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198
Though, as previously noted, the identity of the cult practiced there is now in question,
we may assume that its rites involved sacrifices of large animals, based on the
iconography of a sacrificial bull or ox on one of the relief panels of the altar recovered in
situ in 1931 (Fig. 27). The top of the artificial terrace, absent all ancient buildings,
measures 85.6 x 64.6 m (about 280 x 212 ft.) (Fig. 28). It is therefore considerably larger
than the site of the Bayram sacrifices (approx. 5 x 10 m), yet has always seemed to me to
be a small space in which to conduct large-scale sacrifices.
The space as experienced today must be re-imagined in several ways that have
bearing on a visitor’s experience of its size. To begin with, the area of the terrace top has
never been completely cleared down to even the Byzantine level; areas at the western and
southern peripheries have not been investigated archaeologically. However, it is possible
to extrapolate from the measurements of the cryptoporticus that supports the terrace the
total measurements of the ancient space. A modern viewer standing atop the terrace must
first imagine that a slightly larger flat expanse would have been available for ritual
activity in antiquity than what is experienced today.
In addition, a visitor must mentally factor in the now-absent temple building and
exterior altar (see Fig. 29). I had always assumed that those structures would have made
the space of the temple terrace seem even more cramped. However, given my experience
of the Bayram site both during and after the rituals performed there, I must consider the
possibility that the ritual buildings and activities may actually have increased the
impression of the size of the space, and therefore perhaps its grandeur.
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 216 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 198 Though, as previously noted, the identity of the cult practiced there is now in question, we may assume that its rites involved sacrifices of large animals, based on the iconography of a sacrificial bull or ox on one of the relief panels of the altar recovered in situ in 1931 (Fig. 27). The top of the artificial terrace, absent all ancient buildings, measures 85.6 x 64.6 m (about 280 x 212 ft.) (Fig. 28). It is therefore considerably larger than the site of the Bayram sacrifices (approx. 5 x 10 m), yet has always seemed to me to be a small space in which to conduct large-scale sacrifices. The space as experienced today must be re-imagined in several ways that have bearing on a visitor’s experience of its size. To begin with, the area of the terrace top has never been completely cleared down to even the Byzantine level; areas at the western and southern peripheries have not been investigated archaeologically. However, it is possible to extrapolate from the measurements of the cryptoporticus that supports the terrace the total measurements of the ancient space. A modern viewer standing atop the terrace must first imagine that a slightly larger flat expanse would have been available for ritual activity in antiquity than what is experienced today. In addition, a visitor must mentally factor in the now-absent temple building and exterior altar (see Fig. 29). I had always assumed that those structures would have made the space of the temple terrace seem even more cramped. However, given my experience of the Bayram site both during and after the rituals performed there, I must consider the possibility that the ritual buildings and activities may actually have increased the impression of the size of the space, and therefore perhaps its grandeur. |
