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86
and mildness, and also of courage and temperance and all their opposites and the
other moral qualities, that most closely correspond to the true natures of these
qualities (and this is clear from the facts of what occurs – when we listen to such
representations we change in our soul).149
In antiquity, it was understood that music could serve to inspire right action and proper
feeling in the listener. By imitating the positive moral and emotional values of an upright
citizen, music could impel the listener to behave in like manner. It does not then seem a
stretch to conclude that the inclusion of appropriate modes of rhythm and melody in the
music of cultic ceremonies could be intended not solely to set the mood in a general
sense, but in fact to affect the soul of the worshipper in a very tangible way, to transform
it into a soul engaged in the proper mode of worship.150
We see from the literary evidence considered above that incorporation of music in
the rites of Greek and Roman ritual served multiple purposes. Four of the primary
149 Pol. 1340 a (transl. Rackham 1977, LCL). ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι γιγνόμεθα ποιοί τινες…ταῦτα γὰρ
ὀμολογουμένως ποιεῖ τὰς φυχὰς ἐνθουσιαστικάς, ὁ δ᾽ ἐνθουσιασμὸς τοῦ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἤθους πάθος
ἐστίν…ἔστι δ᾽ ὁμοιώματα μάλιστα παρὰ τὰς ἀληθινὰς φύσεις ἐν τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς καὶ τοῖς μέλεσιν ὀργῆς
καὶ πραότητος, ἔτι δ᾽ ἀνδρἰας καὶ σωφροσύωης καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων τούτοις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ἠθικῶν (δῇλον δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων, μεταβάλλομεν γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀκροώμενοι τοιούτων.
150 Of interest for a comparison of the role of the senses in antiquity are Aristotle’s further comments:
“…and it is the case that whereas the other objects of sensation contain no representation of character, for
example the objects of touch and taste...pieces of music on the contrary do actually contain in themselves
imitations of character…From these considerations therefore it is plain that music has the power of
producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul…” (Pol. 1340 a-b). σθμβέβηκε δὲ τῶν
αἰσθητῶν ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις μηδὲν ὑπάρχειν ὁμοίωμα τοῖς ἤθεσιν, οἷον ἐν τοῖς ἁπτοῖς καὶ τοῖς
γευστοῖς…ἐν δὲ τοῖς μέλεσιν αὐτοῖς ἐστὶ μιμήματα τῶν ἠθῶν…ἐκ μὲν οὖν τούτων φανερὸν ὅτι δ´ύναται
ποιόν τι τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ μουσικὴ παρασκευάζειν… . It is interesting that hearing is the only one of the
five senses to which Aristotle ascribes the ability to influence character, especially considering that he
understood the sense of sight to be the basis for rational judgment because of its role in mathematics and
related fields (see the Appendix). His reasoning for this is perhaps explained by his assertion that some
forms may represent character “but only to a small extent, and not all men participate in visual perception
of such qualities…” (Pol. 1340 a) (transl. Rackham 1977, LCL). ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ μικρόν, κού πάντες τῆς
τοιαύτης αἰσθήσεως κοινωνοῦσιν… It seems that Aristotle believed not only that music could influence
character, but also that this effect was involuntary. Only some men possessed the capacity and the wisdom
to perceive elements of character through the sense of vision and be affected by them positively, whereas
no man could avoid feeling the influence of properly edifying music.
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 104 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 86 and mildness, and also of courage and temperance and all their opposites and the other moral qualities, that most closely correspond to the true natures of these qualities (and this is clear from the facts of what occurs – when we listen to such representations we change in our soul).149 In antiquity, it was understood that music could serve to inspire right action and proper feeling in the listener. By imitating the positive moral and emotional values of an upright citizen, music could impel the listener to behave in like manner. It does not then seem a stretch to conclude that the inclusion of appropriate modes of rhythm and melody in the music of cultic ceremonies could be intended not solely to set the mood in a general sense, but in fact to affect the soul of the worshipper in a very tangible way, to transform it into a soul engaged in the proper mode of worship.150 We see from the literary evidence considered above that incorporation of music in the rites of Greek and Roman ritual served multiple purposes. Four of the primary 149 Pol. 1340 a (transl. Rackham 1977, LCL). ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι γιγνόμεθα ποιοί τινες…ταῦτα γὰρ ὀμολογουμένως ποιεῖ τὰς φυχὰς ἐνθουσιαστικάς, ὁ δ᾽ ἐνθουσιασμὸς τοῦ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἤθους πάθος ἐστίν…ἔστι δ᾽ ὁμοιώματα μάλιστα παρὰ τὰς ἀληθινὰς φύσεις ἐν τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς καὶ τοῖς μέλεσιν ὀργῆς καὶ πραότητος, ἔτι δ᾽ ἀνδρἰας καὶ σωφροσύωης καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων τούτοις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἠθικῶν (δῇλον δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων, μεταβάλλομεν γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀκροώμενοι τοιούτων. 150 Of interest for a comparison of the role of the senses in antiquity are Aristotle’s further comments: “…and it is the case that whereas the other objects of sensation contain no representation of character, for example the objects of touch and taste...pieces of music on the contrary do actually contain in themselves imitations of character…From these considerations therefore it is plain that music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul…” (Pol. 1340 a-b). σθμβέβηκε δὲ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις μηδὲν ὑπάρχειν ὁμοίωμα τοῖς ἤθεσιν, οἷον ἐν τοῖς ἁπτοῖς καὶ τοῖς γευστοῖς…ἐν δὲ τοῖς μέλεσιν αὐτοῖς ἐστὶ μιμήματα τῶν ἠθῶν…ἐκ μὲν οὖν τούτων φανερὸν ὅτι δ´ύναται ποιόν τι τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ μουσικὴ παρασκευάζειν… . It is interesting that hearing is the only one of the five senses to which Aristotle ascribes the ability to influence character, especially considering that he understood the sense of sight to be the basis for rational judgment because of its role in mathematics and related fields (see the Appendix). His reasoning for this is perhaps explained by his assertion that some forms may represent character “but only to a small extent, and not all men participate in visual perception of such qualities…” (Pol. 1340 a) (transl. Rackham 1977, LCL). ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ μικρόν, κού πάντες τῆς τοιαύτης αἰσθήσεως κοινωνοῦσιν… It seems that Aristotle believed not only that music could influence character, but also that this effect was involuntary. Only some men possessed the capacity and the wisdom to perceive elements of character through the sense of vision and be affected by them positively, whereas no man could avoid feeling the influence of properly edifying music. |
