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Monday, January 4, 2027
7pm ET (NYC time)
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
What happened if you robbed an Egyptian tomb, moved a Mesopotamian boundary stone, erased a ruler’s name, lied in court, or attracted the affections of someone else’s lover? In the ancient world, the answer might be: you were cursed.
Across Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, curses protected tombs and monuments, enforced agreements, attacked political enemies, recovered stolen property, bound rivals, and compelled love. Some warned violators that gods—or an alarming assortment of crocodiles, hippopotamuses, lions, and snakes—would destroy them. Other curses were written on figurines, bowls, and thin sheets of lead, then broken, burned, folded, pierced with nails, or buried in graves and sacred places.
This lecture examines who cursed whom, why they did it, how a curse was expected to work, and what punishments it threatened. We will encounter grievances ranging from imperial warfare to stolen clothing before concluding with the most famous “ancient curse” of all: the supposed curse of Tutankhamun’s tomb, and the unsettling deaths that allowed a modern legend to take on a life of its own.
Brenda Edgar is an art historian and yoga instructor in Louisville, KY. Information about her talks and classes can be found at www.BrendaEdgar.org.
Monday, January 4, 2027
7pm ET (NYC time)
PLEASE NOTE: A link to a recording of this talk will be sent out to ticket holders after its conclusion. It will also be archived for our Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanayomy.org. A temporary streaming link will be emailed after the event concludes.
What happened if you robbed an Egyptian tomb, moved a Mesopotamian boundary stone, erased a ruler’s name, lied in court, or attracted the affections of someone else’s lover? In the ancient world, the answer might be: you were cursed.
Across Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, curses protected tombs and monuments, enforced agreements, attacked political enemies, recovered stolen property, bound rivals, and compelled love. Some warned violators that gods—or an alarming assortment of crocodiles, hippopotamuses, lions, and snakes—would destroy them. Other curses were written on figurines, bowls, and thin sheets of lead, then broken, burned, folded, pierced with nails, or buried in graves and sacred places.
This lecture examines who cursed whom, why they did it, how a curse was expected to work, and what punishments it threatened. We will encounter grievances ranging from imperial warfare to stolen clothing before concluding with the most famous “ancient curse” of all: the supposed curse of Tutankhamun’s tomb, and the unsettling deaths that allowed a modern legend to take on a life of its own.
Brenda Edgar is an art historian and yoga instructor in Louisville, KY. Information about her talks and classes can be found at www.BrendaEdgar.org.