myrrh and wormwood charcoal
Egypt
4th Century
Source: Miriam Blanco Cesteros, "Written in Blood? Decoding Some Red Inks of the Greek Magical Papyri", 2021.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
myrrh, wormwood, sumac, roses
Preparation Steps
Zmyrnomelan is based on myrrh and wormwood, which are burned with sumac (a high-tannic substance) and roses. Roses were considered a sympathetic ingredient associated with Aphrodite (p. 37, footnote 13).
Original Recipe Text
Zmyrnomelan is based on myrrh and wormwood, which are burned with sumac (a high-tannic substance) and roses. Roses were considered a sympathetic ingredient associated with Aphrodite (p. 37, footnote 13).
Evidence
"It is a kind of myrrh ink — the technical term in PGM is zmyrnomelan (ζμυρνόμελαν) — based on myrrh and wormwood (common ingredients in magical inks), burned with sumac (a substance with high-tannic content employed in Antiquity to produce pigments) and roses."
Remarks
This ink's preparation is disseminated among instructions for an erotic practice (p. 37, footnote 13). It exemplifies the use of substances with symbolic or 'sympathetic' values rather than purely practical utility.
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
philological analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
ink
Paper Typepapyri
ColorBlack
RegionEgypt
Approx. Year350
Source Information
AuthorMiriam Blanco Cesteros, "Written in Blood? Decoding Some Red Inks of the Greek Magical Papyri", 2021.
CollectionGreco-Egyptian
Language
N/A
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