ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates Athenian written binding curses of the classical period in the light of perceptions and practices of individual and collective agency. Binding curses are attested in Athens since the fifth century, although there should be no doubt that the practice is significantly older. A problem in any attempt to interpret the wider implications of binding curses is that in the overwhelming majority of cases we can only guess the identities and social backgrounds of the individuals who commissioned them. Binding curses can elucidate Athenian patterns of interpersonal interaction as well as individual behaviours and modes of agency in the context of conflict. Curse tablets from classical Athens illustrate facets of interpersonal and intergroup interaction, conflict management and agential behaviour. The interaction of individuals of all genders, legal statuses and social backgrounds clearly emerges in Athenian binding curses from the classical period.
