A strange magical amulet made of clay with engraved decoration on one side and Greek writing on the other was found in the ancient Agora of Paphos.
The amulet or talisman of the ancient Greeks is one of the most important "magical" means, sometimes aimed at the prevention of evil and sometimes at the attainment of good and happiness. Amulets have a long tradition. Even in ancient times, people wore amulets to protect themselves from evil. Amulets were usually inscribed with incomprehensible words and symbols, patterns and representations. Especially for children, the ancients wore peripheral jewelry, which was hung around their necks, on the ankles to ward off harm.
During the early Christian years, amulets combined elements of the new religion, Christianity, with pagan elements derived from ancient beliefs. From this period of the early Christian years comes a particular amulet that came to light during excavations at the ancient market of Paphos. The peculiarity of this amulet lies in the fact that it has a "crab-like" inscription written in the Greek language. Crab signs or otherwise symmetrical/reciprocal phrases are those that can be read from either the beginning or the end. These phrases get their name from the movement of the "crab", moving sideways.
The most famous reciprocal phrase is "Wash away sins, not just face", which was often engraved on springs.
The amulet found in the ancient market of Paphos is around 1500 years old and is engraved on both sides. On one side are images such as Arpocrates, an Egyptian god of silence, a mummy on a boat, astral and animal symbols such as the sun, moon, peacock, snake and crocodile. On the other side is a swinging inscription in Greek: "The Lord is the bearer of the secret name, the lion of Ra is safe in his sanctuary". This sentence may not make sense today, but in ancient times it not only made sense but it could be read upside down, that is, from right to left, which gave exactly the same meaning as when read normally.
In ancient times, these phrases were believed to have magical properties and acted as spells to protect against evil, while in early Christian times, these phrases were used by Christians as a kind of secret code to identify themselves to each other in order to protect themselves from persecution. Archaeologists point out that the creator of the amulet made some mistakes in the writing, but also in the representation of the symbols. They also point out that the mixture of different elements proves "that Christian and pagan religions tended to coexist in Paphos at times when the amulet was in use".
The amulet came to light in 2011 during excavations in Nea Paphos at the "Paphos Market" by the Classical Archaeology department of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, led by Prof. Eudoxia Papoutsi Wladyka in cooperation with the Antiquities Authority of Cyprus. During the excavations, numerous movable finds from the Hellenistic and Roman periods were found.
