Around the Hearth

Ritual and commensal practices in the Mediterranean Iron Age from the Aegean World to the Iberian Peninsula

Jérémy Lamaze, Maguelone Bastide

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9783110733761
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

From basic needs, such as lighting, heating or cooking, to symbolic or ritual engagement, hearths in indoor contexts serve as a focal point. This is especially evident, both spatially and architecturally, in structures containing central hearths. In assessing any gathering around a hearth, the types of social groups involved need to be determined and their interactions clearly assessed in each specific case. Beyond clearly domestic contexts, many rooms or buildings have been deemed religious or cultic places often based solely on the presence of a hearth, despite other possible interpretations. This volume appraises and contextualises diversity in practice centering on the hearth in the Aegean and, more widely, in areas of the Western Mediterranean closely connected to Greek civilization, notably through its colonies, revealing surprising similarities but also local adaptations. In the West, the use of the hearth often has a unique character arising from local adaptations born of indigenous practices. The combined approach presented here, detailing technical aspects of the hearths themselves, their architectural settings and any associated artefacts or furnishings, affords a rich spectrum for cross-cultural analysis between these Mediterranean regions.

Aegean World

Map 1: Map of the Aegean: main sites mentioned in the chapters (K. Rivière).1. Azoria, 2. Delos, 3. Dreros, 4. Hyria, 5. Kalapodi, 6. Kastanas, 7. Kommos, 8. Koukounaries, 9. Mount Lykaion, 10. Nichoria, 11. Prinias, 12. Thasos, 13. Thermon, 14. Zagora, 15. Xombourgo.

Behind closed doors? Greek sacrificial rituals performed inside buildings in the Early Iron Age and the Archaic period

Derrière des portes fermées ? Les rituels sacrificiels grecs perpétrés à l’intérieur d’édifices

Gunnel Ekroth

Department of Archaeology and ancient history, Uppsala University

Abstract

Ancient Greek sacrifice can be viewed as an outdoor activity, centred on the burning on the altar of fat and bones from the sacrificial victim to create a rich, fragrant smoke, which the gods profited from by inhaling. Cakes and incense put in fire produced further pleasant smells. These actions call for the ritual taking place in the open, usually in front of the temple where most altars are located. However, altars and hearths are also found inside temples. The aim of this paper is to explore the indoor presence and use of such sacrificial installations, looking at archaeological and written evidence. What kinds of offerings were sacrificed inside temples and to what degree were they burnt? Installations for fire inside religious buildings have been the focus of discussion among scholars, in particular whether hearths in temples are to be seen as a legacy from the Early Iron Age or even Bronze Age, or as a practice corresponding to certain ritual needs in the historic period. Indoor hearths are also important for the interpretation of some early Greek buildings such as temples, hestiatoria or prytaneia. The practical implications of such installations are less well understood.

Keywords: Hearth, temple, altar, animal sacrifice, animal bones, fire,

Mots-clés: Foyer, temple, autel, sacrifice d’animaux, ossements, feu,

Ancient Greek sacrifice is generally viewed as an outdoors activity. An animal would be brought to a sanctuary where it was consecrated to the gods at the altar, its throat slit and some blood splashed on the side of the altar. Then followed the burning of the god’s portion of the sacrifice (the fat-wrapped thighbones, the sacrum bone and the tail), which was placed in the altar fire. Signs were extrapolated from the manner in which the bones burned in order to divine the gods’ benevolent reception of the offerings. The burning of these parts also produced a fat and savoury smoke, knise, which the gods were thought to have inhaled through the nose. After the divine portion had been burned, the edible intestines, the splanchna, were grilled in the altar fire, and eaten by those standing closest to the altar. Subsequently, the meat was divided, distributed and consumed by the worshippers, either in the sanctuary or at home.

This kind of ritual, labelled thysia in ancient Greek, was clearly the standard form of animal sacrifice, well-attested in the historical period by animal bones, images, texts and inscriptions.¹ In addition to thysia, where only some bones were put in the altar fire, the Greeks also performed rituals where a larger share of the animal was burned. A back leg or a ninth of the meat could be put in the fire, actions designated as ‘moirocausts’, in modern terminology, and holocausts, where the entire animal, whole, flayed or cut up into parts, was burned.² Furthermore, offerings could be made of vegetal matter, cakes, cheeses and wreaths, as well as cooked meat, either burnt on the altar or deposited on a sacred table.³

The performance of burnt animal sacrifice on outdoor altars seems logical, considering the degree of blood and gore at the point of slaughter and the extensive use of fire, in particular at moirocausts and holocausts. Excavations of sanctuaries have also demonstrated that altars are often situated in front of temples, usually on the eastern side.⁴ However, ancient authors also mention the occurrence of sacrificial installations inside temples, and there are occasional references to indoor rituals in the epigraphical record.⁵ If we turn to the archaeological evidence, we find a series of buildings with indoor hearths or altars, which have been interpreted as temples, public buildings or dining rooms, depending on their date and location.⁶ From this evidence, we may conclude that rituals focusing on burning were also performed inside buildings and that Greek sacrifice may not have been exclusively an outdoor activity.

Scholarly discussion of indoor hearths has primarily centred on the identification and function of the buildings in which these installations are located, which are frequently identified as temples, rulers’ dwellings or banqueting halls, with varying degrees of surety. But attention is also given to the origin of their form, perceived as stemming from Late Bronze Age palatial megara or Early Iron Age domestic architecture...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Hearth or Altar? Around the Hearth: An Introduction
• Aegean World
• Thrace
• Sicily
• South of France
• Iberian Peninsula
• Index: English words
• Index French words
• Index of Toponyms