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148
momentary. It is also highly subjective and, as with touch, is rarely addressed explicitly
in ancient literature dealing with sacrificial practice. However, bearing in mind the
interplay between senses as they were understood in antiquity, it is possible to discuss
some of the important roles the sense of taste played in sacrificial ritual.
I have already considered instances in which smell and touch were related (see,
for example, my discussion of personified Myrrh in Chapter One). Smell and taste were
also closely tied in antiquity. Not only did philosophers and those interested in functions
of the human body grasp the interconnectedness of these two senses in terms of human
neurological function (see the Appendix), but also many of the same substances were
prized equally for their taste as for their smell. Myrrh, for example, was used not only as
an ingredient in perfume and incense, but was mulled in a seasonal honeyed wine
concoction called mulsum.240
Perhaps more surprisingly, the senses of taste and touch were also closely tied in
the ancient understanding of the function of the senses, to a much greater degree than we
tend to associate them with each other today. Indeed, ancient philosophy held taste to be
a form of touch, almost a subset of that sense. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) pronounced
this belief most clearly in his De Anima: “This is why taste is a kind of touch; for it
relates to food, and food is a tangible body.”241 Bearing in mind such an understanding
240 A. Dalby 2000, 129.
241 De an. 434 b 19 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). διὸ καὶ ἡ γεῦσίς ἐστιν ὥσπερ ἁφή τις. τροφῆς γάρ ἐστιν, ἡ
δὲ τροφὴ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἁπτόν. As C. Mazzio (2005, n. 7) notes, Aristotle finds it philosophically necessary
to address the fact that the five senses do not numerically align with the four natural elements. Tying the
senses of touch and taste together allows him to assign both of them to the corresponding element of earth.
Having considered above the importance of the element of earth and of the fruits of the earth in sacrificial
ceremony, this brings to light another interesting intersection between the ancient understanding of the
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 166 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 148 momentary. It is also highly subjective and, as with touch, is rarely addressed explicitly in ancient literature dealing with sacrificial practice. However, bearing in mind the interplay between senses as they were understood in antiquity, it is possible to discuss some of the important roles the sense of taste played in sacrificial ritual. I have already considered instances in which smell and touch were related (see, for example, my discussion of personified Myrrh in Chapter One). Smell and taste were also closely tied in antiquity. Not only did philosophers and those interested in functions of the human body grasp the interconnectedness of these two senses in terms of human neurological function (see the Appendix), but also many of the same substances were prized equally for their taste as for their smell. Myrrh, for example, was used not only as an ingredient in perfume and incense, but was mulled in a seasonal honeyed wine concoction called mulsum.240 Perhaps more surprisingly, the senses of taste and touch were also closely tied in the ancient understanding of the function of the senses, to a much greater degree than we tend to associate them with each other today. Indeed, ancient philosophy held taste to be a form of touch, almost a subset of that sense. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) pronounced this belief most clearly in his De Anima: “This is why taste is a kind of touch; for it relates to food, and food is a tangible body.”241 Bearing in mind such an understanding 240 A. Dalby 2000, 129. 241 De an. 434 b 19 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). διὸ καὶ ἡ γεῦσίς ἐστιν ὥσπερ ἁφή τις. τροφῆς γάρ ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἁπτόν. As C. Mazzio (2005, n. 7) notes, Aristotle finds it philosophically necessary to address the fact that the five senses do not numerically align with the four natural elements. Tying the senses of touch and taste together allows him to assign both of them to the corresponding element of earth. Having considered above the importance of the element of earth and of the fruits of the earth in sacrificial ceremony, this brings to light another interesting intersection between the ancient understanding of the |
