Egyptian Spells Deciphered

According to Discovery, two newly deciphered papyri from Egypt dating to the third century A. D. contain spells that deal with love and control.

The papyri, which were written in Greek, were discovered aas part of a larger cache more than 100 years ago in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt and have been gradually studied and translated since then. One spell instructs the spell caster to burn a number of offerings in a bathhouse and write a spell on its walls calling on the gods to burn the heart of a woman who has withheld her love. The other, designed to force a man to obey the caster's every command; instructs the caster to engrave a series of magical words onto a copper plaque and then affix it to something the man wears, such as a sandal.The spells were translated by Franco Maltomini of the University of Udine in Italy, and both were written so the caster could insert a target of their choice.