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196
Applications of the Experience of Modern Rites in Analyzing Ancient Sacrifice
My experience of the Kurban Bayram sacrifices was a powerful one that changed my
understanding of the processes of ancient sacrifice in several fundamental ways. Both
my experiences on the day of the sacrifices and my investigation of the sacrificial site
almost two months after the celebrations have been sources of fruitful questions
regarding the sensory nature of sacrifice and the lingering effects of the rites within an
urban area. These questions may be applied to the subject of Greek and Roman sacrifice
with a care that includes an awareness of the limits of our evidence, and with
acknowledgement of fundamental differences between the ancient and the modern rites.
A particularly useful result of this exercise has been an increased awareness of
aspects of the process of sacrifice that are often absent from primary ancient and
archaeological evidence, in many cases events that occurred before and after the
sacrificial acts themselves. These elements would have had a great impact on the
experience of the rites, but because of the pedestrian nature of some of them, they are
neither discussed in ancient literary sources nor included in art commemorating the
events. However, if we ignore such aspects of ritual we are overlooking a major source
of information not only on the greater sensory experience of the rituals, but in some cases
on details of the performance of the rites.324 In addition, we are passing up an
324 A comparable modern example may be drawn from the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. Though
the massive amounts of manpower needed to clean up refuse on the streets after the conclusion of the
parades on each day of the week-long festival are not publicized, the trash is weighed daily and the size of
the crowd in attendance is deduced from that figure.
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 214 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 196 Applications of the Experience of Modern Rites in Analyzing Ancient Sacrifice My experience of the Kurban Bayram sacrifices was a powerful one that changed my understanding of the processes of ancient sacrifice in several fundamental ways. Both my experiences on the day of the sacrifices and my investigation of the sacrificial site almost two months after the celebrations have been sources of fruitful questions regarding the sensory nature of sacrifice and the lingering effects of the rites within an urban area. These questions may be applied to the subject of Greek and Roman sacrifice with a care that includes an awareness of the limits of our evidence, and with acknowledgement of fundamental differences between the ancient and the modern rites. A particularly useful result of this exercise has been an increased awareness of aspects of the process of sacrifice that are often absent from primary ancient and archaeological evidence, in many cases events that occurred before and after the sacrificial acts themselves. These elements would have had a great impact on the experience of the rites, but because of the pedestrian nature of some of them, they are neither discussed in ancient literary sources nor included in art commemorating the events. However, if we ignore such aspects of ritual we are overlooking a major source of information not only on the greater sensory experience of the rituals, but in some cases on details of the performance of the rites.324 In addition, we are passing up an 324 A comparable modern example may be drawn from the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. Though the massive amounts of manpower needed to clean up refuse on the streets after the conclusion of the parades on each day of the week-long festival are not publicized, the trash is weighed daily and the size of the crowd in attendance is deduced from that figure. |
