Magda Ohnefalsch-Richter mentions the story of a Greek priest in Famagusta who heals and saves people bitten by the poisonous snake of Cyprus. It is said he was a sorcerer.
His secret remedies have been well-kept for generations in his family and passed down from father to son. A piece of cloth from the bitten person is taken immediately to the priest. He makes the carrier stand with the cloth in a circle he draws on the ground and throws earth all around the circle. Then in a jar full of water he puts earth from the 4 points of the horizon, shakes it well and makes the carrier drink it while he whispers magic words in Arabic and Greek. Simultaneously the bitten victim of the snake is cured. If the sorcerer is not trusted then the only other cure is to cut off the part of the body, foot, leg, hand or arm that was bitten.
Painting: PNT-00001, St George of the Greeks, Martin Henry Robert, 1930
© Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
The ‘Did You Know’ series is made possible with the support of OPAP (Cyprus).
