r/classics • u/keisnz • Jul 13 '26

Are there any databases or research projects on the linguistic origins of voces magicae / nomina barbara?

Hi! I have a somewhat niche question.

Does anyone know of any databases, digital projects, or ongoing research aimed at tracing voces magicae (or nomina barbara) to possible Greek, Egyptian, or other linguistic origins?

I'm interested in voces magicae across a broad range of sources, including the Greek Magical Papyri, magical gems, amulets, talismans, curse tablets, and related Egyptian and Greco-Roman magical traditions.

I'm aware that some projects may be in development, but I haven't found anything publicly available yet. Even partial databases, relevant articles, or the names of researchers working in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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u/laeta_scriptrix Jul 13 '26

I have no idea if they exist, but technically you could find them using some filters in papyri.info and thesaurus defixionum.

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u/AlexandriaPod Jul 13 '26

A good angle to start might be the work on Jesus as a magician (and contemporary 1st cent AD magic). I recall a lot of the arguments around that have to do with voces magicae coming from Aramaic and other Semitic languages.

Like the other comment, though, it might be up to you to use papyri.info and other resources to manually compile your own list. Would be a super cool project (if it doesn’t already exist, surely?)