Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space: The Ancient Greek ExperienceThe division of land and consolidation of territory that created the Greek polis also divided sacred from productive space, sharpened distinctions between purity and pollution, and created a ritual system premised on gender difference. Regional sanctuaries ameliorated competition between city-states, publicized the results of competitive rituals for males, and encouraged judicial alternatives to violence. Female ritual efforts, focused on reproduction and the health of the family, are less visible, but, as this provocative study shows, no less significant. Taking a fresh look at the epigraphical evidence for Greek ritual practice in the context of recent studies of landscape and political organization, Susan Guettel Cole illuminates the profoundly gendered nature of Greek cult practice and explains the connections between female rituals and the integrity of the community. In a rich integration of ancient sources and current theory, Cole brings together the complex evidence for Greek ritual practice. She discusses relevant medical and philosophical theories about the female body; considers Greek ideas about purity, pollution, and ritual purification; and examines the cult of Artemis in detail. Her nuanced study demonstrates the social contribution of women's rituals to the sustenance of the polis and the identity of its people. |
Contents
introduction | 1 |
claiming a homeland | 7 |
ritual space | 30 |
inventing the center | 66 |
the ritual body 92 | 92 |
the plague of infertility | 146 |
landscapes of artemis | 178 |
Epiphany and Crisis | 189 |
domesticating artemis | 198 |
Permanent Press | 225 |
Glossary of Greek Terms | 231 |
| 239 | |
| 267 | |
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Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space: The Ancient Greek Experience Susan Guettel Cole Limited preview - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
adyton Aeschin agora agricultural akropolis Ancient Apollo Arist Artemis’s associated Athenian Athens Attic Attika blood border boundaries Brauron century b.c.e. childbirth city’s claims cult curse daughter death dedications defined Delos Delphi Demeter describes Dionysos divine early Eileithyia Eleusis emphasized Ephesos epigraphical Eteokles Euripides father female body festival gender girls goddess gods Greek Hanson Hera Herakles Hippocratic horoi human Hymn IG II2 inscribed inscription Iphigeneia land landscape located LSAM LSCG male and female marked marriage menstruation Miletos moisture mother mountains myth Neleus oath Olympia oracle Parker parthenos Paus Pausanias piglet Plut polis political pollution precinct priest priestess of Demeter procedures protected prytaneion purification purity recognized represented reproductive rites ritual river sacred space sacrifice sanctuary of Artemis schol sexual Soph status temenos temple territory Thasos Thesmophoria tion traditional woman women worshipped young Zeus