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Document Details : Title: †David R. Jordan's Unpublished Ms. on a Syrian Phylactery in the British Library, with Further Remarks on Alexander the Great and Epilepsy Author(s): JORDAN, David R. , KOTANSKY, Roy D. Journal: Le Muséon Volume: 136 Issue: 3-4 Date: 2023 Pages: 301-337 DOI: 10.2143/MUS.136.3.3292527 Abstract : A recently published silver tablet for epilepsy, invoking protection by amulets for 'Alexander also called Macedon', has been interpreted as a reference to the name of the bearer of the charm, with only passing mention of Alexander the Great. In the present article, the author offers in toto the manuscript of an unpublished article, written by the late David Jordan more than twenty years ago, of the very same amulet, that provides different readings, an archetype, and analysis that affirms the connection of the tablet with the Alexander of history. In the present study, the main author confirms Jordan’s overall interpretation of the amulet, tenders a revised model, and presents a new translation of the whole. This is followed by an analysis of the records of an illness ensuing Alexander the Great’s emersion from the river Cydnus at Tarsus that no doubt contributed to the later, largely Semitic, understanding of the king’s battling a 'spirit of epilepsy'. |
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