The standard iconography of sciatica amulets is the image of a reaper bending to his work and cutting grain with a long-handled sickle. The other sides of these amulets bear the inscription σχιων, an abbreviation for ἰσχίων, meaning “for the hips,” which refers to the area of the body needing special protection in the case of reapers or other laborers engaged in similar physical work.
There is literary evidence about lizards being commonly employed for ailments of the eye. For example, in his Natural History, Pliny the Elder describes several recipes to cure the eye involving a lizard. Also, one of the manuscripts presented in this exhibition is a small Coptic codex containing popular remedies combined with magical spells, including the following treatment:
A great lizard: In this way, while it is still fresh, burn it, grind it, with vinegar, put it with incense. Put it on eyes that have discharge. They will get better.
