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Ritual Spaces and Performances in the Asklepieia of Roman Greece1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

Milena Melfi
Milena Melfi
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies
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Abstract

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This paper attempts to investigate the existence of performative rituals—such as processions, songs, dances, dramatic enactments of divine myths and genealogies—in sanctuaries of Asklepios during the Roman Imperial period in Greece. Because of their long life and their well-documented ritual practice, the sanctuaries of Athens, Epidauros, and Messene have been selected as case studies. Archaeological, literary, and epigraphical sources are used to identify the nature of the ritual performed, and to assign to them a topographical space within the sacred precinct. The period under consideration mostly coincides with the reign of the Antonine emperors, when the relatively peaceful environment allowed for an artistic revival, and cultural phenomena such as the Second Sophistic promoted the reappropriation of ancient Greek tradition and a renewed continuity with it, despite the historical discontinuity. Wealthy patrons belonging to the educated elite and holding the highest offices within the imperial bureaucracy were often responsible for the refoundation of sacred buildings, and of long-forgotten religious festivals. In this context, the promotion of performative spaces and rituals in the sanctuaries of Asklepios is interpreted as a product of the cultural and social environment of the second and early third centuries in Greece.

To άρθρο αυτό επιχειρεί να ερευνήσει την ύπαρξη επιτελεστικών τελετών -όπως πομπές, ύμνοι, χοροί, σραματικές αναπαραστάσεις θεïκών μύθων και γενεαλογιών- στα ιερά του Aσκληπιού κατά τη σιάρκεια της ρωμαïκής αυτοκρατορικής περιόσου στην Eλλάσα. Tα ιερά της Aθήνας, της Eπισαύρου και της Μεσσήνης επιλέχθηκαν ως περιπτώσεις έρευνας εξαιτίας της μακράς χρήσης τους και των καλά τεκμηριομένων τελετουργικών πρακτικών τους. Γίνεται χρήση αρχαιολογικών καταλοίπων και φιλολογικών και επιγραφικών πηγών προκειμένου να αναγνωριστεί η φύση των τελετών που πραγματοποιούνταν στα ιερά αυτά καθώς και να προσδιοριστεί τοπογραφικά η θέση των τελετών αυτών στο χώρο του τεμένους. H εν λόγω περίοδος συμπίπτει σε μεγάλο βαθμό με τη βασιλεία των Aντωνίνων κατά τη διάρκεια της οποίας το σχετικά ειρηνικό περιβάλλον επέτρεψε μία καλλιτεχνική αναγέννηση. Πολιτιστικά φαινόμενα όΠως η Δεύτερη Σοφιστική προώθησαν την επανοικειοποιήση της αρχαίας Eλληνικήσ παράδοσης και την ανανεωμένη ςυνέχειά της, παρά την ιστορική ασυνέχειά της. Eύποροι πάτρονες, μέλη της πεπαιδευμένης αριστοκρατίας και κάτοχοι των υψηλότερων αξιωμάτων της αυτοκρατορικής γραφειοκρατίας, ήταν συχνά υπεύθυνοι για την επανίδρυση ιερών κτιρίων, και θρησκευτικών εορτών ξεχασμένων για πολύ καιρό. Μέσα σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, η προώθηση επιτελεστικών χώρων και τελετουργιών στα ιερά του Aσκληπιού ερμηνεύεται ως απόρροια του πολιτιστικού και κοινωνικού περιβάλλοντοσ του δεύτερου και πρώιμου τρίτου αιώνα στην Eλλάδα.

Type
Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 105 , November 2010 , pp. 317 - 338
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2010

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