Page 138 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 138 of 348 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
120
as heard and felt? Place as sounding or resounding?”213 There is no doubt that the place
of ancient cult was selected to fulfill certain symbolic or ritual requirements, and the
location of some sanctuaries was also loaded with political meanings. How these places
were heard not only as the worshippers experienced the rites but also as the sounds
spilled out into the surrounding city was a major component of their presence in the
ancient landscape; this is an area in which I shall conduct further research in the future.
It is not only the acoustics of the built environment that should be considered,
however. The very nature of sacrificial rites in many Greek and Roman cults was such
that the celebrations took place out-of-doors. Ulrike Egelhaaf-Gaiser notes that the open-air
nature of ancient cult proceedings dictated that a certain type of behavior was
encouraged.214 She cites a passage in Apuleius (b. c. 125 C.E.) in which loud cries of
unrestrained jubilation on the part of witnesses are an expected feature of cult rites.215
One must approach this evidence with caution if using it to illustrate a point related to
Greek and Roman cult in general, given that the rites described in Apuleius’s work are
those of an Eastern deity (Isis) whose worshippers might have been expected to behave
differently when in her presence than when in the presence of other deities. However,
Egelhaaf-Gaiser goes on to remark that the behavior of the hoi polloi would have
213 Feld 2005, 182. Feld has identified the Western tendency to analyze space primarily in terms of sight as
stemming from the European concept of landscape. His multisensory approach to analysis of space is
based on the pioneering work of E. Carpenter and M. McLuhan, who introduced the concept of “acoustic
space.” See Carpenter and McLuhan 1960a. Further work on the impact of acoustics on the experience of
space was carried out by Y. Tuan 1977; D. Seamon 1979; A. Buttimer and Seamon 1980; and Seamon and
R. Mugerauer 1985, in their study of what Feld termed “humanistic geography.”
214 Egelhaaf-Gaiser 2007, 209-10.
215 Met. 11.17.4.
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 138 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 120 as heard and felt? Place as sounding or resounding?”213 There is no doubt that the place of ancient cult was selected to fulfill certain symbolic or ritual requirements, and the location of some sanctuaries was also loaded with political meanings. How these places were heard not only as the worshippers experienced the rites but also as the sounds spilled out into the surrounding city was a major component of their presence in the ancient landscape; this is an area in which I shall conduct further research in the future. It is not only the acoustics of the built environment that should be considered, however. The very nature of sacrificial rites in many Greek and Roman cults was such that the celebrations took place out-of-doors. Ulrike Egelhaaf-Gaiser notes that the open-air nature of ancient cult proceedings dictated that a certain type of behavior was encouraged.214 She cites a passage in Apuleius (b. c. 125 C.E.) in which loud cries of unrestrained jubilation on the part of witnesses are an expected feature of cult rites.215 One must approach this evidence with caution if using it to illustrate a point related to Greek and Roman cult in general, given that the rites described in Apuleius’s work are those of an Eastern deity (Isis) whose worshippers might have been expected to behave differently when in her presence than when in the presence of other deities. However, Egelhaaf-Gaiser goes on to remark that the behavior of the hoi polloi would have 213 Feld 2005, 182. Feld has identified the Western tendency to analyze space primarily in terms of sight as stemming from the European concept of landscape. His multisensory approach to analysis of space is based on the pioneering work of E. Carpenter and M. McLuhan, who introduced the concept of “acoustic space.” See Carpenter and McLuhan 1960a. Further work on the impact of acoustics on the experience of space was carried out by Y. Tuan 1977; D. Seamon 1979; A. Buttimer and Seamon 1980; and Seamon and R. Mugerauer 1985, in their study of what Feld termed “humanistic geography.” 214 Egelhaaf-Gaiser 2007, 209-10. 215 Met. 11.17.4. |
