The Pentacles

Athens 115 · Seal 05

The cross’s side ornaments diverge: a figure-eight loop to the left, a longer chain of curves to the right. [1]

Delatte 1927, printed historical edition; Athens MS 115 · Delatte I (1927), printed p. 19, row 2, column 2; phylactery passage p. 18, Athens MS 115, Book II, ff. 17–18.

Pentacle profile

Tradition and Group: Greek Solomonic tradition · Athens MS 115 [1]
Position within the Set: 5th design in the catalogue; unnumbered in Delatte’s edition. [1]
Attributed Purpose: Part of the twenty-four-seal phylactery carried at the chest in preparation for the art of the circle. [1]
Design: A cross has squared upper and lower ends, a figure-eight loop on the left and a chain of curves on the right. [1]

A cross has squared upper and lower ends, a figure-eight loop on the left and a chain of curves on the right. — **Source reproduction** A cross, a loop and a curved chain. Delatte, 1927, p. 19.

A cross, a loop and a curved chain

The upright and horizontal strokes divide the circle into four quarters. At the top and bottom, short squared outlines meet the circumference. On the left, a small figure-eight loop sits on the horizontal arm. [1]

The right-hand ornament is longer and uneven: it rises into a loop above the arm and descends through a series of small bends below it. The design thus combines a regular cross with unlike ornaments on its two sides. Seal 20 keeps the cross but uses broader bracket-shaped ends. [1]

The chest-worn phylactery

In Delatte’s plate, this figure stands between the small-circle grid and the four-quarter character design. All three belong to the same chest-worn phylactery described on the preceding page; their changing geometry is not accompanied by separate notices of purpose. [1]

Sources and editions

A. Delatte, Anecdota Atheniensia I
Delatte 1927, printed historical edition; Athens MS 115. Manuscript B (Athens MS 115): introductory description, printed pp. 1–2; Book II, phylactery passage p. 18, lines 19–27 (ff. 17–18); twenty-four seals pp. 19–20; this drawing p. 19, row 2, column 2. Facsimile PDF pp. 14–15 and 31–33.
The drawing appears in Delatte’s 1927 edition of Athens MS 115.