Ms Elisabetta Scarpelli

Elisabetta Scarpelli explores the verbal practices of malediction, focusing on κατάδεσμοι (curse tablets) as both linguistic artifacts and ritual tools of manipulation. These inscribed lead tablets, often folded or pierced, serve as a compelling medium for understanding the performative power of language, where words are not merely symbolic but transformative. Ms Scarpelli’s work integrates historical, linguistic, and philosophical perspectives to examine how these private, ritualized acts of cursing intersect with broader social systems of law, magic, and religion. By situating κατάδεσμοι within the context of materiality and cultural practice, their research reveals the ambivalence of language as a force capable of both binding and creating realities.