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298
flow of air; he conceived of sound as a stream (rheuma) of particles. Nevertheless, he
realized that the particles of air that made up a sound had to have a pattern of some sort
that was different from the normal random movement of atoms. He tried to rationalize a
sound such as a voice molding the air and concluded that a certain interconnection
(συμπάθειαν) of the particles of the air had to be preserved.425 Despite the notable
differences between the theories of Aristotle and Epicurus, both were approaching a
theory that approximates the modern understanding of sound waves. It is Zeno (335-263
B.C.E.), founder of the philosophical school of Stoicism, who comes very close to the
truth of the matter, writing, “We hear when the air between the sonant body and the organ
of hearing suffers a concussion, a vibration, which spreads spherically and then forms
waves and strikes up on the ears, just as water in a reservoir forms circles when a stone is
thrown into it.”426
As was the case with the study of vision, the study of hearing was greatly
advanced by the physician Galen in the second century C.E. Galen dissected the ears of
oxen in order to observe the interior structures that he noted were too small to see in
humans (he was working without the benefit of magnifying lenses). Because the ears of
oxen are very similar in structure and function to the ears of humans, Galen was able to
correctly surmise much about the workings of the human ear. His two greatest errors
425 Diog. Laert. 10.52.
426 Diog. Laert. 7.158 (transl. Hicks 1995, LCL). Ἀκούειν δὲ τοῦ μεταξὺ τοῦ τε φωνοῦντος καὶ τοῦ
ἀκούοντος ἀέρος πληττομένου σφαιροειδῶς, εἶτα κυματουμένου καὶ ταῖς ἀκοαῖς προσπίπτοντος, ὡς
κυματοῦται τὸ ἐν τῇ δεξαμενῇ ὕδωρ κατὰ κύκλους ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐμβληθέντος λίθου.
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 316 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 298 flow of air; he conceived of sound as a stream (rheuma) of particles. Nevertheless, he realized that the particles of air that made up a sound had to have a pattern of some sort that was different from the normal random movement of atoms. He tried to rationalize a sound such as a voice molding the air and concluded that a certain interconnection (συμπάθειαν) of the particles of the air had to be preserved.425 Despite the notable differences between the theories of Aristotle and Epicurus, both were approaching a theory that approximates the modern understanding of sound waves. It is Zeno (335-263 B.C.E.), founder of the philosophical school of Stoicism, who comes very close to the truth of the matter, writing, “We hear when the air between the sonant body and the organ of hearing suffers a concussion, a vibration, which spreads spherically and then forms waves and strikes up on the ears, just as water in a reservoir forms circles when a stone is thrown into it.”426 As was the case with the study of vision, the study of hearing was greatly advanced by the physician Galen in the second century C.E. Galen dissected the ears of oxen in order to observe the interior structures that he noted were too small to see in humans (he was working without the benefit of magnifying lenses). Because the ears of oxen are very similar in structure and function to the ears of humans, Galen was able to correctly surmise much about the workings of the human ear. His two greatest errors 425 Diog. Laert. 10.52. 426 Diog. Laert. 7.158 (transl. Hicks 1995, LCL). Ἀκούειν δὲ τοῦ μεταξὺ τοῦ τε φωνοῦντος καὶ τοῦ ἀκούοντος ἀέρος πληττομένου σφαιροειδῶς, εἶτα κυματουμένου καὶ ταῖς ἀκοαῖς προσπίπτοντος, ὡς κυματοῦται τὸ ἐν τῇ δεξαμενῇ ὕδωρ κατὰ κύκλους ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐμβληθέντος λίθου. |
