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35
these scents were multifaceted, and they need not have been spices burned upon a public
altar during prayer to signal the presence of a divinity or to communicate an important
message about some aspect of religion.
In antiquity, an extraordinary range of spices was employed in homes, in shops,
in temples, even in the theater.50 I must limit my discussion of the history of the various
aromatics here. Much was written on their use in antiquity, and a number of modern
studies have analyzed various details of the role of spices in ancient culture.51 The most
cursory list drawn up from the evidence of Greek and Roman texts and archaeological
excavations would include dozens of substances, some as familiar to us as cinnamon and
others known to us only by as-yet-untranslatable names or, as in the case of powerfully-scented
silphium, now probably extinct as a result of high demand in antiquity.52 I can
include only a small selection of examples of their uses here, in order to indicate the
complexity of the roles of aromatics in the ancient world.
50 The Romans mixed saffron with wine and sprayed it over the crowds in the theater. See A. Dalby 2000,
138. The mixture would have coated the viewers in a sticky film, bright yellow in color and with a sweet
fragrance, an opulent message delivered by means of touch, taste, sight and smell combined.
51 A dated but still useful history of incense in ancient religion, based heavily on primary literary sources, is
outlined in E.G.C.F. Atchley (1909). Evidence for the geographical sources of various aromatics and their
role in the economics of ancient states is discussed in J.I. Miller (1969) and, more recently, Dalby 2000.
Detienne (1977) considers the role of spices in Greek mythology from an anthropological perspective. The
impact of ancient incense habits on the development of later Christian usage is the focus of Harvey 2006.
52 The use of silphium as a digestif, in eye-drops, and to ease the pain of toothaches is documented in Dios.
Mat. med. 3.80. Recently, A. Manunta (1996) has suggested that Cachrys ferulacea, which grows wild in
eastern Libya in the same area in which Dioscorides reported the presence of silphium in antiquity, is in
fact silphium. His argument, based on similarities between the appearance of the plant (especially its
seeds) and representations of silphium on coins of the sixth and early fifth century B.C.E., is compelling
but not definitive.
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 53 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 35 these scents were multifaceted, and they need not have been spices burned upon a public altar during prayer to signal the presence of a divinity or to communicate an important message about some aspect of religion. In antiquity, an extraordinary range of spices was employed in homes, in shops, in temples, even in the theater.50 I must limit my discussion of the history of the various aromatics here. Much was written on their use in antiquity, and a number of modern studies have analyzed various details of the role of spices in ancient culture.51 The most cursory list drawn up from the evidence of Greek and Roman texts and archaeological excavations would include dozens of substances, some as familiar to us as cinnamon and others known to us only by as-yet-untranslatable names or, as in the case of powerfully-scented silphium, now probably extinct as a result of high demand in antiquity.52 I can include only a small selection of examples of their uses here, in order to indicate the complexity of the roles of aromatics in the ancient world. 50 The Romans mixed saffron with wine and sprayed it over the crowds in the theater. See A. Dalby 2000, 138. The mixture would have coated the viewers in a sticky film, bright yellow in color and with a sweet fragrance, an opulent message delivered by means of touch, taste, sight and smell combined. 51 A dated but still useful history of incense in ancient religion, based heavily on primary literary sources, is outlined in E.G.C.F. Atchley (1909). Evidence for the geographical sources of various aromatics and their role in the economics of ancient states is discussed in J.I. Miller (1969) and, more recently, Dalby 2000. Detienne (1977) considers the role of spices in Greek mythology from an anthropological perspective. The impact of ancient incense habits on the development of later Christian usage is the focus of Harvey 2006. 52 The use of silphium as a digestif, in eye-drops, and to ease the pain of toothaches is documented in Dios. Mat. med. 3.80. Recently, A. Manunta (1996) has suggested that Cachrys ferulacea, which grows wild in eastern Libya in the same area in which Dioscorides reported the presence of silphium in antiquity, is in fact silphium. His argument, based on similarities between the appearance of the plant (especially its seeds) and representations of silphium on coins of the sixth and early fifth century B.C.E., is compelling but not definitive. |
