| Manuscript: | M15 |
| Sigla: | P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595 |
Text no. 
Position of the text within the manuscript. | 10 |
| Coptic Scriptorium: | |
| Date: | 501 – 700 |
| Text position: | p. 3 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, Ro) l. 9-10 |
| Type of text: | Healing from vertigo (magical, formulary) |
| Original title: | ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ |
| Original title (translated): | For one who has vertigo |
| Conventional title: | For one who has vertigo |
| Language: | Egyptian (Coptic) |
| Dialect: | Sahidic (non-standard) |
| Script: | Coptic |
| Image: | http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599r.tif & http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599v.tif |
| Text: | Translation: |
| p. 3 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, Ro) |
[9] For [10] one who has vertigo. Recite it over some ⟨oil (?) of⟩ the first fruits and anoint him. |
| Tableau: | |
| Tracing by: |
| Apparatus: | 10. ⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ l. ⲟⲩⲁ ⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ cf. 593 p. 6 ll. 16-17 (KYP T871) i.e. Greek σκοτεύειν : ⲟⲩⲁ ⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ Worrell | ⲁⲡⲁⲣⲭⲏ i.e. Greek ἀπαρχή |
| Notes: | Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 593, p. 6 ll. 16-17, p. 7 l. 1 (KYP M9, T871) 10. ⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ Speransky (2022: p. 148 and 189) identifies it as a Coptic rendering of the verb σκοτοῦν, which can mean “darken, blind” and “make dizzy”, or in the passive, “be in darkness”, “suffer from vertigo”, “be stupefied” (LSJ s.v. σκοτόω). It is related to several other words for dizziness and vertigo attested in the works of Greek medical authors, such as σκότομα (Galen, On Hygiene V 324K) σκοτοδινία/σκοτόδινος (Hippocrates, Aphorisms IV 17; Coan Prenotions 157; Epidemics II 7.84), and σκοτοδινῶ (Hippocrates, Aphorisms VII 87; Prorrhetic II 30). In another manuscript from the same archive, P.Mich.inv. 602 (KYP M18, KYP T2797) ll. 43-47, it appears as ⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩ̣ⲉ in a prescription asking that “all evil come out from the head and body of NN”. As the text mentions the head and body, but not the eyes, we interpret ⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩ̣ⲉ there as “be dizzy, have vertigo”. In Coptic, σκοτοῦν also appears in that sense as ⲥⲕⲟⲑⲟⲩ and ⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ in Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem, On the Life and Passion of Christ (cc0113) § 109-110 (Van den Broek 2013: p. 162-65), which describes Jesus as “becoming dizzy” (ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉϥⲥⲕⲟⲑⲟⲩ/ⲥⲕⲟⲧⲉⲩⲉ) and falling when struck by a crowd. |
| Bibliography: |
Meyer, Marvin W., and Richard Smith. Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton University Press, 1999, p. 304–310, no. 133. |
| Editor: | KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026) |
How to cite:
[Editor names]. "KYP T913: For one who has vertigo," Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects, Korshi Dosoo, Markéta Preininger, & Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin (principal editors), www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/text/kyp-t-913. Accessed on 10/10/2026For the "editor names", see the abbreviated names in the field "Editor", and to resolve the abbreviations, see the help page.