Voodoo dolls in the classical world GYÖRGY NÉMETH  Abstract: Magic dolls play a major role in ancient literature when Greek or Roman au- thors describe the activity of sorcerers or witches. Another group of sources applying magic puppets includes inscriptions and magical papyri, which may contain recipes or prescriptions and obviously provide a more authentic image of magical procedures than poetry does. The credibility of written sources can be tested by a fortunately growing number of magic dolls found in excavations. Still, the picture emerging from dolls and their finding circumstances hardly matches the magical operations implied by literary sources. Key words: voodoo dolls, magical puppets, ancient magic, curse tablets. Ancient magic dolls are known from four distinct groups of sources: inscriptions, literary works, papyrus recipes, and the growing number of original figurines found in excavations 1 . It is also worth examining the well-documented finding circumstances of recently uncovered puppets. Literary sources and inscriptions The earliest extant reference to magic dolls is made in the foundation oath of the settlers of Cyrene 2 . Although the text of the oath was formulated in the 6 th c. BC, it is preserved to us in a 4 th c. BC inscription. Another inscription from Cyrene (around 300 BC) describ- ing an apotropaic procedure mentions two figurines of wood or clay. A third inscription from the 2 nd c. AD suggests that a wax statue made by the evil sorcerer should be demol- ished to avert an epidemic. As for literary sources referring to dolls, we have a Sophocles-fragment (5 th c. BC) and a slightly more detailed description from Plato (4 th c. BC). Theocritus’ poem is Hel- lenistic, while the rest of our literary sources come from late republican Rome and from the Imperial Era 3 .  Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest nemeth.gyorgy@caesar.elte.hu 1 The following paper was supported by the research project „Procesos de aculturación religiosa en el mundo antiguo y en la América colonial: un análisis comparativo de la retórica y la construc- ción de la alteridad” (HAR2014-56067-P) and by "Research on ancient magic II: magical gems" (OTKA K 119979). 2 The Egyptian origin of magic puppets is addressed in another paper, Németh 2017. 3 I did not include the chameleon mentioned by Libanius 1.249 in my list, since it was a genuine animal the remains of which were applied to baleful sorcery. Ogden treated it as a voodoo doll, see Ogden 2009, 259. I also ignore the Christian legend narrating the conversion of St. Cyprian, see Ogden 2009, 329–331.