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217
precisely the traits of a stunned animal as described by Grandin: a limp, hanging neck and
un-arched back. In addition, in each case an attendant holds the legs of the animal. Since
these are dead animals, I would suggest that this is being done to control the post-mortem
kicking impulse I observed at the Bayram sacrifices. However, if the art did depict
stunned rather than dead animals, it would still be advisable for someone to hold the legs,
which, as Grandin notes, could be quite active.
The similarities between Grandin’s description of stunned animals and the images
shown here imply that if the sacrificial victim were properly stunned, there would be no
marked difference between its behavior and reactions and those of a dead animal, and
perhaps no significant difference between images of the treatment of a stunned versus a
dead animal. Although I have not made a comprehensive study of images of sacrificial
imagery in Greek and Roman art, it would be interesting to revisit the evidence and
search for comparable examples of scenes in Greek vase painting that take place at or
near an altar, and in which the inertness of an animal has led to an interpretation of the
scene as post-mortem when it may in fact represent an actual moment of sacrifice
involving a stunned animal.
Whatever the state of the animal at the moment of sacrifice, when the sacrificant
made the fatal cut, the sight of the bright, gushing blood - steaming if the sacrifices were
performed early in the morning or on days in the cold seasons of the year - would have
been an arresting element of the experience for those in attendance. As I noted in my
description of the modern sacrifices, though, we should not limit our sensory analysis of
the bloodletting to the visual realm, but should consider also both the scent and the sound
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 235 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 217 precisely the traits of a stunned animal as described by Grandin: a limp, hanging neck and un-arched back. In addition, in each case an attendant holds the legs of the animal. Since these are dead animals, I would suggest that this is being done to control the post-mortem kicking impulse I observed at the Bayram sacrifices. However, if the art did depict stunned rather than dead animals, it would still be advisable for someone to hold the legs, which, as Grandin notes, could be quite active. The similarities between Grandin’s description of stunned animals and the images shown here imply that if the sacrificial victim were properly stunned, there would be no marked difference between its behavior and reactions and those of a dead animal, and perhaps no significant difference between images of the treatment of a stunned versus a dead animal. Although I have not made a comprehensive study of images of sacrificial imagery in Greek and Roman art, it would be interesting to revisit the evidence and search for comparable examples of scenes in Greek vase painting that take place at or near an altar, and in which the inertness of an animal has led to an interpretation of the scene as post-mortem when it may in fact represent an actual moment of sacrifice involving a stunned animal. Whatever the state of the animal at the moment of sacrifice, when the sacrificant made the fatal cut, the sight of the bright, gushing blood - steaming if the sacrifices were performed early in the morning or on days in the cold seasons of the year - would have been an arresting element of the experience for those in attendance. As I noted in my description of the modern sacrifices, though, we should not limit our sensory analysis of the bloodletting to the visual realm, but should consider also both the scent and the sound |
