Ancient amulet: 'Against the evil eye'

• Date: 26 May 2021
• Author: Arutz Sheva Staff
• Published date: 26 May 2021
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

The amulet, which bears Greek inscriptions and engravings and was found near Arbel's ancient synagogue some forty years ago by the late Tova Haviv, one of the first members of the moshav, has now been given to the National Treasures Center by a family member. The bronze pendant attests to its owner's beliefs and fear of the evil eye and harmful demons.

The amulet is a necklace pendant made of bronze. The obverse bears the figure of a rider on a galloping horse. The rider's head is encircled with a halo and he thrusts a spear down toward a female figure lying on her back. Engraved in a semicircle above the rider is a Greek inscription that reads: 'The One God who Conquers Evil.'

Beneath the horse's legs are four Greek letters: I A W Θ, which stand for the Jewish Divine Name (Yahweh, IHYH).

An eye depicted on the reverse is pierced by arrows and by a forked object. The eye is threatened from below by two lions, a snake, a scorpion, and a bird. On the upper part of the same side is the abbreviated Greek inscription: 'One God.'

According to the amulet's researcher Dr. Eitan Klein, Deputy Director of the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit, "the amulet is part of a group of fifth–sixth-century CE amulets from the Levant that were probably produced in the Galilee and Lebanon."

"This group of amulets is sometimes called 'Solomon's Seal' and the rider is depicted overcoming the evil spirit – in this case, a female identified with the mythological figure Gello/Gyllou, who threatens women and children and is associated with the evil eye. The eye on the reverse is identifiable as the...