MORE THAN A HULL: RELIGIOUS RITUAL AND SACRED SPACE ON BOARD THE ANCIENT SHIP A Thesis by CARRIE ELIZABETH ATKINS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2009 Major Subject: Anthropology MORE THAN A HULL: RELIGIOUS RITUAL AND SACRED SPACE ON BOARD THE ANCIENT SHIP A Thesis by CARRIE ELIZABETH ATKINS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved by: Chair of Committee, Deborah Carlson Committee Members, Nancy Klein Cemal Pulak Head of Department, Donny L. Hamilton December 2009 Major Subject: Anthropology iii ABSTRACT More Than a Hull: Religious Ritual and Sacred Space on board the Ancient Ship. (December 2009) Carrie Elizabeth Atkins, B.A., Bowdoin College Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Deborah Carlson Greco-Roman religion in the ancient Mediterranean permeated aspects of everyday life, including seafaring. Besides cargo, ships transported mariners’ religious beliefs from port to port, thus disseminating religious culture. Shipboard ritual, however, remains largely inferred from Latin and Greek texts, iconography, and isolated archaeological finds. Several accounts record that tutelary statues were carried on board to deliver a ship from peril. These accounts are supported by iconographic representations of deities on the hull and a relief scene which shows the use of altars and incense in shipboard ritual. Moreover, ritual objects, including altars, small statuary, incense burners, and lustral basins, have been found among shipwrecks, but prior archaeological research has been particularistic, singling out ritual objects in shipwrecks. Their presence, however, does not necessitate shipboard ritual since these items may have been cargo. To distinguish between personal items and cargo on board ancient shipwrecks, I analyze such objects both objectively and subjectively: first focusing on an object to discern a potential purpose and then again within a spatial context to define its actual purpose. iv Additionally, I develop religious and social space theories for shipboard analysis, identifying ritual at the bow and stern and concluding that the stern in particular served as an axis mundi, a central location for divine communication. Furthermore, because of this comprehensive approach, large ritual objects such as altars and lustral basins often can be identified primarily as cargo. Ultimately, applying social space theory to shipwrecks can redefine our interpretation of religious activity on board the ship, an intermediary in the dissemination of culture. v To my parents and my husband vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Carlson, for her patience, her insightful suggestions, and her relentless editing of my drafts. Thank you for all of your help and guidance. Thanks also to my committee members, Dr. Klein, and Dr. Pulak, for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research. My family also has ceaselessly encouraged and supported me over the years in all of my pursuits. For this I am eternally grateful. Finally, thank you to my husband for his patience, love, and encouragement. Without you, this thesis would not have been written. Thanks. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................. x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1 Social and Ritual Space ............................................................... 4 Greco-Roman Religion ................................................................ 7 Defining and Identifying Religious Objects ................................. 12 Methodology ............................................................................... 18 II IDENTIFYING GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGION........................ 21 Background ................................................................................. 22 Temples and Sacrifice.................................................................. 24 Domestic, Daily, and Familial Religion ....................................... 28 Purification.................................................................................. 31 Votives, Vows, and Prayers ......................................................... 41 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................ 45 III RELIGIOUS OBJECTS IN SHIPWRECKS...................................... 46 The Artifacts................................................................................ 46 Spatial Analysis........................................................................... 74 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................ 82 viii CHAPTER Page IV SACRED SPACE IN LITERATURE AND ICONOGRAPHY.......... 83 The Ship as a Sacred Landscape .................................................. 85 Shipboard Rituals ........................................................................ 99 Spatial Analysis of Rituals........................................................... 107 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................ 108 V CONCLUSION: SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE ANCIENT SHIP... 109 Religious Objects and Ritual........................................................ 110 Religious Space ........................................................................... 116 Spatial Theory Applied to the Ship .............................................. 117 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................ 124 WORKS CITED.................................................................................................... 125 APPENDIX I: INDEX OF SHIPWRECKS............................................................ 140 VITA..................................................................................................................... 158 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Louteria or perirrhanteria .............................................................. 51 Figure 2 Louteria or perirrhanteria, additional figures ................................. 52 Figure 3 Libation materials........................................................................... 54 Figure 4 Altars.............................................................................................. 56 Figure 5 Thymiateria and tripods.................................................................. 59 Figure 6 Candelabra..................................................................................... 60 Figure 7 Male figurines ................................................................................ 63 Figure 8 Male statuettes................................................................................ 65 Figure 9 Female figurines............................................................................. 67 Figure 10 Models and animal figurines........................................................... 69 Figure 11 Figurine fragments.......................................................................... 69 Figure 12 Hull addenda .................................................................................. 72 Figure 13 Torlonia relief................................................................................. 103 Figure 14 Severan coin................................................................................... 103 x LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Louteria and perirrhanteria attributes............................................. 48 Table 2 Artifact locations ............................................................................ 80 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION For ancient Greeks and Romans, religion permeated numerous aspects of everyday life, including seafaring. The ship was woven into the fabric of religion, not only for the people who made their livelihood with it but also in general religious observances. When a ship sailed around the Mediterranean, it transported beliefs and customs in addition to cargo from port to port. The sailors’ religions, traditions, and superstitions were unloaded alongside the physical cargo, thus providing an impetus for the dissemination of religion and culture. Thus, the ship itself served as an intermediary vehicle for the spread of religion. Evidence for religious practices in a port can be seen in a variety of sources, from the layout of a city to the architecture of its public temples to the mosaics and frescoes found in houses. Examples of this religious activity can best be seen in several port cities such as Ostia and Piraeus. Founded before the third century B.C.E., the city of Ostia with its first-century AD harbor Portus was the major port city of Rome, ushering vital food and supplies into the expanding city.1 Improvements at the end of the first century C.E. reflected