Wrapped up in the Bible: The Multifaceted Ritual on a Late Antique Amulet (P. Oxy. VIII 1077)

This essay offers the first sustained interpretation of the poetics of P. Oxy. VIII 1077—a sixth-or seventh-century c.e. healing amulet in which the presumably Christian practitioner constructs efficacy through scriptural citation, visual features, material peculiarities, and performative action. Drawing on literary and material evidence and utilizing insights from diverse disciplines, this paper argues that the practitioner attempted to heal the client by ritually wrapping him or her (through the amulet’s drawing) in the power of Jesus’s healing ministry, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. The paper also highlights how “magical” objects might contribute to the history of the book.