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particular type of ceremony, blood sacrifice, beyond the bounds of traditional literary,
epigraphical and archaeological inquiry. In order to do so, I utilize anthropological
methodology (specifically, autoethnographic research), archaeological evidence and
modern theories of sensory function and of animal behavior. This approach is the result
of an important turning point in my research that occurred during a year spent in Turkey,
where I was invited to witness Muslim sacrifices in the form of large-scale slaughter of
bovines. That experience, which I describe in close detail, has led to an awareness of a
range of activities and sensory elements that are often missing from ancient art and
literature, and has caused me to view the sacrificial process in a completely fresh way; it
has opened many new research avenues and at the same time has raised many
unanswered questions. In my analysis of that experience, I describe certain elements of
sacrificial procedure that were not necessarily conscious ritual elements, but that in many
instances provide evidence of aspects of the sacrificial process about which we might
otherwise remain ignorant.
An appendix, a discussion of some of the most important ancient written sources
that deal with the use and function of the senses, also accompanies the body of this
dissertation. As noted above, research into this evidence has allowed me to construct a
contemporary classical framework within which to position my discussion of the senses
in sacrifice. Further, analysis of the philosophical and scientific theories of the senses in
antiquity has aided me in developing an understanding of the ways in which the senses
were thought to interact with one another, an understanding that was of particular
Object Description
| Title | Making sense of sacrifice: Sensory experience in Greco-Roman cult |
| Author | Weddle, Candace Cherie |
| Author email | candaceweddle@gmail.com; weddle@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Art History |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-04 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-27 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Pollini, John |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Yasin, Ann Marie Bitel, Lisa |
| Abstract | Performing a sacrifice was one of the most sensorially full actions undertaken in the Greco-Roman world. The production and control of the correct movements, scents and sounds were prerequisites for summoning, communicating with and propitiating deities. Sacrifice was also ubiquitous, occurring on an almost continual basis as a range of sacrificial activities were celebrated publicly and privately in a variety of locations in urban areas. Cultivating a multi-sensory understanding of the full range of sensory elements that accompanied ancient cult rites – visual and auditory cues, things smelled, tasted and touched - provides a platform for achieving a more thorough knowledge of the meanings of the rites.; This dissertation examines the archaeological, literary and epigraphical evidence for the role of the senses in Greek and Roman sacrifice in order to analyze the social and ritual importance of the senses, the impact of sacrificial rituals within ancient urban spaces, and the sensory experience of the ancient worshiper. Given the ephemeral nature of much of the evidence for sensory elements of worship, as well as the subjectivity inherent in representations of sensory experience in literature and art, this dissertation argues for the necessity of crossing disciplinary boundaries in order to appreciate the sensory impact of ancient sacrifice. Therefore, in addition to utilizing traditional historical and art historical approaches, methodological tools from the field of anthropology and evidence from studies in the animal behavioral sciences and consumer sciences are employed. For example, I suggest that greater understanding of the experience of ancient sacrifice may be acquired through an autoethnographic investigation of modern religious sacrifice. To that end, I analyze my experience of the slaughter of large numbers of bovines during the Islamic Kurban Bayram sacrifices in Istanbul to make suggestions concerning certain elements of the sensory experience of ancient blood sacrifice. I focus not only on the sensory experience of humans participating in (or within range of) sacrifices, but also on that of the animal victims. Given the immense ritual importance of the behavior of sacrificial animals in antiquity, I suggest that it is possible to identify some sensory aspects of the sacrificial process that may have been intentionally manipulated in order to control the reactions of the victims as far as possible.; Particular attention is paid to mundane aspects of the process of sacrifice not often addressed in ancient literary sources or represented in art that would have resulted in notable sensory impacts on areas surrounding urban temples, for example the removal of sacrificial refuse. I conclude not only that these elements of sacrifice formed an important part of the sensory experience of Greco-Roman cult, but also that their effects were more far-reaching – in terms both of how great an area they affected and how long they lasted – than has previously been recognized. Using fresh interdisciplinary approaches to well-known examples of texts and images, this dissertation employs a more visceral approach to the study of the sensory experience of ancient sacrifice than is possible when considering textual and archaeological evidence alone. |
| Keyword | archaeology; autoethnography; cult; Greece; religion; Rome; sacrifice; senses |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Rome |
| Geographic subject (country) | Italy; Greece |
| Coverage date | circa -0600/0600 |
| Coverage era | Greco Roman |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3788 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Weddle, Candace Cherie |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Weddle-4363 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume48/etd-Weddle-4363.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 38 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 20 particular type of ceremony, blood sacrifice, beyond the bounds of traditional literary, epigraphical and archaeological inquiry. In order to do so, I utilize anthropological methodology (specifically, autoethnographic research), archaeological evidence and modern theories of sensory function and of animal behavior. This approach is the result of an important turning point in my research that occurred during a year spent in Turkey, where I was invited to witness Muslim sacrifices in the form of large-scale slaughter of bovines. That experience, which I describe in close detail, has led to an awareness of a range of activities and sensory elements that are often missing from ancient art and literature, and has caused me to view the sacrificial process in a completely fresh way; it has opened many new research avenues and at the same time has raised many unanswered questions. In my analysis of that experience, I describe certain elements of sacrificial procedure that were not necessarily conscious ritual elements, but that in many instances provide evidence of aspects of the sacrificial process about which we might otherwise remain ignorant. An appendix, a discussion of some of the most important ancient written sources that deal with the use and function of the senses, also accompanies the body of this dissertation. As noted above, research into this evidence has allowed me to construct a contemporary classical framework within which to position my discussion of the senses in sacrifice. Further, analysis of the philosophical and scientific theories of the senses in antiquity has aided me in developing an understanding of the ways in which the senses were thought to interact with one another, an understanding that was of particular |
