A Vestige of the Ptolemaic Crocodile Cult in a Curse from Caesarea Maritima against a Pantomime Dancer

A curse tablet found during excavations at the Promontory Palace in Caesarea Maritima is directed against a pantomime dancer. Noteworthy among the gods addressed is a group of crocodile gods. Their importance in the curse is underscored by the depiction of a crocodile at the lower right of the text, the only drawing on the tablet. The present article suggests that these crocodile gods are a remnant of the Ptolemaic crocodile cult, which was presumably introduced into the region when it was under Ptolemaic rule in the third century BCE.