Mysterious amulets of the ancients

An ancient and mystical amulet discovered in Cyprus, with inscriptions that are identical whether read forwards or backwards.

The amulet, written in Greek, reads the same both forward and backward. Photo: Marcin Iwan/Jagiellonian University

An archaeological team from Jagiellonian University, Poland, found the double-sided amulet in the ancient city of Nea Paphos, southwest Cyprus (an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean). It dates back about 1,500 years.

On one side of the amulet are engraved 59 Greek letters, which are the same when read forward or backward. The inscription "ΙΑΕW ΒΑΦΡΕΝΕΜ ΟΥΝΟΘΙΛΑΡΙ ΚΝΙΦΙΑΕΥΕ ΑΙΦΙΝΚΙΡΑΛ ΙΘΟΝΥΟΜΕ ΝΕΡΦΑΒW ΕΑΙ" is roughly translated as: "Iahweh (a god) is the one with the secret name, the lion of Re is safe in his temple".

The other side features multiple images, such as the Egyptian god Osiris, the god of silence Harpocrates, a dog-headed mythical creature imitating the pose of the god Harpocrates, according to UPI.

Researchers say the amulet is evidence that people living on the island of Cyprus continued traditional, polytheistic practices into the 5th century, even when Christianity became the official religion under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire.

According to VnExpress