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41
not necessary to depict the actual act of burning incense, nor even to include the altar
(although it could be argued in this case that the actual altar on which the reliefs serve as
decoration is meant to be understood as the object of the sacrificial procession).
Similarly, the simple presence of animals here is enough to suggest their slaughter and
immolation.
Though archaeological evidence for the use of incense in cult is limited due to the
perishable nature of the substances, in some cases we do have physical evidence for the
presence of certain aromatics at cult sites. For instance, traces of cinnamon dated to the
seventh century B.C.E. were recovered archaeologically at the sanctuary of Hera on
Samos.64 Such rare finds are certainly valuable, but their interpretation presents
difficulties. Though it is tempting to imagine that any cache of aromatics discovered at a
cult site was intended to be burned on the altars (or in the case of the Samian cinnamon,
perhaps to be added to wine for libations), there were other uses for these substances in
the administration of temples. I have already noted the use of pepper as currency among
the Romans; other spices with high monetary value were certainly used in barter and
trade. It is always possible that caches of aromatics at cult sites were equivalent to other
items in the temple treasury such as gold, rather than being intended for direct ritual use.
We have evidence of donations by wealthy temple patrons that included spices
and aromatics clearly given with a view to flaunting their monetary value. For example,
Seleucus I Nicator, an officer in the army of Alexander the Great and founder of the
Seleucid empire, made such a donation to the Temple of Apollo at Didyma on the west
64 Dalby 2000, 36.
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 59 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 41 not necessary to depict the actual act of burning incense, nor even to include the altar (although it could be argued in this case that the actual altar on which the reliefs serve as decoration is meant to be understood as the object of the sacrificial procession). Similarly, the simple presence of animals here is enough to suggest their slaughter and immolation. Though archaeological evidence for the use of incense in cult is limited due to the perishable nature of the substances, in some cases we do have physical evidence for the presence of certain aromatics at cult sites. For instance, traces of cinnamon dated to the seventh century B.C.E. were recovered archaeologically at the sanctuary of Hera on Samos.64 Such rare finds are certainly valuable, but their interpretation presents difficulties. Though it is tempting to imagine that any cache of aromatics discovered at a cult site was intended to be burned on the altars (or in the case of the Samian cinnamon, perhaps to be added to wine for libations), there were other uses for these substances in the administration of temples. I have already noted the use of pepper as currency among the Romans; other spices with high monetary value were certainly used in barter and trade. It is always possible that caches of aromatics at cult sites were equivalent to other items in the temple treasury such as gold, rather than being intended for direct ritual use. We have evidence of donations by wealthy temple patrons that included spices and aromatics clearly given with a view to flaunting their monetary value. For example, Seleucus I Nicator, an officer in the army of Alexander the Great and founder of the Seleucid empire, made such a donation to the Temple of Apollo at Didyma on the west 64 Dalby 2000, 36. |
