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116
Beyond this cultural requirement that a prayer made with good intentions should
be declared openly, sources suggest that the audibility of the prayers was also important
for ritual reasons. In fact, it is quite interesting to note that Pliny specifies that the music
of the pipes must be at once loud enough to mask extraneous noise yet not so loud as to
drown out the invocation. This raises an interesting question: By whom was it necessary
that the prayer be heard? It might seem reasonable to assume that the words of the
prayers would carry to heaven in much the same way that the smoke from a burning altar
would, whether they were physically audible over any ambient noise or not, but Pliny
certainly implies that any inappropriate sounds might not only mar the sacrifices by the
introduction of incorrect elements but actually prevent the gods from listening to (or
perhaps hearing at all?) the petitions being made.
We should consider also the related roles of prayer and music. Here, once again,
the visual evidence may be of some value. As previously noted, standard types of both
musicians and figures in prayer are relatively common elements of representations of
sacrifice in the Greek and Roman world. However, there is a marked difference in the
number of extant representations of the two. A helpful case study may be constructed
from the work of F.T. Van Straten, who has drawn together all of the surviving images of
corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray,
go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what
is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think
they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask Him.” Silent, private prayer, offered singly or in small groups, was one of the many ritual
behaviors that put Christians at odds with Roman culture and aroused the suspicions of neighbors and
authorities.
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 134 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 116 Beyond this cultural requirement that a prayer made with good intentions should be declared openly, sources suggest that the audibility of the prayers was also important for ritual reasons. In fact, it is quite interesting to note that Pliny specifies that the music of the pipes must be at once loud enough to mask extraneous noise yet not so loud as to drown out the invocation. This raises an interesting question: By whom was it necessary that the prayer be heard? It might seem reasonable to assume that the words of the prayers would carry to heaven in much the same way that the smoke from a burning altar would, whether they were physically audible over any ambient noise or not, but Pliny certainly implies that any inappropriate sounds might not only mar the sacrifices by the introduction of incorrect elements but actually prevent the gods from listening to (or perhaps hearing at all?) the petitions being made. We should consider also the related roles of prayer and music. Here, once again, the visual evidence may be of some value. As previously noted, standard types of both musicians and figures in prayer are relatively common elements of representations of sacrifice in the Greek and Roman world. However, there is a marked difference in the number of extant representations of the two. A helpful case study may be constructed from the work of F.T. Van Straten, who has drawn together all of the surviving images of corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Silent, private prayer, offered singly or in small groups, was one of the many ritual behaviors that put Christians at odds with Roman culture and aroused the suspicions of neighbors and authorities. |
