Absolutely fascinating! I really hope the poor guy ended up having his affections returned. It sounds like he had it bad!

I love reading ancient sources and stumbling across little tidbits that remind me how similar people have been across the ages.

I once read a letter written in Sumerian (I read it in translation, of course) from a father to his son who was away at a school to learn to be a civil-service functionary. The text basically boiled down to, "You're not studying hard enough, you're spending too much money drinking with your friends, and you need to do much better unless you want me to show up in person . And no, you cannot have more money! Forget about it."

That could just about have been written by a parent today, and reminds me of common humanity across cultures.

So does this magic spell! Thanks so much for sharing this story.