The Louvre Voodoo Doll from 300-400 A.D.

louvre-french-voodoo-doll

Voodoo dolls (or kolossoi as the Greeks called them) were also quite popular in the Greco-Roman world.

Voodoo dolls were commonly made of lead or bronze. The dolls were placed in a variety of places, with graves being the most popular. They are often represented as bound and twisted into violent positions. Occasionally, the dolls were mutilated (hands, legs, head, etc chopped off) or if wax, melted.

Dolls were often associated with curse tablets in that they were often inscribed with the name of the curse victim. Additionally, some dolls were crafted specifically for erotic attraction spells, as in the Egyptian entwined couple type depicting a male and female in an erotic position.

Found in a jar along with an inscribed tablet, this is currently in the possession of the Louvre in France.

Photo via Cult of Weird.
Text via DeliriumsRealm.

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I design video games for a living, write fiction, political theory and poetry for personal amusement, and train regularly in Western European 16th century swordwork. On frequent occasion I have been known to hunt for and explore abandoned graveyards, train tunnels and other interesting places wherever I may find them, but there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that I am preparing to set off a zombie apocalypse. Nothing that will stand up in court, at least. I use paranthesis with distressing frequency, have a deep passion for history, anthropology and sociological theory, and really, really, really hate mayonnaise. But I wash my hands after the writing. Promise.

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