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315
source to the tongue by means of moistening or liquefaction. Galen, however, believed
that taste was transferred directly via particles given off by the tasted object.470
As was the case with the four senses already discussed, Galen greatly advanced
understanding of the process of taste by building on the work of past thinkers such as
Hippocrates and, most importantly, by observing the functions of the tongue and throat
during dissection. Galen was extremely interested in the processes in this portion of the
body - not only taste but swallowing and voice production as well. As we know from his
treatise On Anatomical Procedures, which has survived only in a later Arabic translation,
he dissected several types of organisms in an effort to understand the workings of the
throat region.471 Galen laid open the throats of horses, oxen, pigs, goats and, interested to
see if elongated necks contained the same groupings of nerves, cranes and ostriches. In
fact, we know that in the case of the throat and neck, he dissected apes and even
humans.472
Although we may assume that the human subjects he worked on were corpses, in
the cases of the other animals, Galen often carried out his dissections of the mouth,
tongue and throat while the subject was alive. This slightly macabre practice allowed the
physician to correctly ascertain the role of the various nerves that controlled the
movement of the tongue, throat and larynx, and to determine where the individual nerves
arrived at the brain. By depressing and releasing (or completely severing) specific
470 Siegel 1970, 158. Particles of taste (moria) were believed by Galen to be of a coarser nature than those
that caused scent perception.
471 An English translation was prepared by W.L.H. Duckworth and M. C. Lyons in 1962. See also Siegel
(1970, 161-62) for a discussion of Galen’s practice of dissection of the neck and related structures.
472 Anat. admin. 11.4.107.
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 333 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 315 source to the tongue by means of moistening or liquefaction. Galen, however, believed that taste was transferred directly via particles given off by the tasted object.470 As was the case with the four senses already discussed, Galen greatly advanced understanding of the process of taste by building on the work of past thinkers such as Hippocrates and, most importantly, by observing the functions of the tongue and throat during dissection. Galen was extremely interested in the processes in this portion of the body - not only taste but swallowing and voice production as well. As we know from his treatise On Anatomical Procedures, which has survived only in a later Arabic translation, he dissected several types of organisms in an effort to understand the workings of the throat region.471 Galen laid open the throats of horses, oxen, pigs, goats and, interested to see if elongated necks contained the same groupings of nerves, cranes and ostriches. In fact, we know that in the case of the throat and neck, he dissected apes and even humans.472 Although we may assume that the human subjects he worked on were corpses, in the cases of the other animals, Galen often carried out his dissections of the mouth, tongue and throat while the subject was alive. This slightly macabre practice allowed the physician to correctly ascertain the role of the various nerves that controlled the movement of the tongue, throat and larynx, and to determine where the individual nerves arrived at the brain. By depressing and releasing (or completely severing) specific 470 Siegel 1970, 158. Particles of taste (moria) were believed by Galen to be of a coarser nature than those that caused scent perception. 471 An English translation was prepared by W.L.H. Duckworth and M. C. Lyons in 1962. See also Siegel (1970, 161-62) for a discussion of Galen’s practice of dissection of the neck and related structures. 472 Anat. admin. 11.4.107. |
