(usually in Akkadian) which appear within the medical corpus. One assumption is
that, since these different types of incantations refer to different gods, they originate
from different professional atelier. Utukku Lemnu ̄tuincantations, for instance, which
have a long and complex history, usually invoke the gods Enki (Ea) and Asalluhi
(Marduk), in contrast to medical incantations which usually invoke the healing gods
Gula or Damu. It seems likely, therefore, that classical incantations belong to asˇipu ̄tu
or the craft of the exorcist, while medical incantations belong to asu ̄tu, the physician’s
handiwork. The respective roles of the a ̄sˇipuand asûhave been reconsidered recently,
and the clear-cut distinctions between their activities are no longer seen as definitive
(Scurlock 1999 ). It now seems that the a ̄sˇipuwas required to have considerable
knowledge of medicine, usually thought of as asu ̄tu, and many medical texts have
been found in the private archives of the a ̄sˇipuof Assur. It might seem logical to
assume, therefore, that medical incantations were composed by the asû, at the same
time as he compiled his recipes, while incantation tablets were composed by the a ̄sˇipu.
In fact, no such assumption can be proven. We do not know who composed any
of the incantations in the various compendia, including medical incantations, nor can
we be sure that some incantations were composed specifically for use in medical texts,
by an asû. It could easily be the case that some incantations were quoted in medical
texts because they seemed to be contextually appropriate, but these could have been
composed by an a ̄sˇipuas well as an asû. We must look elsewhere for the essential
differences between medical incantations and other genres of magical texts.
In only a few cases are incantations recommended for use within the corpus of
medical literature known as the Diagnostic Handbook (Heeßel 2000 : 323 : 84 ′), and
in the few cases when reciting an incantation is recommended, it is usually associated
with symptoms of chronic or serious disease, such as bennu, for which little could be
done to help the patient. Although the Diagnostic Handbook technically should belong
to the physician, nevertheless according to colophons and rubrics, the text originates
from the workshops of exorcism (Heeßel 2000 : 17 f., 107 – 109 ). Relatively few instances,
however, of incantations are recommended within the context of prognosis.
The idea of hierarchy is a cardinal feature of magic. In terms of causes of disease
or misfortune, the ultimate causes are cosmic in nature, since it is gods who personally
decide the fate of every individual. An offended or angry god, therefore, needs to be
appeased through the most powerful forms of incantation, prayer, and ritual. Demons
are part of this cosmic process, since they are often sent directly by the gods or are
sent from the Netherworld specifically to bring chaos, disease, and destruction. The
incantations and prayers and rituals assigned to deal with these causes are, by their
very nature, cosmic as well, being addressed to the highest powers within the pantheon
to intercede on behalf of the patient or sufferer in order to appease anger or alter
an evil decree or fate. Much of the work of the a ̄sˇipuwas therefore directed towards
this aim.
The hierarchy comprised lower levels as well, however, although the relative weights
of these levels may be disputed. The attack of ghosts was feared as much as that of
demons, but for different reasons, not always related to the sin of the patient or
victim. A ghost of an ancestor could cause harm to a victim because he brought a
complaint against his human victim in the court of the Netherworld (Alster 1991 :
85 ; Geller 1995 : 104 – 107 ), or because the ghost’s funerary kispuofferings may have
been neglected by his living progeny. On the other hand, a ghost could revisit someone
— Incantations within Akkadian medical texts —