Plutarco, entre dioses y astros.

Homenaje al profesor Aurelio Pérez Jiménez

de sus discípulos, colegas y amigos

Vol. II
 J. F. Martos Montiel, C. Macías Villalobos &
R. Caballero Sánchez (eds.)
Con la colaboración de Carlos Alcalde Martín, Marta González
González y Jorge Bergua Cavero

Plutarco, entre dioses y astros.

Homenaje al profesor Aurelio Pérez Jiménez
de sus discípulos, colegas y amigos

Vol. II

Libros Pórtico
Zaragoza

2019
Plutarco, entre dioses y astros. Homenaje al profesor Aurelio Pérez Jiménez de
sus discípulos, colegas y amigos / J. F. Martos Montiel, C. Macías Villalobos & R.
Caballero Sánchez (eds.), con la colaboración de Carlos Alcalde Martín, Marta
González González y Jorge Bergua Cavero. Libros Pórtico, Zaragoza, 2019.
2 vols.; 1434 pp.; 17 x 24 cms.
I.S.B.N.: 978-84-7956-191-8 (Obra completa)
I.S.B.N.: 978-84-7956-190-1 (Volumen II)
1. Plutarco, literatura y tradición. 2. Mitos, ritos y religión. 3. Magia, astrología
y adivinación. ed. I. Martos Montiel, J. F.; ed. II. Macías Villalobos, C.; ed. III.
Caballero Sánchez, R.

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Profesor Dr. Aurelio Pérez Jiménez
Sección III: Magia, astrología y adivinación
 IALDABAOTH'S BOAT
Attilio Mastrocinque
Università di Verona

Abstract
The XIII magical papyrus reports a hymn allegedly uttered by Helios to the
creator god. Among many secret names of this god Aldabaeim appears, which also
recurs on five magical gems depicting the boat of Serapis over whose head Khepri,
the scarab, is overing. Another series of gems depict the scarab with the inscription
Ialdathiain. These are variations of the name of the gnostic creator god (I)aldabaoth
who was a wicked divine being only in the Christianized gnosis. The meaning of
Khepri’s name was “come into being”, “create”, or “to be”, and that of YHWH was
similar: “live” or even “to be”, and this fact facilitated the identification of those
creator gods.
Keywords
Gnosis, magical gems, Ialdabaoth, Khepri, Serapis.
Riassunto
Il XIII papiro magico riporta un inno attribuito a Helios per il dio creatore.
Fra i molti nomi segreti di questo dio appare Aldabaeim, che ritorna pure su cinque
gemme magiche che raffigurano la barca di Serapide sulla cui testa si libra lo scarabeo
Khepri. Un’altra serie di gemme raffigura lo scarabeo con l’iscrizione Ialdathiain.
Queste variazioni sul nome del creatore gnostico (I)aldabaoth, che era un essere
divino malvagio solo nella gnosi cristianizzata. Il significato del nome Khepri era
“venire nell’esistenza”, “creare” o “essere”, e quello di YHWH era simile: “vivere” o
anche “essere” e questo fatto facilitò l’identificazione di questi due dei creatori.
Palabras clave
Gnosi, gemme magiche, Ialdabaoth, Khepri, Serapis.

A well-known recipe in the XIII magical papyrus reports some

parts of a book called Unique or Eight Book of Moses. A long and
complex series of prayers and rituals is prescribed whose aim was
that of making the supreme creator god appear and prophesy.

I am happy to dedicate to my friend Aurelio Pérez Jiménez

an article which deals more with gnosticism and magic than with
1290 Attilio Mastrocinque

astrology and is aimed at recognizing who this supreme and creator

god was.
The scribe copied in the papyrus two similar recipes, both missing
some lines since the lacuna was already in the books he copied from.
The two versions are written in lines 1-343 and 343-646 respectively.
According to Morton Smith, this part of the papyrus consists of a
rite to get a visit from the supreme god (ll. 1-343), a collection of
miscellaneous spells (ll. 343-645) and another version of the same rite
for getting a visit from the supreme god (ll. 646-734)1.
I transcribe here some passages of the second version and their
translation by Morton Smith2.

XIII, 343-347
<Μοϋσέως ἱερὰ βί<β>λος ἀπόκρυφος ἐπικαλουμένη ὀγδόη ἢ ἁγία:>
ἔστιν δὲ ἡ πρᾶξις τοῦ τὰ πάντα περιέχοντος ὀνόματος, ἔχει δὲ
σύστασιν, ἐν ᾗ αὐτοῦ μηδὲν παραφίων ἐπιτεύξῃ.
The sacred, hidden book of Moses called “eighth” or “holy.” This
is the ritual using the name that encompasses all things. It also has
directions for a meeting with the god in which you will succeed if you
leave out nothing [of what is prescribed].

Ritual prescriptions follow and then the author reports an

Egyptian hymn to a creator god who also created Helios and the
author pretends that this hymn had been uttered by Helios himself.

XIII, 443-471
‘ἐπικαλοῦμαί σε πάσῃ φωνῇ, τὸν τὰ πάντα περιέχοντα, καὶ πάσῃ
διαλέκτῳ. ὑμνῶ σε ἐγώ, ὡς πρώτως ὕμνησέ σ’ὁ ὑπὸ σοῦ ταχθεὶς καὶ
πάντα πιστευθεὶς τὰ αὐθεντικά, Ἥλιος· Ἀχεβυκρωμ (ὃ μηνύει τοῦ
δίς κου τὴν φλόγα καὶ τὴν ἀκτῖνα), οὗ ἡ δόξα· ααα ηηη ωωω, ὅτι διά
σ’ ἐνεδοξάσθη (εἶθ’, ὡς ἄλλως· ἀγλαομορφούμενος) τοὺς ἀστέρας
ἱστὰς καὶ τῷ φωτὶ τῷ ἐνθέῳ κτίζων τὸν κόσμον, ἐν ᾧ διέστησας τὰ
πάντα· ιιι· ααα· ωωω· Σαβαώθ, Ἀρβαθιάω, Ζαγουρη. οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ
πρῶτοι φανέντες ἄγγελοι· Ἀραγά, Ἀράθ, Ἀδωναί, Βασημμ, Ἰάω. ὁ
δὲ πρῶτος ἄγγελός σε φωνεῖ ὀρνεογλυφιστί· ‘ἀραί’, ὅ ἐστιν· ‘οὐαὶ
τῷ ἐχθρῷ μου’, καὶ ἔταξας αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῶν Τιμωριῶν, ὁ δὲ Ἥλιος ὑμνεῖ
σε οὕτως ἱερογλυφιστί· ‘Λαϊλαμ’, ἁβραϊστὶ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὀνόματος·

1
Smith, 1984. The latest discussion of this text is that of Suárez de la Torre, 2013.
2
In Betz, 1986: 172-181.
Ialdabaoth's boat 1291

‘ἀναγ Βιαθιαρβαρ· βερβι σχι λα τουρβουφρουμτρωμ’ λέγων·

‘προάγω σου, κύριε, ἐγώ, ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς βάρεως ἀνατέλλων, ὁ δίσκος,
διά σε.’ τὸ δὲ φυσικόν σου ὄνομα αἰγυπτιστί· ‘Ἀλδαβαειμ’ (λέγει τὴν
βᾶριν, ἐφ’ ἣν ἀναβαίνει ἀνατέλλων τῷ κόσμῳ). ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς βάρεως
φανεὶς συνανατέλλων κυνοκεφαλοκέρδων ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἀσπάζεταί
σε λέγων· ‘σὺ εἶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, Ἀβρασάξ.’ ὁ δ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ
ἑτέρου μέρους ἱέραξ ἰδίᾳ φωνῇ ἀσπάζεταί σε καὶ ἐπιβοᾶται, ἵνα λάβῃ
τροφήν· ‘χι· χι· χι· χι· χι· χι· χι· τι τι τι τι τι τι τι.’ ὁ δὲ ἐννεάμορφος
ἀσπάζεταί σε ἱερατιστί· ‘Μενεφωιφωθ’’ μηνύων ὅτι· ‘προάγω σου,
κύριε.’
“I call on you, you who surround all things, in every language,
and in every dialect, I hymn you, as he first hymned you who
was by you appointed and entrusted with all authorities, Helios
ACHEBYKRŌM” (which signifies the flame and radiance of the disk)
“whose is the glory AAA ĒĒĒ ŌŌŌ, because he was glorified by you”
(or, as other [texts read], “was given a glorious form”) – “[you] who set
[in their places] the stars and who, in divine light, create the cosmos,
in which you have set in order all things III AAA ŌŌŌ. SABAŌTH
ARBATHIAŌ ZAGOURĒ.” (These are the angels who first appeared.)
“ARAGA ARATH ADŌNAI BASĒMM IAŌ. The first angel cries to
you in birdglyphic, ‘ARAI’ (which is, ‘Woe to my enemy,’) and you
have set him in charge of the punishments. Helios hymns you thus
in hieroglyphic, LAILAM, and in Hebrew by his own name, ANAG
BIATHIARBAR BERBI SCHILATOUR BOUPHROUMTRŌM,
saying, ‘I precede you, lord, I who rise on the boat of the sun, the disk
(?), thanks to you. Your magical name in Egyptian is ALDABAEIM.”
(This means the boat, on which he comes up, rising on the world.) “He
who appears on the boat rising together with you is a clever baboon;
he greets you in his own language, saying, ‘You are the number of [the
days of] the year, ABRASAX.’ The falcon on the other end [of the boat]
greets you in his own language and cries out, to receive food, CHI CHI
CHI CHI CHI CHI CHI TI TI TI TI TI TI TI. He of the nine forms
greets you in hieratic, ‘MENEPHOIPHOTH,)” (meaning that “I go
before you, lord”).

It is difficult to ascertain who this creator god was but a

comparison with some magical gems could suggest a solution. The
comparison has already been proposed by Michela Zago 3 and is
based on the alleged Egyptian name Aldabaeim, which also recurs
on five gems depicting Serapis, the scarab, and other gods on a boat.

3
Zago, 2014: 220-221.
1292 Attilio Mastrocinque

One lapis lazuli gem is kept in the Ägyptisches Museum of Berlin4

(fig. 1) and another similar one is in the National Archaeological
Museum of Athens5, the third specimen (fig. 2) is a bloodstone in
the Skoluda collection6. On the obverse side one can see a papyrus
boat having two female heads fore and aft, which probably are those
of Isis (on the bow) and Nephthys (astern) because of their specific
crowns; Serapis is seated at the centre of the boat and over his head
a scarab is flying aloft or hovering; before him another, bigger scarab
with a human head is standing and lifts his right hand to his mouth;
behind Serapis a bird is depicted having the head of a woman. In
the Skoluda gem, the rudder is visible close to the bird and a small,
radiate head of Helios is carved above the human-headed scarab. In
the 19th century a sard gem of this kind was kept in the collection
of Mr. Webb Ware, of Cork7. This image is accompanied by the
inscription ΑΛΔΑΒΑΙΜ or ΙΑΛΔΑΒΑΙΜ or ΑΛΔΑΒΑΙN; the re-
verse side of the Skoluda gem bears the angelic names Michael,
Gabriel, Samael, Raphriel, the reverse of the Ware specimen had the
IAEΩBAΦΡENEMOY… logos. A fragmentary gem, a rectangular
lapis lazuli, once in the Ruthven collection 8 and now in the Kelsey
Museum at Ann Arbor, shows Serapis and Cerberus on the obverse
side and (probably) Harpokrates seated on the back of a sphinx and
the inscription …]ABAIM on the reverse.
The hymn to the creator god knows his name ΑΛΔΑΒΑEΙΜ
and the mentioned angels bear names of Jewish tradition such as Iao,
Sabaoth, Arbath Iao, Adonai, Basem. Michela Zago focussed on some
features of the magical recipe which are shared by some gnostic texts
and supposes that the divine names ΑΛΔΑΒΑΙΜ, ΙΑΛΔΑΒΑΙΜ
and ΑΛΔΑΒΑEΙΜ were related to, or identified with Ialdabaoth, the
name of the gnostic creator god. She is definitely right because in the
Apocryphon of John9 the form Altabaoth recurs, while in other parts
of the same work the form Ialdabaoth is used10. The ending -oth is
4
Philipp, 1986: no.78.
5
Delatte, 1914: 53, no. 17.
6
Michel, 2001a: no. 34.
7
King, 1887: 249-250.
8
Bonner, 1950: nο. 256, pl. I.20. The fragmentary lapis lazuli 318, no. 382 shows the
boat of Serapis with a bird with the head of a woman and the head of Isis on the
stern. On these gems and other similar ones without the inscription Ialdabaoth,
see Veymiers, 2009: 340-343, pl. 58.
9
Apocryphon of John (NHC II,1; III,1; IV,1; BG 8502,2) 19-30; 35.
10
See Giversen, 1963: 199-201.
Ialdabaoth's boat 1293

similar to that of Sabaoth whereas -im is the ending of a plural, like

Elohim.
Serapis had been a pagan god compatible with the Jewish
monotheism, at least for some Jews, especially in Egypt, where the god
was identified with Joseph, who distributed corn to the people during
a famine.11 Some gems of the Imperial Age testify to other forms of
combining Serapis with Judaism because his image is accompanied
by the name of Iaô or of Abraham12. A gem in the Civic Museum of
Trieste13 depicts the boat of Serapis and bears the Hebrew inscription
’‫אדנ‬, i.e. Adonai14, “my Lord”, or simply “the Lord”. Another gem,
in the National Archaeological Museum of Syracuse15, depicts the
bust of Serapis and the inscription [Α]ΔΩΝΑΙΟΥ, i.e. “of Adonai”, in
Greek. The Talmud16 informs us that some Jews wore gems depicting
Isis or Serapis and urges them to get rid of these amulets.
Although the name of Aldabaim apparently accompanies
Serapis, it does not refer to him but to the scarab. We know that
thanks to another series of magical gems (fig. 3) depicting a scarab
and the inscription ΙΑΛΔΑΘΙΑΙΝ17. The Θ was possibly based on a
misunderstanding of a B. The first part of these names, ΙΑΛΔΑ, was
also combined with an ending -ζάω, in PGM IV 203: [προπ]άτωρ
αἰωνοπολοκράτωρ Ἰαλδαζάω. Here the Greek verb ζάω, ζῶ, “live”,
was used as an ending.
There is strong evidence for the beginning of the name, Iald-, in
which some Gnostic thinkers recognized the Semitic term yeled, yalda,
18
“young”, “child”, “son” . This must have been the reason why in several
Egyptian religious circles he was identified with Harpocrates, the child
19
sun-god, whose name means “Horus the child”, “Horus the son”.
11
Mussies, 1979.
12
Michel, 2001: nos. 30-32; 34; cf. Michel, 2004: 62.
13
SGG, II, Ts 2; Mastrocinque 2009: 103.
14
With rightward writing.
15
Sfameni Gasparro, 1979: no. 76 = SGG II, Si3.
16
Talmud. Avodah Zarah, III 3.
17
Cf. for ex. IGLS IV, 1292 = Mouterde, 1942-43: 109, no. 10; Bonner, 1950: 268,
no. 93 and pl. IV; Philipp, 1986: nr.117-8; SGG, I, no.128; SGG, II, VeC 2 (here
fig. 3).
18
Scholem, 1974: 412-413, based on the Untitled Text (or Origin of the world: NHC
II,5); Mastrocinque, 2005: 75-79. Stroumsa, 1984: 79, suggests that Derdekeas,
the Saviour in the Paraphrasis of Sem (NHC VII, 1), be interpreted as Aramaic
DRDG’, “son”, “child”.
19
See Mastrocinque, 2005: 78.
1294 Attilio Mastrocinque

In the second version of the recipe in the XIII magical papyrus,

at ll. 620 and 640, the name of Serapis is interpolated. That suggests
that one reader did not know who precisely this creator god was
and wanted to explain that he was Serapis. If we have had only the
three gems with Serapis and the name of (I)aldabaim we would have
supposed, as well, that Ialdabaim was Serapis. According to some
gnostic texts Ialdabaoth falsely supposed to be the supreme god, but
in all these cases we know that Ialdabaoth was born after the supreme
god. The supreme and spiritual god of the Gnosis, like Serapis and
Osiris, came first and was older, whereas Ialdabaoth was younger.
As I have written elsewhere,20 Ialdabaoth was a wicked god only
in the christianized Gnosis whereas many amulets, on both stone and
metal, pray to Ialdabaoth as a benevolent god. The wicked Ialdabaoth
was the result of the Christian refusal of a pre-existing son of Yahwe,
who was represented in different forms. For example, a gold lamella
dating from the late second century AD has been published. It was
found in a man’s tomb at San Giorgio, near Arco (in the Trentino
21
region, just north of Lake Garda), and invokes protection by saying:
ἅγειε Πρωτογενέτωρ22 Εἰαλδαξαωβ Λαθαμμαχωρι Ξαηκα Ἰάω…
Eialdalxaōb (pronounced Ialdalxaōb) was obviously Ialdabaōth, here
referred to as Protogenetor, the “first parent”. The form Ἰαλδαξα{πο}
ώθ, similar to Eialdalxaōb, occurs on a gem depicting the anguipede
god with the head of a jackal.23 The name of this important god of the
Gnosis appears in the following forms:

Nag Hammadi, PGM XIII

Serapis gems
Irenaeus, other Apocryphon PGM IV 971 (from
in Berlin
haeresiologists, and of John 203, 1195 a Book of
and Athens
some gems Moses)
Ἰαλδαβαώθ Ἀλδαβαώθ Ἰαλδαζάω Ἀλδαζάω Ἀλδαβαῖμ

gem in
Skoluda Serapis PGM ΧΙΙΙ S. Giorgio Paris with
scarab gems
gem 84, 462, 594 lamella anguipede
jackal
Ἰαλδαξα{πο}
Ἰαλδαβαῖμ Ἀλδαβαεῖμ Ἰαλδαθιαῖμ Εἰαλδαξαωβ
ὼθ

20
Mastrocinque, 2005: 75-77.
21
Cavada & Paci, 2002: esp. 202.
22
Cf. PGM IV 203: [προπ]άτωρ αἰωνοπολοκράτωρ Ἰαλδαζάω.
23
Mastrocinque, 2014: no. 327.
Ialdabaoth's boat 1295

This synopsis makes it evident that the manuscript tradition

reproduced a Θ or a Ξ instead of a Β, and in this way the names
Ialdathiaim and Ialdaxaoth or Ialdaxaob were created.
The iconography of the birth of the divine scarab from the head
of Serapis was preceded by and depended on that of the scarab over
the head of Osiris. In this case, Osiris is lying on a funerary bed and
partially framed by a snake (fig. 4). Such an iconography was typical
24 25
of Abydos and corresponds to the hieroglyph dt, “eternity” .
The scarab is also depicted over the head of Serapis on gems (fig.
5) without the boat but with either Kerberos or Serapis alone on a
throne26.
The god Khepri was a scarab beetle who rolled up the sun in
the morning and was sometimes seen as the morning manifestation
of Ra. Khepri, ḫprj, is derived from the Egyptian verb ḫpr, meaning
“come into being”, or “create”, or simply “to be”27.
The magical papyrus calls the creator god Aldabaeim and we
understand his function as the creator if we identify him with the
divine scarab, i.e. Khepri, who was sometimes represented as a man
with a scarab over his head28. In the first version of the recipe, the
papyrus reports the following sentence:

PGM XIII, 122-128

ἐλθὼν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν ἡμέραν τὸ μεσονύκτιον ὥρᾳ πέ<μ>πτῃ,
ὅταν ἡσυχία γένηται, ἀνάψας τὸν βωμὸν ἔχε παρεστῶτας τοὺς
δύο ἀλεκτρυόνας καὶ τοὺς δύο λύχνους – ἤτωσαν δὲ οἱ λύχνοι
τεταρτημόριοι – ἡμμένους, οἷς οὐκέτι ἐπιβαλεῖς ἔλαιον. ἄρξαι λέγειν
τὴν στήλην καὶ τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν κάνθαρος.
Then, when you come to this day, in the middle of the night at
about eleven o’clock / when there is quiet, light the altar fire and have
at hand the two roosters and the two lamps, lighted (the lamps should
hold an eighth of a pint each, and you must not put more oil into
them). Begin to recite the stele and the mystery of the god, which is
[called?] “Scarab.”
24
Cauville, 1997: 62. On magical gems with this iconography cf. Michel, 2004:
36-37; SGG II, GM 6 (here fig. 4).
25
Delatte, Derchain, 1964: 104.
26
See for ex. Michel, 2004: 325; Veymiers, 2009: pl. 36; Mastrocinque, 2014: no.
77 (here, fig. 5) and 78.
27
Assmann, 2001: 60.
28
Minas-Nerpel, 2006: 437.
1296 Attilio Mastrocinque

Morton Smith, who translated the text, supposed that “Scarab”

was the name of the magical spell, but the Greek could be translated
in another way: “Begin to recite the stele and the mystery of the god,
which is the Scarab.”
By supposing that the creator god was Khepri the sentence “I
precede you”, uttered by Helios, makes sense because Khepri helped
the sun in its rising and the gem in the Skoluda collection depicts
Helios over the human-headed scarab and the gesture of this scarab
is the same as that of Harpokrates, having his forefinger in his mouth.
The idea is that of the sunrise when the rising Sun was helped by
the Scarab, and this scarab is identified with both Harpokrates and
Ialdabaoth, the young god, the son. By supposing that Khepri rolled
up the disk of the sun, at sunrise one saw the disk, before Khepri,
rising over the horizon, and this is the reason why Helios said: “I
precede you”.
It is impossible to ascertain whether an unknown gnostic sect
identified the Jewish God with Serapis and his son, Ialdabaoth, with
Khepri, or some Egyptian learned magicians or priests resorted
to two gods of Jewish-gnostic tradition to give a supplementary
and intercultural interpretation to these two Egyptian gods. It is
improbable that the identification of Ialdabaoth with Khepri was
originated among the Jewish community of Leontopolis, where
a temple to the Jewish god was built in the 2nd century BC and
destroyed under Vespasian. As these Jews connected YHWH with
Bastet and Sekhmet it is probable that iconography of Ialdabaoth as
a lion-headed warrior was conceived by them or by later thinkers
inspired by them, and such iconography is known thanks to several
magical gems 29. The identification of the supposed son of the Jewish
god was not unprecedented and a similar theological idea was
conceived in the 8th century BC, i.e. about a millennium before the
magical gems we are dealing with.
The royal seal of Hezechiah (fig. 6), king of Judaea between the
end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 7th, depicted a winged
sun, whose iconography is the same as that of the winged scarab30.
Hezechiah was an ally of the Egyptian pharaoh Taharqa against the

29
Mastrocinque, 2014: 173-174.
30
Lubetski, 2001: 45; Deutsch, 2003: 13 and 17. Some impressions of Hezechias’
seal from the antiquarian market could be fakes but at least one (Deutsch, 2003:
13) is authentic. Many clay impressions depict a winged scarab.
Ialdabaoth's boat 1297

Assyrian Sennacherib and the Egyptian influence probably inspired

the iconographic choice by the Jewish king. But the winged sun was
a deity and Hezechiah should respect the monotheistic faith of his
people, at least in the official symbols of his monarchy. Therefore
he had a theological reason to use the rising sun as his symbol by
adopting an Egyptian iconography which depicted Khepri, the
winged solar scarab. As Daniel Sarlo31 recently underlined, “Yahweh
shares at least three characteristics with the Egyptian winged scarab,
Re-Khepri: solar features, wings, and a name that derives from a
verb with the meaning ‘to be.’” Many passages of the Bible refer to
the one God as a solar deity, or as one who seems to be similar to
the sun.32 On the other hand, numerous other passages of the Old
Testament speak of the wings of God, especially in the Psalms,33 but
even the beginning of the Genesis depicts God over the primordial
waters: “the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters”.
But “moving” is incorrect because the verb ‫( מררהפתמ‬m∂raḫefeth) ‫ת פ ח‬
(m∂raḫefeth)
depicts a bird which moves its wings and hovers, as we can read in
Deut. 32.11, where the same verb recurs. This Spirit of the Lord (ruaḫ
Elohim) was also conceived as a wind (pneuma, spiritus) produced
by God himself, and Duchesne-Guillemin singled out an important
comparison to this wind in the Egyptian religion, where Isis appears
as a falcon hovering over Osiris and giving him life by means of the
‫ְמַרֶחֶפתְמַרֶחֶפתְמַרֶחֶפ‬
refreshing wind provided by her wings34.
Moreover, the name of Khepri meant “come into being”, “create”,
“to be” and the name of Yahweh derived from the verb ‫ היה‬meaning
“to live”, “to be”.35 These three reasons could account for the choice
of Hezechias and it is possible to suppose that the solar scarab was
a symbol to represent the Jewish god. One millennium between
Hezechias and the magical gems with Ialdabaoth as a scarab is too
much for hypothesizing a continuity, but the three above mentioned
reasons still existed in the Imperial Age and a rediscovery could have
been possible, even if in a gnostic context where the scarab was the
Son of God, flying from his head or hovering over it.
Unfortunately I am unable to explain (or even to propose a
good hypothesis for) the bird with the head of a woman standing
31
Sarlo, 2018: 2.
32
Taylor, 1993.
33
Ps. 17.8; 36.7; 57.1; 61.4; 63.7; 91.4.
34
Duchesne-Guillemin, 1982.
35
Sarlo, 2018: 14-15.
1298 Attilio Mastrocinque

in the boat of Serapis, nor am I able to explain why another, bigger

scarab with the head of Harpokrates, is placed in the boat nor why
the scarab is depicted twice or is represented by two deities.

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Ialdabaoth's boat 1301

Figures

Fig. 1.
Lapis lazuli gem in the National Egyptological Museum of Berlin.
Photo Mastrocinque

Fig. 2.
Jasper gem in the Skoluda collection. Photo S. Michel (with her permission)
1302 Attilio Mastrocinque

Fig. 3.
Ematite gem in the Civic Correr Museum of Venice. Photo Mastrocinque

Fig. 4
Jasper gem in an unknown collection
Ialdabaoth's boat 1303

Fig. 5
Jasper gem in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris. Photo Mastrocinque

Fig. 6
Impression of the seal of king Hezechias (from Deutsch, 2003: 13)
 ÍNDICE

Volumen I

Juan Francisco Martos Montiel, Presentación 9

Carlos García Gual, Un estudio inédito sobre Plutarco 15

Raúl Caballero Sánchez, El buen demon de un helenista fecun-

do: Aurelio Pére Jiménez 23

Biografía profesional y producción científica del prof. Dr.

Aurelio Pérez Jiménez 29

Parte I: Plutarco, literatura y tradición

Carlos Alcalde Martín, Vidas de Demetrio y Antonio: las

artes plásticas, un recurso de Plutarco para componer el retrato
físico y moral de los personajes 75

Stefano Amendola, Tespesio e i luoghi dell’aldilà. Riflessioni sul

contributo esegetico ed ecdotico delle traduzioni del XVI secolo a
due passi del De sera numinis uindicta (566 a e 566 b) 93

Jorge Bergua Cavero, Estribillos en la poesía y el culto del mundo

antiguo. Para una historia del estribillo como forma poético-
musical en Occidente 113

Paula Caballero Sánchez, La enciclopedia científica de un eru-

dito bizantino del s. XIV: París, Bibliothèque Nationale de France,
Gr. 2381 129
Giuseppe Cacciatore & Paola Volpe, Il valore conoscitivo e me-
talogico del mito tra Plutarco e Vico 141

F. Javier Campos Daroca, El perro y el sabio: la recepción de Dió-

genes el Cínico en Plutarco 157

Jolanda Capriglione, Plutarque me charme toujour 175

Angelo Casanova, La vela di Teseo e la tintura di Simonide 187

Serena Citro, L’uomo pubblico tra l’interesse dello stato e i van-

taggi personali. Pelopida, Alcibiade e Demade nei Regum et im-
peratorum apophthegmata 201

Josep Antoni Clúa Serena, Notas para una edición de las Olím-
picas de Píndaro de Francisco Patricio de Berguizas 219

Emilio Crespo, Las honras fúnebres en honor de los siete contra

Tebas (Eurípides, Suplicantes, 794-954) 229

José Antonio Fernández Delgado & Francisca Pordomingo,

Anaskeué/kataskeué en Quaestiones conuiuales de Plutarco: el
mejor momento para el amor 237

Maria do Céu Fialho, O espaço do banquete como espaço de re-

velação de identidades: dois exemplos das Vidas Paralelas de Plu-
tarco à luz do arquitexto platónico 251

Giuseppe Fornari, Il sacrificio in Plutarco: un medio-platonico

alla ricerca della mediazione divina 265

Guillermo Galán Vioque, Plutarco en los escolios a la Antología

planudea 285

Rafael J. Gallé Cejudo, Algunas notas sobre el debate de la uti-

lidad y la subjetividad en la elegía helenística 311
Fernando García Romero, Χαλκίζειν/χαλκιδίζειν. Sobre una
paremia recogida en una colección paremiográfica atribuida a
Plutarco 327

Marta González González, Plutarco, Quaest. Graec. 28: Ten-

nes y Aquiles 339

Helena Guzmán & José María Lucas, Las Mulierum virtutes

de Plutarco: un testimonio destacado de la presencia plutarquista
en los libretos de ópera 353

Álvaro Ibáñez Chacón, Cifras y letras en la tradición manuscri-

ta de los Parallela minora 371

Montserrat Jufresa, Un recuerdo de Plutarco en la novela “El

curioso impertinente”, de Miguel de Cervantes (El Quijote, I 33-
35) 393

David Konstan, Fire in the belly: A literary reading of Plutarch’s

Alexander 407

Luisa Lesage Gárriga, Plutarco y los fenómenos de iluminación

y obscuración de la Luna 423

Mercedes López Salvá, El “hombre divino” en Plutarco 439

Alfonso Martínez Díez, Plutarco en Marcelino Menéndez Pela-

yo (correspondencia e Historia de las ideas estéticas en España) 453

José Luis de Miguel Jover, Polifemo y Nadie, el héroe y la fábula 469

Israel Muñoz Gallarte, El viaje del alma en la iconografía po-

pular en el siglo XVI 489

Giovanna Pace, Usi e funzioni delle indicazioni numeriche nelle

Vite di Plutarco 509

Joaquim Pinheiro, Plutarco transmissor da Paideia e da Politeia:

o tratado Ad principem indoctum 525
Luis Miguel Pino Campos, Referencias de Plutarco de Queronea
en textos griegos del siglo IV 545

Vicente M. Ramón Palerm & Ana C. Vicente Sánchez, En

torno a un documento epistolar en la Vida de Alejandro (Plu.
Alex. 19): análisis intertextual 557

Lucía P. Romero Mariscal, La recepción de Plutarco en El rey

debe morir de Mary Renault 571

Manuel Sanz Morales, Aticismo frente a koiné: algunas caracte-

rísticas de la morfología verbal de Plutarco 587

Gema Senés Rodríguez, Bajo los augurios de la cigüeña: un re-

corrido por la descripción simbólica de la ciconia en los Hiero-
glyphica de Pierio Valeriano 597

Aldo Setaioli, Perché l’ acqua dolce deterge meglio di quella sa-

lata (Plut. Quaest. conu. 1.9, 626E-627F; Macr. Sat. 7.13.17-27) 617

Fabio Tanga, Plutarco in America Latina, tra rivoluzioni e cos-

truzioni eroico-biografiche: le Vidas para leerlas di Guillermo Ca-
brera Infante 633

Mariano Valverde Sánchez, La historia de Camma: variacio-

nes del relato en Plutarco y Polieno 653

José Vela Tejada, Construyendo un retrato histórico: relaciones

dialógicas entre la Vida de Sila de Plutarco y Estrabón 669

Fernando Wulff Alonso, Senderos apocalípticos del Mediterrá-

neo a la India: el Mahābhārata 685
 Volumen II

Parte II: Mitos, ritos y religión

Virginia Alfaro Bech, La obediencia de los hijos hacia los padres

en las casas creyentes de la ciudad de Colosas 715

Giovanna Battaglino, Per una riflessione sulla teologia poetica

sofoclea. Epiteti cultuali ed epiclesi di Zeus nelle tragedie superstiti
di Sofocle 735

Alberto Bernabé, Farsantes, iniciadores e intelectuales: la colum-

na XX del papiro de Derveni 751

José Luis Calvo Martínez, Mitologización del pesimismo antro-

pológico: Eva y Pandora 769

José M. Candau, Σῶμα αὔταρκες: Tucídides y el discurso religioso 785

Gonzalo del Cerro Calderón, La literatura apócrifa y la teo-

logía cristiana 795

Francisco Javier Fernández Nieto, Dioscuros, práctica del va-

ticinio y gemelos míticos (más la proyección cristiana de un mo-
tivo clásico) 815

José García López, Dioses y hombres en la Odisea: por una rela-

ción normal 851

David Hernández de la Fuente, Oráculos y política en la Anti-

güedad tardía: Béroe y Roma en las Dionisíacas de Nono 865

Elena López Abelaira, La mujer y su vinculación a la casa en los

primeros siglos del cristianismo 881

Francisco Marco Simón, El culto a Draco(nes) en el Occidente

latino 899
Jorge Martínez-Pinna, Los prodigios del tirano: las señales de la
caída de Tarquinio el Soberbio 915

Lautaro Roig Lanzillotta, Ciencia y religión en la cosmología

antigua: el caso del Corpus Hermeticum y de la biblioteca de Nag
Hammadi 929

Giulia Sfameni Gasparro, Il culto di Anubis nel mondo ellenis-

tico-romano: per una interpretazione del suo ruolo nella “famiglia
isiaca” 957

Parte III: Magia, astrología y adivinación

Raúl Caballero Sánchez, ¿Por qué llama el Comentarista anó-

nimo ὁ παλαιός a Tolomeo? 981

Esteban Calderón Dorda, Génesis, implantación y traducción

de una lengua científico-técnica: a propósito de la lengua de la
astrología 995

Salvatore Costanza, Elementi di melotesia nella divinazione

greca 1015

Véronique Dasen, Magical milk stones? 1035

Alfonso Carlos Domínguez-Alonso, La paráfrasis autógrafa

de Isaac Argiro al Comentario anónimo al Tetrabiblos de Tolo-
meo. Algunas cuestiones sobre su autoría 1049

Manuel García Teijeiro, El anillo mágico del Gran Tamorlán 1061

Richard L. Gordon, Dynamics of invocation in the Magical Pa-

pyri: The example of Klaudianos Selêniakon (PGrMag VII 862-
918) 1077

Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum, A folio in Greek on Abū Ma ῾Shar’s

Lots: Parisinus Graecus 2381, fol. 71v 1095
Flor Herrero Valdés, Himnos mágicos griegos: características
y estructura 1111

Wolfgang Hübner, Ποιμένος σχῆμα / Figura Pastoris: Die Su-

che der griechen nach dem Polarstern 1129

Miriam Librán Moreno, La magia en Babiloníacas de Jámblico 1155

Nerea López Carrasco, Elementos mágicos y astrológicos en la

iconografía de tres amuletos planetarios consagrados a Venus-
Anael (Museo Arqueológico de Madrid) 1173

Juan Luis López Cruces, Cavilaciones de astrólogos (Cerc., Mel.

I, 28-30 Livrea = I, 67-68 Lomiento) 1193

Amor López Jimeno, Maldición de una citarista de Eretria 1209

María Paz López Martínez & Consuelo Ruiz-Montero, Ma-

gia y erotismo en la novela griega: P. Oxy. 4945 de las Fenicíacas
de Loliano 1223

Cristóbal Macías Villalobos & Delia Macías Fuentes,

Eclipses, astronomía y astrología en el mundo antiguo 1251

Juan Francisco Martos Montiel & Marina Martos Fornie-

les, Notas críticas a Vetio Valente, Antologías II 37, 17 1277

Attilio Mastrocinque, Ialdabaoth’ boat 1289

Antonio Melero Bellido, La magia de los sátiros 1305

Santiago Montero, La astrología en la Hispania romana: un es-

tado de la cuestión 1319

Sabino Perea Yébenes, En el gabinete de un mago: cómo fabricar

un cráneo que profetice (Hipólito, Philosophumena IV 41) 1353
Victoria E. Rodríguez Martín, El gato: su simbología ritual
y su relación con la magia y la astrología a través de los Hiero-
glyphica de Pierio Valeriano 1365

Emilio Suárez de la Torre, Erotic magic in action: The passion

of Theodoros for Matrona 1383

Marcello Tozza, El elemento mágico en la esfera cultural pre-

helénica 1409

Tabvla Gratvlatoria 1419