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Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World

From love charms to curse tablets, uncover the spellbinding ways ancient cultures tried to bend the world to their will. 

Overview

For millennia, people across Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome turned to magic to protect, to heal, to curse enemies, and to seek favor from powers beyond the human realm. Magic was woven into daily life and ritual practice—sometimes accepted, sometimes feared, but always compelling.

This exhibition invites visitors to step into that world of spells, amulets, protective figures, and ritual objects dating from 2000 BCE to 300 CE. These objects express a shared human desire: to influence the unseen forces shaping life and death. Through works in stone and bronze, precious gems, papyri, and more, Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World explores how societies visualized the supernatural and how people sought to harness it for love, justice, protection, or revenge.

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