This long-anticipated corpus of Attic curse tablets, forming part of the venerable Inscriptiones Graecae series, supersedes the pioneering yet now outdated edition of 1897 by Richard Wünsch. With a remarkable expansion in both scope and precision, the new edition of the Defixiones Atticae, prepared with great care and critical acumen by C., more than doubles the number of edited defixiones, presenting 485 items in contrast to 220 numbered entries in Wünsch. Notably, C. has not only collated all extant curse tablets previously edited by his illustrious predecessor with admirable diligence, but has also significantly improved upon earlier readings through careful re-examination of the material. The newly included tablets represent over a century’s worth of archaeological discoveries, many of which have been reported and, in part, edited by D.R. Jordan, the doyen of (Attic) curse tablets research (see, e.g., D.R. Jordan, Hesperia 54 [1985], 205–55; GRBS 26 [1985], 155–62; ibid. 41 [2001], 7–11; Hesperia 91 [2022], 133–210). C. has also contributed significantly, notably in a recent collaboration with J.L. Lamont (Hesperia 92 [2023], 311–53).

The organisation of the volume follows primarily chronological criteria. Part I (Nos 1–413) comprises texts datable from the fifth century bce to the Augustan era, while Part II (Nos 414–74) includes defixiones from the imperial period. A final section (Part III, Nos 475–85) is devoted to eleven items of uncertain provenance. Within these broader chronological divisions, thematic and typological considerations guide the internal arrangement. Part I begins with simpler curses, often consisting solely of the names of the individuals targeted (I 1, I 2), and progresses to those involving figurines (kolossoi, I 3) and so-called ‘anatomical curses’ (I 4, on the term, see H.S. Versnel, ‘εἴ τι λ[οιπὸν] τῶν μερ[ῶ]ν [ἔσ]ται τοῦ σώματος ὅλ[ο]υ[.. (… and any other part of the entire body there may be …): An Essay on Anatomical Curses’, in: F. Graf [ed.], Ansichten griechischer Rituale [1998], pp. 217–67). The longer and more elaborate texts (I 5) are grouped thematically, and include judicial curses (A), curses targeting business competitors (B, C), servants (D) or entire households (E) and, finally, erotic defixiones (F), followed by a miscellany (I 6). By contrast, the second part of the volume is structured topographically and functionally: the tablets from the Athenian agora (II 1) are followed by material from other sites (II 2) and curses against thieves (defixiones in fures, II 3), or what Versnel has characterised as ‘prayers for justice’ (cf. H.S. Versnel, ‘Prayers for Justice, East and West: New Finds and Publications since 1990’, in: R.L. Gordon and F.M. Simón [edd.], Magical Practice in the Latin West [2010], pp. 275–354).

The editorial methodology adheres strictly to the standards of the Inscriptiones Graecae series, marked by a scrupulous attention to detail. Each entry offers essential information including findspot, inventory number, a physical description of the tablet with measurements, an up-to-date bibliography and new facsimile drawings. These are accompanied by an edition of the Greek text and an apparatus criticus. Indexes are extensive and indispensable for navigating this monumental work. A full concordance with previous corpora is provided, covering not only Wünsch’s edition as the direct predecessor to this volume and Audollent’s Defixionum tabellae (1904), but also Jordan’s publications mentioned above and relevant entries in the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. Additional tools include a comprehensive wordlist, an index grammaticus and reviews of the tablets’ physical characteristics and scribal conventions. While photographic documentation is not exhaustive, 25 high-quality plates reproduce selected tablets to excellent effect. The editions themselves are exemplary in both accuracy and presentation. In virtually every instance, the re-editions of older material significantly improve upon prior readings. As a representative case, one might compare Wünsch’s Nos 68 and 76 with C.’s updated editions (Nos 317 and 392), which provide considerably more accurate readings. A further testament to the editorial rigour is the virtual absence of typographical errors – a remarkable feat in a volume of this scope.

C. and his collaborators have produced a critical edition of lasting scholarly value. This volume renders the previous Inscriptiones Graecae treatment of the Attic defixiones obsolete and stands as a new reference point in the study of ancient Greek magic, joining a growing corpus of excellent editions of Greek and Latin curse tablets published in the past couple of years (C. Sánchez Natalías, Sylloge of Defixiones from the Roman West [2022]; R.S.O. Tomlin, The Uley Tablets: Roman Curse Tablets from the Temple of Mercury at Uley [2024]; R.W. Daniel and A. Hollmann, Magica Levantina [2025]). It is to be hoped that this excellent volume will also serve as the foundation for the forthcoming ‘Magic in Ancient Athens’ project – an effort promising to bring these important texts to an even wider audience by producing a complete English translation of and commentary on the Attic defixiones (cf. T.H.M. Gellar-Goad, Z. Papakonstantinou and W. Riess, ‘Magic in Ancient Athens: A Complete Translation of Attic Curse Tablets’, in: W. Riess [ed.], Colloquia Attica: Neuere Forschungen zur Archaik, zum athenischen Recht und zur Magie [2018]).