![]() Ancient Greek authors frequently mentioned the ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος ( ophthalmòs báskanos evil eye). Noting that Greeks are an ethnic group indigenous to Greece and the Levant, artefacts can be found from this region. Peter Walcot's Envy and the Greeks (1978) listed more than one hundred works by these and other authors mentioning the evil eye. In Greek Classical antiquity, the 'evil eye' is referenced by Hesiod, Callimachus, Plato, Diodorus Siculus, Theocritus, Plutarch, Heliodorus, Pliny the Elder, and Aulus Gellius. Texts from ancient Ugarit, a port city in what is now Syria, attests to the concept of 'evil eye' – the city existed until circa 1180 BC, during the late Bronze Age collapse. The belief in the evil eye among humans has existed since prehistory, and amulets to protect against it have been found from dating to about 5,000 years ago. In different cultures, the evil eye can be fought against with yet other methods – in Arab culture, saying the phrase " Masha'Allah" ( ما شاء الله) ("God has willed it") alongside a compliment prevents the compliment from attracting the evil eye, whereas in some countries, such as Brazil, certain specific plants – such as rue – are considered prone to protecting against the evil eye. Ancient Romans used representations of phallus, such as the fascinus, to protect against the evil eye, while in modern-day Southern Italy a variety of amulets and gestures are used for protection, including the cornicello, the cimaruta, and the sign of the horns. Older iterations of the symbol were often made of ceramic or clay however, following the production of glass beads in the Mediterranean region in approximately 1500 BC, evil eye beads were popularised with the Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Ottomans. Some of the most famous talismans against the evil eye include the nazar amulet, itself a representation of an eye, and the hamsa, a hand-shaped amulet. The idea appears multiple times also in Jewish rabbinic literature.ĭifferent cultures have pursued measures to protect against the evil eye. It is found in many cultures in the Mediterranean region, the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia, with such cultures often believing that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury, while others believe it to be a kind of supernatural force that casts or reflects a malevolent gaze back upon those who wish harm upon others (especially innocents). Eye beads are one of many popular amulets and talismans used to ward off the evil eye. A bracelet charm with a fist and protruding index finger knuckle, to protect a baby against the evil eye. It is estimated that around 40% of the world's population believes in the evil eye. The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glare, usually inspired by envy. Ancient depiction of a legged phallus ejaculating into an evil eye on which a scorpion sits, from Leptis Magna (Libya). For other uses, see Evil Eye (disambiguation).
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