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205
(making reference to her own earlier work), “High-pitched sounds from hydraulic
systems are very disturbing to cattle...[In Grandin (1980), I] discussed the use of music to
help mask disturbing noises. The cattle became accustomed to the music in the holding
pens and it provided a familiar sound when the animals approach [sic] noisy
equipment.”332 Though there was nothing in the ancient environment to compare with
the screech of modern machinery, any loud and sudden noise during the course of a
sacrificial ceremony could have startled an animal, with adverse ritual consequences. It
is likely that ancient animal handlers were aware of the effect of music on their stock, and
therefore modern scientific data lend credence to the suggestion that music at the
sacrificial ceremonies may have served at least in part to soothe the animals.333
Another environmental element with the potential to frighten or panic animals,
perhaps causing them to vocalize, would have been the presence of slick surfaces.
Grandin notes that slippery floors increase agitation in cattle and are a source of
additional animal stress in almost 20% of beef plants she studied.334 Archaeological
evidence at the “Temple of Domitian,” which is comparable to similar sanctuaries where
sacrifices of bovines were also carried out, indicates that at least the area of the plaza
332 Grandin 2000, 415.
333 It is also interesting to consider whether the Greeks and Romans may have played music for the animals
prior to the ceremonies, or if one is uncomfortable with such a suggestion, for which I know of no
supporting evidence, whether the inclusion of music in the pre-sacrificial processions would have been
sufficient to acclimate the animals to those types of sounds successfully enough to prevent extreme
reactions to sudden noises closer to the time of slaughter. A further consideration raised by Grandin’s work
in this area is whether high-pitched flute music, specifically, might have had a disturbing effect on the
animals. As stated in a previous chapter, I am reluctant to make far-reaching suggestions concerning the
content of ancient music, but if high-pitched sounds were capable of agitating sacrificial animals, it seems
reasonable to speculate that they might have been avoided.
334 Grandin 2000, 420.
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 223 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 205 (making reference to her own earlier work), “High-pitched sounds from hydraulic systems are very disturbing to cattle...[In Grandin (1980), I] discussed the use of music to help mask disturbing noises. The cattle became accustomed to the music in the holding pens and it provided a familiar sound when the animals approach [sic] noisy equipment.”332 Though there was nothing in the ancient environment to compare with the screech of modern machinery, any loud and sudden noise during the course of a sacrificial ceremony could have startled an animal, with adverse ritual consequences. It is likely that ancient animal handlers were aware of the effect of music on their stock, and therefore modern scientific data lend credence to the suggestion that music at the sacrificial ceremonies may have served at least in part to soothe the animals.333 Another environmental element with the potential to frighten or panic animals, perhaps causing them to vocalize, would have been the presence of slick surfaces. Grandin notes that slippery floors increase agitation in cattle and are a source of additional animal stress in almost 20% of beef plants she studied.334 Archaeological evidence at the “Temple of Domitian,” which is comparable to similar sanctuaries where sacrifices of bovines were also carried out, indicates that at least the area of the plaza 332 Grandin 2000, 415. 333 It is also interesting to consider whether the Greeks and Romans may have played music for the animals prior to the ceremonies, or if one is uncomfortable with such a suggestion, for which I know of no supporting evidence, whether the inclusion of music in the pre-sacrificial processions would have been sufficient to acclimate the animals to those types of sounds successfully enough to prevent extreme reactions to sudden noises closer to the time of slaughter. A further consideration raised by Grandin’s work in this area is whether high-pitched flute music, specifically, might have had a disturbing effect on the animals. As stated in a previous chapter, I am reluctant to make far-reaching suggestions concerning the content of ancient music, but if high-pitched sounds were capable of agitating sacrificial animals, it seems reasonable to speculate that they might have been avoided. 334 Grandin 2000, 420. |
