Ancient mystery cults embraced a complex and varied ritual structure, integrating multiple sensory experiences. The inherently secret nature of these mysteries constitutes a barrier to learning more about, and verifying the details of, the rites in which initiation was the main point of focus. Even so, relatively explicit literary sources make it possible to confirm that one of the frequent elements of religious mysteries was the simulated death and resurrection of the neophytes, a passage that transformed them from simple followers into mystai. Thus, through transcendent experiences, the devotee attained the revelation of the mysteries revelation, achieved an ineffable proximity to the divine, and won the promise of immortality. We know very little about the practices that were performed in the Mithraic initiation rituals. Nevertheless, the complex hierarchy of the seven grades that followers of Mithras could progressively undertake provides some evidence for a differentiated set of initiatory efforts that needed to be overcome in turn as the devotee ascended from one grade to the next. As this paper tries to show, it is likely that this process encompassed a varied series of multisensory experiences for each stage of the initiate’s transitus.
our intention here is to analyse how the senses participated in the identity-configuration processes of the Isiac cult at the end of the Republic and during the Principate. The post-Said paradigm has cast doubt on the suitability of the category of “oriental religions” for identifying a range of cults, including that of Isis, so we do not intend to use this aspect of identity formation to confront or interrogate the vague notions of “Western” and “Oriental” in their sensory dimensions. In other words, it does not seem appropriate to try to establish and systematise the sensory markers proper to the generic category of “oriental cults” as opposed to those pertaining to an alleged Roman tradition. In other chapters in this volume, the authors suggest that each one of the new cults for which a roughly oriental background can be detected has a distinct sensory output. Our approach here is different. The archaeological evidence does not reveal radical differences between the aromata or food offerings in the temples of the gens isiaca compared to those of any other cult. Of course, visualism is a clear differentiating marker, but even the architecture of temples and the aesthetics of statues generally undergo modifications that strip off the pre-Hellenistic Egyptian character of the cult, due to different artistical, technical or infrastructural reasons. On the other hand, there are sensory outputs that are without doubt exclusive to the cult of the gens isiaca. First, the priests are systematically described as being dressed in exotic clothing, even if we have to consider that such descriptions seem to be a topos. In addition, the sonority of the cult leaves no room for doubt about its character: the chants and the use of the sistrum were recognisable as exclusive of the cult of the gens isiaca. It is the double game of, on the one hand, mimesis—the adaptation of the cult to the political, social, and cultural variations of Roman imperialism—and, on the other, alterity—the preservation of a “genuine” exotic identity—engaged in by the cult of Isis and her paredroi that will be the subject of our analysis here.
In terms of the specific case investigated in this chapter, mystery cults provide a field of study that is extraordinarily rich in details relevant to the sensory experiences of participants. The textual, epigraphic, archaeological, and iconographic sources are replete with sensory references. Despite this rich evidential base, this category has not been a historiographical priority in the past. Our intention in the present study is to carry out a first approach to the way in which it is possible to identify the base of this sensory, or rather multi-sensory, experience. In pursuing this goal, we focus on the cult of the goddess Cybele, the mystery cult that was most popular not only throughout the Roman Empire but also in the capital city of Rome itself. The epigraphic and iconographic expressions of the cult of Cybele, as well as ancient testimonies describing both its ritual and liturgical manifestations, allow us to reconstruct a context in which we can identify the specific purpose at work in the sensory stimulation of the devotees: making the experience of encountering the deity possible through corporal transcendence.
After the Roman conquest of Greece the agones that constituted the archaia periodos underwent a deep transformation, shifting from being rituals solely associated with the Hellenic culture and religion and being characterized as Panhellenic, to a pan-imperial dimension due to the integration of the imperial cult. This work aims to analyze the agones with a major either pan-imperial or Panhellenic characterization in relation to their celebration being carried out either during daytime or during night-time, thus tracing a broad differentiation between 1) the diurnal rituals, the majority of which were integrated into the imperial cult, with a direct link to the sanctuary deity; 2) the nocturnal rituals, which were linked to the Hellenic religious tradition and which typically commemorated the heroes who were regarded as the founders of the games. This work will also focus, as a specific case-study, on the rituals which were celebrated in the sanctuary of Isthmia in Corinth, which included both diurnal and nocturnal rituals. The main lines of research will be: 1) the dual makeup (Greek and Roman) of the population of the Caesarian colony of Corinth, and how this influenced the rituals held in the sanctuary of Isthmia; 2) the role of the city-elites in the introduction of the imperial cult; 3) the efforts of Corinth's Greek population to preserve their Hellenic religious roots; 4) the diurnal agonistic games dedicated to Poseidon and the nocturnal mystery rituals of Melicertes-Palaimon associated to them.
This article tackles the issue of the mysteries of Mater Magna using representations of the cista. This wicker basket closed by a lid is broadly interpreted as an allusion to the mysteries. The majority of the representations of the metroac cista are related to the goddess' cult personnel. They use the cista as a hallmark of their self-representation, likely because they serve a function in 'restricted' ceremonies. Considered as belonging to the most secluded part of the sanctuary, the cista alludes to more intimate rituals. The iconography accompanying its representations may suggest that these 'mysteric' ceremonies were related to the myth of Attis.
After a few reflections on our present knowledge of the bacchic mysteries in Archaic and Classical Athens, I turn to the question of the extent to which the imagery of vases may tell us about the existence of mysteries in Athens. I present some examples of black-figure images which we might imagine evoke Dionysiac initiatory rituals by 540 BCE at the latest. I end by bringing into the discussion Apulian images of the fourth century BCE, which may also allude to the bacchic rite.
This paper focuses on three religious processions, in each of which (images of) deities participate in the cortege: the pompa circensis at Rome and processions of the cults of both Mater Magna and Isis. It is not a new study (after many) of these processions as religious facts. The aim of this contribution is to propose to investigate the role music plays in the Latin and Greek narratives that inform us, since we have hardly any other evidence, besides a few images like that of the exergue. My argument is that the musical ambiance depicted in these narratives, each of which stages a different divine figure that has been granted an officially recognised Roman public status, is first and foremost a device for drawing out a particular religious identity through the use of musical signs; thus it has only a tangential concern with the religious specificities of these cults. Music stands as a benchmark, the more so in such subtly rhetorical constructions.
When we approach Roman rituals from the perspective of sensory perception, the interpretation of the imperative favete linguis as nothing more than a technical command disappears. My analysis of the relation between this imperative and the sensory stimulations evoked by ritual practice shows that this ritual call does not simply command silence but, rather, ‘attunes’ (einstimmen) the ritual participants to an experience of divine presence. This call thus evokes the expectations that stamp their mark on the subsequent sensory stimulations.
Taking into account the wide variety of mystery cults and their remarkable apogee in late Hellenistic and Imperial times, this paper will argue that Imperial cult practices—at least in some places, according to our sources—probably included certain stimuli that were implemented in order to elicit specific emotions in worshippers. However, my interest here will not be in speculating about the content of these rites, nor about what people actually experienced. Instead, this paper shows that the use of mysteric jargon and certain ritual elements in Imperial cult was devised and adopted in order to suggest a specific understanding and experience of Imperial power. The world of mysteries provided the collective framework of meaning within which those stimuli made complete sense. To this end, one of the main lines of inquiry that runs through the present volume will be explored: how and why Imperial cult made use of the collective semantic value of the mysteries.
