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89
supplement one another.153 The frequent representation of cult musicians in images of
sacrifice, the finite size of which limited which aspects of the rituals could be portrayed,
surely signals the importance of the inclusion of music in the ceremonies. Thus, though
the auditory element of ancient sacrificial practice could not be preserved in monuments,
its key role in the rituals was attested and commemorated by the use of cult musicians as
part of the accepted basic vocabulary for communicating religious action.
This is not the place either to approach a comprehensive survey of monuments
depicting ancient musicians as actors in cult, which are numerous, or to discuss all of the
aspects of the utility of those monuments in the study of music in Greco-Roman ritual.154
For instance, the images provide evidence for the types of ceremonies at which musicians
were present, the instruments that were commonly used in the service of specific gods or
at particular types of ceremonies, and the gender and costume of musicians. Each of
these classes of information can and should certainly be considered an important body of
evidence for assessing aspects of the rites of specific cults.
Of more interest for a project of this nature that deals with a broader consideration
of the role of sensory elements in ancient sacrifice is the fact that it has also been posited,
rightly in my opinion, that careful scrutiny of music-related elements of the decorations
of monuments and comparison of those elements across a wide spectrum of such
representations may indicate some details of the historical development of cult ritual.
153 For example Moede (2007), in her study of public and private reliefs, compares literary descriptions of
rituals to images of ritual activity in order to pinpoint the portions that were considered characteristic.
154 For which see Ryberg 1955; Quasten 1983; Fless 1995; Moede 2004, 2007; Fless and Moede 2007.
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 107 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 89 supplement one another.153 The frequent representation of cult musicians in images of sacrifice, the finite size of which limited which aspects of the rituals could be portrayed, surely signals the importance of the inclusion of music in the ceremonies. Thus, though the auditory element of ancient sacrificial practice could not be preserved in monuments, its key role in the rituals was attested and commemorated by the use of cult musicians as part of the accepted basic vocabulary for communicating religious action. This is not the place either to approach a comprehensive survey of monuments depicting ancient musicians as actors in cult, which are numerous, or to discuss all of the aspects of the utility of those monuments in the study of music in Greco-Roman ritual.154 For instance, the images provide evidence for the types of ceremonies at which musicians were present, the instruments that were commonly used in the service of specific gods or at particular types of ceremonies, and the gender and costume of musicians. Each of these classes of information can and should certainly be considered an important body of evidence for assessing aspects of the rites of specific cults. Of more interest for a project of this nature that deals with a broader consideration of the role of sensory elements in ancient sacrifice is the fact that it has also been posited, rightly in my opinion, that careful scrutiny of music-related elements of the decorations of monuments and comparison of those elements across a wide spectrum of such representations may indicate some details of the historical development of cult ritual. 153 For example Moede (2007), in her study of public and private reliefs, compares literary descriptions of rituals to images of ritual activity in order to pinpoint the portions that were considered characteristic. 154 For which see Ryberg 1955; Quasten 1983; Fless 1995; Moede 2004, 2007; Fless and Moede 2007. |
