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Approved by Supervisi G Committee Copyright by Jane Katherine Arney 2011 The Thesis Committee for Jane Katherine Arney Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Expecting Epiphany: Performative Ritual and Roman Cultural Space APPROVED BY SUPERVISIG COMMITTEE: Supervisor: John R. Clarke Penelope J. E. Davies Expecting Epiphany: Performative Ritual and Roman Cultural Space by Jane Katherine Arney, B.A. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2011 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to Professor Kimberly Davis at Miracosta College, who helped me believe that I could do it. Acknowledgements The idea for this project began in Professor John Clarke’s “Seeing Gods” graduate seminar, in which we explored various aspects of epiphany. Dr. Clarke pointed out that there was fertile ground for this topic in Pompeii and guided me to the Twelve Gods mural. He has also pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to explore areas of theory. I am most grateful for his generosity and his encouragement. I would also like to thank Professor Penelope Davies, whose interest, prodding and comments helped me to better understand and, I hope, improve my writing style. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with these exemplary scholars whose works are of substantial importance to the field of Roman art history. May 6, 2011 v Abstract Expecting Epiphany: Performative Ritual and Roman Cultural Space Jane Katherine Arney, M.A The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: John R. Clarke When ancient people entered a temple or other sacred space, how did the art and architecture of the site work upon their senses as mediators of divine presence? This thesis demonstrates that the ancient perception of the deity’s actual presence in visual images created a tension that was intensified by the spatial environment and the theatricality of ritual performance. Visual representations acted in concert with cultic ritual to manipulate the visitor through a revelatory experience and create the phenomenon of epiphany. Epiphany, from the Greek word epiphaneia, is the visible manifestation of the deity. Epiphany in the ancient world could manifest as miracles, signs and natural phenomena; however, my thesis will focus primarily on visual epiphany of deity. My aim is to describe how the elements of the built environment and performative ritual combined to create not only the expectation but the actualization of an vi epiphanic experience for the beholder. The phenomenon of visual epiphany has been largely overlooked until relatively recently. Scholarly examination of temples and other ritual spaces has focused more on archaeological description, formal analysis, mythic narrative, and social and political structures. There has been very little exploration of the actual ritual and neuro-phenomenological experience of religious participants as it relates to the visual environment. With this work my aim is to contribute to the scholarly knowledge of the ancient viewer’s experience of epiphany as it was shaped by sacred space and mediated by religious ritual in the ancient world. vii Table of Contents List of Figures ......................................................................................................... x CHAPTER OE : A THEORY OF EPIPHAY .............................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Previous Scholarship on Epiphany .......................................................................... 2 Epiphany and Ritual ................................................................................................ 3 Prolegomena to a Theory of Visual Epiphany ........................................................ 6 Art as Agent ................................................................................................... 7 Performativity............................................................................................... 12 Neuroscience ................................................................................................ 16 Towards a Theory of Visual Epiphany ................................................................. 20 CHAPTER TWO : THE MURAL OF THE TWELVE GODS .......................................... 22 The Twelve Gods ......................................................................................... 24 The Genius and Lares ................................................................................... 31 The Vicomagistri and Agathos Daimon ....................................................... 33 The Compitalia Ritual ........................................................................................... 35 Expecting Epiphany .............................................................................................. 40 CHAPTER THREE : THE TEMPLE OF ISIS .............................................................. 44 The Cult of Isis ...................................................................................................... 45 The Sanctuary ........................................................................................................ 48 Entering the Enclosure ................................................................................. 50 The Temple .................................................................................................. 52 The Nilometer .............................................................................................. 55 The Portico ................................................................................................... 57 The Ekklesiasterion ...................................................................................... 61 The Sacrarium .............................................................................................. 67 viii Epiphany of Isis ..................................................................................................... 71 COCLUSIOS ....................................................................................................... 76 APPEDIX .............................................................................................................. 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 98 VITA .................................................................................................................... 109 ix List of Figures Figure 1-Gell’s Art Nexus. After Gell, 29. ........................................................... 77 Figure 2-After New York Times, 1911 ................................................................. 78 Figure 3-Photo of Via dell’ Abbondanza during excavations. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990, Vol. IX, 162. ............................................................ 78 Figure 4-Shrine of the Twelve Gods, Photograph from 1911. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990, Vol. IX, p.163. ......................................................... 79 Figure 5-Shrine of the Twelve Gods. Artist’s watercolor in 1911. After Spinazzola. Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza (anni 1910- 1923) , 1953....................................................................................... 79 Figure 6-Modern View of IX.11.1. After Pompeii in Pictures ............................. 80 http://pompeiiinpictures.com ................................................................................ 80 Figure 7-Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva, Hercules, Venus. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990, Vol. IX, p.164. ......................................................... 80 Figure 8-Algiers Relief. After Kuttner, 1995, Figure 6. ....................................... 80 Figure 9- Ara Pietatas Augustus. After Zanker, 1990, Figure 86. ........................ 80 Figure 10-Boscoreale Cup. After Kuttner, 1995, Figure 2. ................................... 81 Figure 11-Mercury, Proserpine, Vulcan, Ceres, Apollo, Diana. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990, Vol. IX, p.164. ...................................................... 81 Figure 12-Twelve Gods mural from the House of the Graces, Pompeii. After Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae: (LIMC), “Dei Consentes”. 81 Figure 13-Elevation of IX.11. After Spinnazola, Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza (anni 1910-1923), 1953. ................................ 81 x Figure 14-Plan of I.7.1. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990, Vol. I. ............... 82 Figure 15-Plan of IX.11. After Pompei: Pitture e mosaici, 1990. ........................ 82 Figure 16-Thermopolium of Asellina. After DASE.............................................. 82 Figure 17-Moregene fresco. After McManus, VRoma.org ................................... 82 Figure 18-Altar of the Vicomagistri. After DASE ................................................ 82 Figure 19-Map of Pompeii. Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. 2nd ed. Thames and Hudson, New York, 1996. After Digital Archive Services-DASE. ............................................ 83 Figure 20-Plan of the Temple of Isis, Pompeii. After Alla ricerca di Iside. ......... 84 Figure 21-Sistra and cymbals used in ceremonies at Temple of Isis. National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/Art
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