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316
nerves, Galen could analyze the effects on movement, sound production and taste
perception in the animals. In the former cases, when the affected nerves were released,
function returned.473 In this manner, Galen was able to correctly identify each of the
nerves leading from the mouth and tongue to the brain, which provided him with further
evidence that the brain, rather than the heart or liver, was the seat of sense perception.474
Unfortunately, none of the surviving works of Galen include a coherent
explanation of his concept of how the sense of taste worked. We may only note some
aspects that he mentioned in various works. Based on his observation that a nerve ran to
the brain from either side of the tongue, he considered the tongue to be two organs of
sense that had grown together. This understanding fit his general theory that the sense
organs operated in pairs.475
In addition to his observation of the nerves that controlled the tongue, Galen also
identified the presence and function of the salivary glands. He considered saliva to be
necessary for the sense of taste to operate, and in this he was clearly influenced by the
theories of Aristotle. Galen conceived of the tongue as sponge-like in nature, and
assumed it to require moisture to function correctly.476 He was not far from the modern
understanding of how our sense of taste works. As Rudolph E. Siegel has noted, “Except
473 See De us. part. 9.13 and Siegel 1970, 159.
474 As for the medical applications of his experimentation, Galen notes two cases in which, after he
instructed doctors on the presence of the nerve that controlled the voice (he referred to it as the “phonetic
nerve”), the doctors were subsequently able to perform goiter removal surgeries using only their fingernails
rather than a knife, thus sparing the voices of the patients. Siegel 1970, 164-65.
475 De us. part. 9.8. See Siegel 1970, 166.
476 Siegel 1970, 168.
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 334 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 316 nerves, Galen could analyze the effects on movement, sound production and taste perception in the animals. In the former cases, when the affected nerves were released, function returned.473 In this manner, Galen was able to correctly identify each of the nerves leading from the mouth and tongue to the brain, which provided him with further evidence that the brain, rather than the heart or liver, was the seat of sense perception.474 Unfortunately, none of the surviving works of Galen include a coherent explanation of his concept of how the sense of taste worked. We may only note some aspects that he mentioned in various works. Based on his observation that a nerve ran to the brain from either side of the tongue, he considered the tongue to be two organs of sense that had grown together. This understanding fit his general theory that the sense organs operated in pairs.475 In addition to his observation of the nerves that controlled the tongue, Galen also identified the presence and function of the salivary glands. He considered saliva to be necessary for the sense of taste to operate, and in this he was clearly influenced by the theories of Aristotle. Galen conceived of the tongue as sponge-like in nature, and assumed it to require moisture to function correctly.476 He was not far from the modern understanding of how our sense of taste works. As Rudolph E. Siegel has noted, “Except 473 See De us. part. 9.13 and Siegel 1970, 159. 474 As for the medical applications of his experimentation, Galen notes two cases in which, after he instructed doctors on the presence of the nerve that controlled the voice (he referred to it as the “phonetic nerve”), the doctors were subsequently able to perform goiter removal surgeries using only their fingernails rather than a knife, thus sparing the voices of the patients. Siegel 1970, 164-65. 475 De us. part. 9.8. See Siegel 1970, 166. 476 Siegel 1970, 168. |
