of unpronounceable names stand side by side. That mixture, more than any one spell, is why historians value them: they show daily religion in late antiquity from below, as people actually practised it.
On the tree of the hidden arts: Magic and protection.
What sets Greek Magical Papyri apart
The papyri are practitioners' copies, not literature, and they read like it: headings, ingredients, words to say, and now and then a note that a recipe has been tried. Their most recognisable feature is the strings of sounds with no meaning in any language, which the scribes wrote out with care, sometimes in shapes such as a wing or a heart. The best known single text among them, the so-called Mithras Liturgy, is a rite of ascent and has no proven link with the cult of Mithras.
- Dates: second century BCE to fifth century CE
- Languages: Greek, Demotic Egyptian and Coptic
- Main find: probably near Thebes, Egypt, by the 1820s
- Standard edition: Karl Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae, 1928 and 1931
- English translation: edited by Hans Dieter Betz, 1986
- Longest roll: PGM IV, the Paris codex, over three thousand lines
Often mistaken for something else: A grimoire is a medieval or later book that claims a famous ancient author; the papyri are the anonymous working notes of real practitioners in antiquity.
The story behind Greek Magical Papyri
Most of the large rolls are thought to come from a single find made near Thebes in Egypt by the 1820s, often called the Theban Magical Library, which the collector Giovanni Anastasi sold to museums in Leiden, London, Paris and Berlin. Karl Preisendanz edited the Greek texts in two volumes in 1928 and 1931 under the title Papyri Graecae Magicae, and scholars still cite spells by his numbers. An English translation edited by Hans Dieter Betz appeared in 1986.
Why Greek Magical Papyri matters
They are the largest surviving record of how ancient magic was actually done, and later grimoires inherit their mix of prayer, name and recipe.
Greek Magical Papyri in practice: an example
A scholar who cites PGM IV is pointing to the longest of these rolls, a codex of more than three thousand lines now kept in Paris.
Where readings of Greek Magical Papyri go wrong
The papyri are read here as history. Many of their recipes call for things that are harmful or cruel, and nothing in them is offered as something to do.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
Recorded here as history and lore. No rite is taught on this page.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Spells & Occult Terms
- Aliases
- PGM, papyri graecae magicae, magical papyri, greek magical papyri spells, theban magical library
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
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Common questions
What are the Greek Magical Papyri?
They are spell books and loose sheets from Egypt under Greek and Roman rule, written from about the second century BCE to the fifth CE, holding charms, hymns and rites.
Where were the Greek Magical Papyri found?
The main group is thought to have come to light near Thebes in Egypt by the 1820s and was sold by the collector Giovanni Anastasi to several European museums.
What does PGM stand for?
Papyri Graecae Magicae, the title of the edition by Karl Preisendanz published in 1928 and 1931. Spells are still cited by its numbering, as in PGM IV.
