Disability vs The Evil Eye

 

Welcome to the latest post in my series on beliefs surrounding disability. Last week I discussed the Evil Eye and its effects. This week I will look at how the Greeks and Romans used disabled people to counteract the Evil Eye. Kind of like a human shield. As I explain it further it will make more sense.

Talismans and the Evil Eye

A few weeks ago, I discussed the Egyptian god, Bes and all his demon scaring abilities. The demons that he was warding off were very similar to the Evil Eye that later generations would try to combat. I have a feeling that the physical appearance of Bes heavily influenced the ways in which the Greeks and Romans chose to defend themselves against the eye. Dwarfs were used as talismans, in the form of people, as well as amulets. However, it was not only with dwarfs that this belief is true, but also with hunchbacks. I think I may have mentioned this before, but the hump on a hunchback was deemed to be lucky, meaning that the greater the severity of the hump, the greater the protection it offered. The idea being that the deformity drew the attention of the Evil Eye, therefore protecting others. People were known to rub the humps for this reason.

However, what happened if you were unlucky enough to not own a deformed slave? For these unfortunate folk, there was also the option of amulets. Lisa Trentin has written a book examining over 50 different hunchback representations. She noted that of these, 6 were fitted with suspension holes, meaning that they could be hung up on the walls of buildings, or potentially worn around people’s necks. Some of these statuettes had the hole from which they were hung placed through the centre of the hump, further highlighting its peculiarity. It is clear that these amulets were seen as an important protection against the Evil Eye and all its effects.

Other Protective Items

It was not only these small amulets that were used to fend off the Evil Eye which featured disabled people. A bronze mirror was discovered which included an image of a nude hunchback kneeling down, surrounded by birds and plants. I find this quite strange and not just because he is in the nude! Why would something that is perceived to be ugly be surrounded by a scene of such beauty? The answer may lie in the item on which the image was placed. You see, the Evil Eye of Envy had a thing for beautiful women. The image of the hunchback was placed on the reverse of the mirror, as a subtle (or maybe not so subtle) reminder that the woman’s good looks should not be taken for granted and will not last forever.

The fact that an image of nature appears on a household item such as a mirror is very interesting to me. Lisa Trentin believes this indicates that the creatures i.e. the birds and the hunchback, were being domesticated and brought in from the wild. The fact that the Romans saw hunchbacks as being equivalent to animals does not reflect well on their attitudes towards disability. This particular item does however suggest that they believed disabled people had magical powers to fight off evil. Wait! Does that mean I’m a superhero?

Music also played an important role when keeping the wicked intentions of the Evil Eye at bay. Some figurines of dwarfs and hunchbacks carrying musical instruments such as rattles, and rhythm sticks have been found. It has been thought that a terracotta dwarf figurine with rattles in hand (shown above) was used to guard a tomb from evil spirits. I can only assume from this that evil spirits are like wild bears and are scared off by loud noises.

Marble sculpture of hunchback, 2nd century C.E., Villa Albani- Torlonia, Rome, 964. Trentin (2009) 130 figure 1.

(Reverse of) Marble sculpture of hunchback, 2nd century C.E., Villa Albani- Torlonia, Rome, 964. Trentin (2009) 130 figure 1.

 It was not only small figurines which protected people from the Evil Eye. In the 1700s an unusual statue of a hunchback (shown directly above) was uncovered at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. What is strange about this particular statue is that while it has the customary hump, it has a ‘normal’ face. While most hunchback depictions have grotesque facial features, this one did not and may even be described as handsome. The hump on its back has been worn down which suggests that it was rubbed for luck regularly by passers-by. The shock of discovering that the hunchback had a handsome face may have added to its potency against the eye.

This is just a small snapshot of the abilities which the Greeks and Romans thought that disabled people possessed. It is clear that they thought disabled people were somewhat useful.

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Next week I will examine the role played by blind prophets in the Greco-Roman world.

 

                                                        The Wheelchair Historian

Further Reading

Dunbabin, K. M. D., and Dickie, M. W, 1983. "Invida rumpantur pectora,” JAC, 26, 7-37.

Masséglia, Jane, 2015. Body Language in Hellenistic Art and Society (Oxford).

Trentin, Lisa, 2015. The Hunchback in Hellenistic and Roman Art, (London: Bloomsbury).  

Trentin, Lisa, 2009. ‘What's in a hump? Re-examining the hunchback in the Villa-Albani-Torlonia’, The Cambridge Classical Journal, 55 130-156.  

Uhlenbrock, J.P. 1990. The Coroplast’s Art (New York).