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225
a purpose beyond the purely aesthetic or hygienic. In several cases, they appear to have
been put in place in order to prevent the fertilization of sanctuary grounds for cultivation,
since growing and harvesting crops was prohibited in many sacred areas. This
interpretation is strengthened by the fact that other inscriptions have survived that dictate
allowing kopros to be spread in order to facilitate the cultivation of sacred precincts. In
fact, a regulation from Delphi specifically prohibits the removal of kopros from the
precinct, possibly because it was either to be used for fertilizer on-site, or could be sold to
raise revenue.365 Though the practice of fertilizing temple grounds with the waste
produced by sacrificial animals was probably most common at sanctuaries located
outside of cities, especially those with large holdings of arable land or sacred groves,
such directives serve as cautionary evidence against assuming that all manure was
removed from temple areas after the conclusion of sacrifice.366
The Broader Sensory Impact of Sacrificial Spaces
Attending a modern sacrificial ceremony has allowed me to think more broadly about the
range of elements that would have impacted the sensory experience of cult spaces, with
special attention to the types of elements that are invisible in the evidence of ancient art
and literature. This in turn has led not only to a more comprehensive understanding of
the various steps involved in the sacrificial process, and of the potential logistical details
365 LSCG 78 line 21. See Dillon 1997, 126.
366 The presence of significant amounts of manure deposited for even a relatively short period of time
leaves a recognizable chemical signature in soil. It is regrettable that all known imperial cult sanctuaries
were first excavated prior to the most recent archaeological advances in soil collection and chemical
analysis that might have yielded evidence of the treatment of this type of sacrificial detritus.
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 243 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 225 a purpose beyond the purely aesthetic or hygienic. In several cases, they appear to have been put in place in order to prevent the fertilization of sanctuary grounds for cultivation, since growing and harvesting crops was prohibited in many sacred areas. This interpretation is strengthened by the fact that other inscriptions have survived that dictate allowing kopros to be spread in order to facilitate the cultivation of sacred precincts. In fact, a regulation from Delphi specifically prohibits the removal of kopros from the precinct, possibly because it was either to be used for fertilizer on-site, or could be sold to raise revenue.365 Though the practice of fertilizing temple grounds with the waste produced by sacrificial animals was probably most common at sanctuaries located outside of cities, especially those with large holdings of arable land or sacred groves, such directives serve as cautionary evidence against assuming that all manure was removed from temple areas after the conclusion of sacrifice.366 The Broader Sensory Impact of Sacrificial Spaces Attending a modern sacrificial ceremony has allowed me to think more broadly about the range of elements that would have impacted the sensory experience of cult spaces, with special attention to the types of elements that are invisible in the evidence of ancient art and literature. This in turn has led not only to a more comprehensive understanding of the various steps involved in the sacrificial process, and of the potential logistical details 365 LSCG 78 line 21. See Dillon 1997, 126. 366 The presence of significant amounts of manure deposited for even a relatively short period of time leaves a recognizable chemical signature in soil. It is regrettable that all known imperial cult sanctuaries were first excavated prior to the most recent archaeological advances in soil collection and chemical analysis that might have yielded evidence of the treatment of this type of sacrificial detritus. |
