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210
prevented them from presenting a potential tripping hazard when animals were being
moved through the area. In any case, the excavation data from Magnesia on the Meander
provide important evidence for the placement of such rings within a sanctuary, but
suggest little about the method of their employment.
The sacrificial bull or ox depicted on the previously-discussed altar of the
“Temple of Domitian” at Ephesos, discovered in situ in 1931, is tied to such a ring
located at the base of an altar, which would seem to indicate its use simply as a tethering
point (Fig. 27); such a ring located directly adjacent to a circular altar was discovered in
the so-called “sanctuary of Theogenes” in the Agora at Thasos (Fig. 31).342 However,
evidence from visual sources that are less schematic in nature than the altar in figure 27
suggests that the rings may have been important tools in the active moments of sacrifice,
and thus that their use would have resulted in a visual experience of the act of slaughter
somewhat different from that presented in much of the art. A seldom-discussed second
century C.E. sacrificial relief from the Roman theater at Perge, near the southern coast of
Turkey, provides an excellent example.343
Only one metal ring is present on the Perge frieze, but its use is clearly
demonstrated (Fig. 32). A long rope attached to the halter of a bull is passed through the
ring in the ground in front of the animal and a victimarius pulls up on it, forcing the
342 On which, see G. Daux 1968, 31-4; figs. 6, 10.
343 The second-century date given for the relief is based on the information provided on the Antalya
Museum label.
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 228 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 210 prevented them from presenting a potential tripping hazard when animals were being moved through the area. In any case, the excavation data from Magnesia on the Meander provide important evidence for the placement of such rings within a sanctuary, but suggest little about the method of their employment. The sacrificial bull or ox depicted on the previously-discussed altar of the “Temple of Domitian” at Ephesos, discovered in situ in 1931, is tied to such a ring located at the base of an altar, which would seem to indicate its use simply as a tethering point (Fig. 27); such a ring located directly adjacent to a circular altar was discovered in the so-called “sanctuary of Theogenes” in the Agora at Thasos (Fig. 31).342 However, evidence from visual sources that are less schematic in nature than the altar in figure 27 suggests that the rings may have been important tools in the active moments of sacrifice, and thus that their use would have resulted in a visual experience of the act of slaughter somewhat different from that presented in much of the art. A seldom-discussed second century C.E. sacrificial relief from the Roman theater at Perge, near the southern coast of Turkey, provides an excellent example.343 Only one metal ring is present on the Perge frieze, but its use is clearly demonstrated (Fig. 32). A long rope attached to the halter of a bull is passed through the ring in the ground in front of the animal and a victimarius pulls up on it, forcing the 342 On which, see G. Daux 1968, 31-4; figs. 6, 10. 343 The second-century date given for the relief is based on the information provided on the Antalya Museum label. |
