The article is devoted to the analysis of the ancient Egyptian ritual of throwing four balls in the context of Egyptian ritual practice. The author traces the genesis and development of this ritual on the basis of various sources, as well as examines its role and significance within the Egyptian magical tradition. Keywords: four clay balls, ritual, protection, magic, papyrus, Set, followers, Taharqa, Hibis, Heliopolis. An important feature of ancient Egyptian protective magic rituals was the use of various items necessary for the effectiveness of the ritual. One of the most important attributes of magical practice was clay balls or globular objects. In 1975, J.-K. Goyon published the New York Papyrus 35.9.21 from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection (MMA 35.9.21) [Goyon, 1975], which describes the magical practice required to repel enemies. "The discovery of the mystery of the four clay balls "( n 4. t bnnwt n(t) sin) [Goyon, 1975, p. 189-190] - these words begin a magical ritual where the main object was balls. In this publication, Goyon has compiled various versions of the four-ball ritual that correlate with the most complete version recorded in the MMA papyrus 35.9.21 (see Table 1).: Table 1 Text Dating information Location Owner pChester-Beatty XI XIX dynasty Deir el-Medina Taharqi Temple, Karnak, room E, east wall XXV Dynasty Taharqa Hibisa Temple, Hall 2, north, east and west walls Late period in situ Darius I Fragment of the door at 8, Guimet Museum, inv. N 14730 XXX Dynasty Fragment of an inscription, Pushkin Museum, inv. I. 1. b. 1022 XXX Dynasty rMMA 35.9.21, 26-32 ca. 320 BC Meir pBrooklyn 47.218.138, 12, 1-16 ca. 320 BC theban rVM 10288 I, 1-7 310 BC pBerlin 3037 ptolemaic theban pLouvre E 3237, 1-21 ptolemaic pLouvre E 3239, 1-23 ptolemaic page 5It is rather difficult to trace the genesis of this ritual, but, apparently, its prototypes could have appeared in ancient times. Perhaps one of these rituals was recorded already in the er ... Read more