The term "Graeco-Egyptian magic" refers to the hybrid magical system that flourished in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. Our most important source is the Papyri Graecae Magicae – a collection of dozens of papyri written primarily in Greek, with Demotic and Coptic sections. Far from mere superstition, these texts present a structured "art" ( technē ) involving precise recipes, divine names, gestures, and material substrates. This paper outlines the principal techniques and their underlying logic.

Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic: A Syncretic Analysis of Ritual Praxis in the Papyri Graecae Magicae

This paper examines the operative techniques documented in the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM), the primary corpus of magical texts from Roman Egypt (2nd–5th centuries CE). It argues that Graeco-Egyptian magic is not a degenerate form of religion but a complex, ritual technology born from the synthesis of Greek, Egyptian, Jewish, and Christian elements. Key techniques analyzed include voces mysticae (barbarous names), sympatheia (universal sympathy), amulet fabrication, divine invocation ( synousia ), and necromantic rites. The paper concludes that these techniques reveal a coherent metaphysical framework wherein the practitioner manipulates cosmic correspondences to compel divine and daimonic forces.