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48
in anything nor bound by himself, needs nothing external...”77 The implication is that
burnt sacrifices, though an expression of piety, are not to be understood as providing
material support for the deity. This is a point that is also employed by Christian
apologists warning against burnt sacrifices as attractive to demons and, more generally,
attacking the philosophical coherence of the concept of the traditional anthropomorphic
Greek and Roman pantheon.
Criticism of the gods as corporeal and, therefore, susceptible to supplication
through sensory modes, is even more pointed when found in these sources antagonistic to
polytheistic beliefs. Origen (c. 184/5-254/5 C.E.), for example, says that the scent of
sacrifice is necessary as sustenance for demons, by which term he refers to all deities and
powers other than the Christian god.78 He writes that demons cannot reside in the
atmosphere of earth without taking nourishment from the scents of sacrifices, be they
blood or incense.79 In the late third century, Arnobius of Sicca rejects the idea entirely,
remarking on the “preposterous” notion that the gods are corporeal and therefore in need
77 Abst. 2.37 (transl. Clark 2000, 70). Ὀ μὲν πρῶτος θεὸς ἀσώματοός τε ὢν καὶ ἀκίνητος καὶ ἀμέριστος
καὶ οὔτε ἔν τινι ὢν οὔτ᾽ ἐνδεδεμένος εἰς ἑαυτόν, χρῄζει οὐδενὸς τῶν ἔξωθεν...
78 Porphyry also speaks of the usefulness of sacrifices offered to daemons, invisible beings distinct from the
gods, which he separates into categories of good and malefic. See Abst. 2.37 ff.
79 “Some people give no thought to the question of demons: that is to say, to the fact that these demons, in
order to be able to exist in the heavy atmosphere that encircles the earth, must have the nourishment of
exhalations, and, consequently, are always on the lookout for the savour of burnt sacrifices, blood, and
incense…For the demons and they that have kept them on earth, where they could not exist without the
exhalations and nourishment considered vital to their bodies, work as one in doing evil to mankind”
(Exhort. mart. 45) (transl. O’Meara 1954, 188). Sed quoniam nonnulli, non perspecta daemonum natura,
ignorantesque eos ut in denso hoc aere qui terram ambit commorentur, suffituum indigere alimento et
observare ubi nidor aut vapor sanguinis aut thuris sit…communi enim ope mala videntur hominibus inferre
et daemones, et qui eos in terra detinent, cum absque suffitibus et nutrimentis quae eorum corporibus
congrua putantur, subsistere non possent.
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 66 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 48 in anything nor bound by himself, needs nothing external...”77 The implication is that burnt sacrifices, though an expression of piety, are not to be understood as providing material support for the deity. This is a point that is also employed by Christian apologists warning against burnt sacrifices as attractive to demons and, more generally, attacking the philosophical coherence of the concept of the traditional anthropomorphic Greek and Roman pantheon. Criticism of the gods as corporeal and, therefore, susceptible to supplication through sensory modes, is even more pointed when found in these sources antagonistic to polytheistic beliefs. Origen (c. 184/5-254/5 C.E.), for example, says that the scent of sacrifice is necessary as sustenance for demons, by which term he refers to all deities and powers other than the Christian god.78 He writes that demons cannot reside in the atmosphere of earth without taking nourishment from the scents of sacrifices, be they blood or incense.79 In the late third century, Arnobius of Sicca rejects the idea entirely, remarking on the “preposterous” notion that the gods are corporeal and therefore in need 77 Abst. 2.37 (transl. Clark 2000, 70). Ὀ μὲν πρῶτος θεὸς ἀσώματοός τε ὢν καὶ ἀκίνητος καὶ ἀμέριστος καὶ οὔτε ἔν τινι ὢν οὔτ᾽ ἐνδεδεμένος εἰς ἑαυτόν, χρῄζει οὐδενὸς τῶν ἔξωθεν... 78 Porphyry also speaks of the usefulness of sacrifices offered to daemons, invisible beings distinct from the gods, which he separates into categories of good and malefic. See Abst. 2.37 ff. 79 “Some people give no thought to the question of demons: that is to say, to the fact that these demons, in order to be able to exist in the heavy atmosphere that encircles the earth, must have the nourishment of exhalations, and, consequently, are always on the lookout for the savour of burnt sacrifices, blood, and incense…For the demons and they that have kept them on earth, where they could not exist without the exhalations and nourishment considered vital to their bodies, work as one in doing evil to mankind” (Exhort. mart. 45) (transl. O’Meara 1954, 188). Sed quoniam nonnulli, non perspecta daemonum natura, ignorantesque eos ut in denso hoc aere qui terram ambit commorentur, suffituum indigere alimento et observare ubi nidor aut vapor sanguinis aut thuris sit…communi enim ope mala videntur hominibus inferre et daemones, et qui eos in terra detinent, cum absque suffitibus et nutrimentis quae eorum corporibus congrua putantur, subsistere non possent. |
