Sensing Divinity. Incense, religion and the ancient sensorium / Les sens du rite. Encens et religion
This conference will explore the history of a medium that has occupied a pivotal role in Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman and Judeo-Christian religious tradition: incense. According to Margaret E. Kenna in her provocative 2005 article ‘Why does incense smell religious?’, this aromatic substance became a diagnostic feature of Greek orthodoxy during the Byzantine period, but it is clear that incense was also extensively used in the rituals of earlier polytheistic societies to honour the gods. Fragrant smoke drifting up towards the heavens emblematized the communication that was established between the mortal and the immortal realms, which in turn contributed to the sensory landscape of the sanctuary.
Although several studies have drawn attention to the role of incense as an ingredient in ritual and a means of communication between men and gods, there remains no comprehensive examination of the practical functions and cultural semantics of incense in the ancient world, whether as a purifying agent, a performative sign of a transcendent world, an olfactory signal to summon the deity, a placatory libation, or food for the gods. Moreover, recent archaeological research has provided evidence (alongside literary, epigraphic and iconographic evidence) that the physical origins and chemical constituents of incense are complex and diverse, as are their properties: resins, vegetable gums, spices, and a welter of aromatic products that could be exhibited and burned before ancient eyes and noses. These were components of a multi-sensory religious experience in which music, colourful costumes, lavish banquets and tactile encounters defined the ritual sensibilities of the community.
FECHA/DATE/DATA: 23-24/06/2017
LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: British School at Rome; L´École française de Rome (Rome, Italy)
ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Mark Bradley (University of Nottingham); Beatrice Caseau (University of Paris-Sorbonne); Adeline Grand-Clément (University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès); Anne-Caroline Rendu-Loise (University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès); Alexandre Vincent (University of Poitiers).
INFO: mark.bradley@nottingham.ac.uk
INSCRIPCIÓN/REGISTRATION/REGISTRAZIONE: Gratis/free/gratuito Aquí/here/qui
PROGRAMA/PROGRAM/PROGRAMMA: Aquí/here/qui