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42
coast of Asia Minor in 288 B.C.E. He had already demonstrated his piety by financing
the rebuilding of that famous shrine and he further donated Arabian frankincense,
putchuk from Kashmir, and as Andrew Dalby notes “cinnamon from wherever ancient
cinnamon came from.”65 Though some or all of these substances may have been used to
propitiate the deity, a possibility about which we can only speculate, they functioned
equally as symbols of the royal donor. The sanctuary literally smelled of Seleucus’s
wealth and his successful conquests, as well as of the god. Financially responsible for the
visual aspect of the massive temple (still impressive even today), Seleucus left a scent
signature as well.
By the same token, it is important not to overemphasize the pecuniary element of
Seleucus’s donation. After all, he was following the example of his military leader in
shipping back copious amounts of incense, and some of it was no doubt intended as a
thank offering to a god with whom he clearly felt a close bond. Nevertheless, the
inclusion of putchuk indicates that the gift was probably at least partially viewed as a
“cash” donation for the upkeep of the temple. Having evidence of the use of aromatics as
assets, we must be wary of assuming too hastily that any discovery of incense or spices
within temple grounds necessarily indicates the specific fragrances offered during
sacrifices there.
The cases above represent limited examples from a field for which we have ample
evidence. It is my hope that they provide a glimpse of the complexity of the topic, the
range and types of available evidence, and the questions attendant upon utilizing it.
65 Dalby 2000, 108.
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 60 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 42 coast of Asia Minor in 288 B.C.E. He had already demonstrated his piety by financing the rebuilding of that famous shrine and he further donated Arabian frankincense, putchuk from Kashmir, and as Andrew Dalby notes “cinnamon from wherever ancient cinnamon came from.”65 Though some or all of these substances may have been used to propitiate the deity, a possibility about which we can only speculate, they functioned equally as symbols of the royal donor. The sanctuary literally smelled of Seleucus’s wealth and his successful conquests, as well as of the god. Financially responsible for the visual aspect of the massive temple (still impressive even today), Seleucus left a scent signature as well. By the same token, it is important not to overemphasize the pecuniary element of Seleucus’s donation. After all, he was following the example of his military leader in shipping back copious amounts of incense, and some of it was no doubt intended as a thank offering to a god with whom he clearly felt a close bond. Nevertheless, the inclusion of putchuk indicates that the gift was probably at least partially viewed as a “cash” donation for the upkeep of the temple. Having evidence of the use of aromatics as assets, we must be wary of assuming too hastily that any discovery of incense or spices within temple grounds necessarily indicates the specific fragrances offered during sacrifices there. The cases above represent limited examples from a field for which we have ample evidence. It is my hope that they provide a glimpse of the complexity of the topic, the range and types of available evidence, and the questions attendant upon utilizing it. 65 Dalby 2000, 108. |
