| Manuscript: | M15 |
| Sigla: | P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595 |
Text no. 
Position of the text within the manuscript. | 18 |
| Coptic Scriptorium: | |
| Date: | 501 – 700 |
| Text position: | p. 3 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, ro) ll. 17-18 |
| Type of text: | Healing (magical, formulary) |
| Original title: | ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩ̅ⲁ ⲉϥⲉⲓⲟⲣⲙ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ |
| Original title (translated): | For one who stares |
| Conventional title: | For one who stares |
| 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) |
[17] For one who stares. Recite [18] it over some oil and anoint him. |
| Tableau: | |
| Tracing by: |
| Apparatus: |
| Notes: | Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 593, p. 7 ll. 17-18, p. 8 l. 1 (KYP M9, T879) 17. ⲟⲩ̅ⲁ ⲉϥⲉⲓⲟⲣⲙ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ Mirecki (1994) translates “one who has a seizure”, while Worrell translates “one who stares” and explains in the note “[p]robably some sort of seizure in which the patient’s eyes are open and fixed, as if upon a distant object”. This description, of something like catatonia, seems to be correct. In the Pistis Sophia I.17 we find the same expression used of Mary: “indeed it happened that when Mary heard the words that the savior was speaking she stared into the air for an hour” (ⲁⲥϣⲱⲡⲉ ϭⲉ ⲛ̅ⲧⲉⲣⲉⲙⲁⲣⲓϩⲁⲙ ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̅ ⲉⲛⲉⲓ̈ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲉϥϫⲱ ⲙ̅ⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̅ϭⲓ ⲡⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ · ⲁⲥⲉⲓⲱⲣⲙ̅ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̅ ⲡⲁⲏⲣ ⲙⲡⲛⲁⲩ ⲛ̅ⲟⲩⲟⲩⲛⲟⲩ; Schmidt and MacDermot 1978, 52.12-14), while in the Martyrdom of Mercurius 11 the martyr announces that he is Christian, “then Decius was like one who is amazed, and he stared at his face for a long time, and he wondered at the beauty of his youth” (ⲧⲟⲧⲉ ⲇⲉⲕⲓⲟⲥ ⲁϥⲣ ⲑⲉ ⲛⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲡⲱⲥϣ ⲁϥⲉⲓⲱⲣⲙ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉϩⲣⲁϥ ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟϭ ⲛⲛⲁⲩ ⲁϥⲣ ϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ ⲙⲡⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲙⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲧϥⲙⲛⲧⲃⲣⲣⲉ; Orlandi 1976, 30.11-12). These confirm that ⲉⲓⲱⲣⲙ̅ (ⲉⲃⲟⲗ) means to stare fixedly, as in a trance. We might cautiously connect this to catatonia, a motionless state which may involve staring into the air, connected today with serious mood and psychotic disorders, which was referred to in Greek medicine as κατάληψις or κατοχή (both meaning something like “seizure” or “possession”), with staring being noted as one symptom (Berrios and Marková 2018, 6). |
| Bibliography: |
Berrios, German E., Ivana S. Marková, “Historical and Conceptual Aspects of Motor Disorders in the Psychoses”, Schizophrenia Research 200 (2018) 5-11. |
| Editor: | KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026) |
How to cite:
[Editor names]. "KYP T921: For one who stares," 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-921. 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.