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303
from tangible objects,” point more to the sound’s emotional effect on the hearer
than to any acoustic properties of the same.440
I disagree with her final assertion that the terms as employed by Aristotle refer to
the emotional effects of sounds rather than to acoustic properties. Though it is true that
Aristotle does state, speaking of oxys and barys, that “there seems to be an analogy to the
sharp and blunt in the sphere of touch,”441 he does not then explain the identified
metaphors in terms of emotional impact. Barys is not used metaphorically for a word or
tone with weighty emotional impact (rather than for an object with a heavy physical
presence) but, rather, for a sound that is moving at a slower speed: “The sharp sensation
[oxys] excites to a great extent in a short time, the heavy [barys] to a slight extent in a
long time.”442 Aristotle’s metaphorical use of the two terms does not diminish their
references to the corporeality of sounds. Much to the contrary, when viewed in light of
the totality of Aristotle’s philosophy of the transmission of sounds as physical air forms
that strike the auditory organ, it becomes clear that he utilizes the concepts oxys and
barys firmly in a tangible sense, employing tactile terms to describe the physical acoustic
properties of sounds.443 Aristotle and later thinkers consistently express the idea that the
440 Rocconi 2002, 390.
441 De an. 420 b 1 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). καὶ ἔοικεν ἀνάλογον ἔχειν τῷ περὶ τὴν ἁφὴν ὀξεῖ καὶ
ἀμβλεῖ.
442 De an. 420 a 30 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὀξὺ κινεῖ τὴν αἴσθησιν ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ ἐπὶ
πολύ, τὸ δὲ βαρὺ ἐν πολλῷ ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγον.
443 The terms Aristotle employs to describe the physical presence of sounds were to retain currency
throughout antiquity. Ptolemy, explaining the qualities of high- and low-pitched sounds, identifies two
attributes of the agent of a sound that produce a pitch: “…denser and thinner produce higher sounds,
sparser and thicker produce lower sounds…Because of this bronze makes a higher sound than wood, and a
gut string makes a higher sound than a linen one, for they are more dense” Harm. 7.24-29 (transl. Solomon
2000, 12). A text of this work in its original language was unavailable to me at the time of writing).
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 321 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 303 from tangible objects,” point more to the sound’s emotional effect on the hearer than to any acoustic properties of the same.440 I disagree with her final assertion that the terms as employed by Aristotle refer to the emotional effects of sounds rather than to acoustic properties. Though it is true that Aristotle does state, speaking of oxys and barys, that “there seems to be an analogy to the sharp and blunt in the sphere of touch,”441 he does not then explain the identified metaphors in terms of emotional impact. Barys is not used metaphorically for a word or tone with weighty emotional impact (rather than for an object with a heavy physical presence) but, rather, for a sound that is moving at a slower speed: “The sharp sensation [oxys] excites to a great extent in a short time, the heavy [barys] to a slight extent in a long time.”442 Aristotle’s metaphorical use of the two terms does not diminish their references to the corporeality of sounds. Much to the contrary, when viewed in light of the totality of Aristotle’s philosophy of the transmission of sounds as physical air forms that strike the auditory organ, it becomes clear that he utilizes the concepts oxys and barys firmly in a tangible sense, employing tactile terms to describe the physical acoustic properties of sounds.443 Aristotle and later thinkers consistently express the idea that the 440 Rocconi 2002, 390. 441 De an. 420 b 1 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). καὶ ἔοικεν ἀνάλογον ἔχειν τῷ περὶ τὴν ἁφὴν ὀξεῖ καὶ ἀμβλεῖ. 442 De an. 420 a 30 (transl. Hett 1995, LCL). τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὀξὺ κινεῖ τὴν αἴσθησιν ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ ἐπὶ πολύ, τὸ δὲ βαρὺ ἐν πολλῷ ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγον. 443 The terms Aristotle employs to describe the physical presence of sounds were to retain currency throughout antiquity. Ptolemy, explaining the qualities of high- and low-pitched sounds, identifies two attributes of the agent of a sound that produce a pitch: “…denser and thinner produce higher sounds, sparser and thicker produce lower sounds…Because of this bronze makes a higher sound than wood, and a gut string makes a higher sound than a linen one, for they are more dense” Harm. 7.24-29 (transl. Solomon 2000, 12). A text of this work in its original language was unavailable to me at the time of writing). |
