Pregledni rad
Religion, cult and morality in Salona (II) Mystery rites in honor of the Great Mother
Luka Donadini
orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-5601
Sažetak
The article is the second part within the Religion, Cult and Morality in Salona series, and is focused on the description and study of ancient mysteries in honor of the Great Mother; of initiation rites, festivals and the beliefs associated with them, with a special reference to the Salonitan historical source - the inscription from the altar set up by Curia Priska.
Faced with life's events and diverse challenges, the inhabitants of the ancient landscape flocked to the deities expressing gratitude and begging for help, protection and prosperity. By praying to the deities, individuals could join a series of special, publicly unavailable sacred rites that the Hellenic literary tradition referred to as τὰ μυστήρια, and the Latin as mysteria. As a religious and cult phenomenon, mysteries are composed of religious beliefs and rituals whose contents affect the senses and inform beliefs about the world and its contents. Mysteries were available exclusively to those who experienced the act of ritual initiation, which enabled the initiates to change their way of existence through hidden ceremonies; to live in service to the chosen deity, and to hope for an improved earthly or afterlife existence. The archaeological material testifies that since the first century the Salonitan population left material traces of the cult of the Great Mother and her mythical companion Attis. The Salonitan ritual space was materialized in form of a sanctuary (templum, fanum), a temple (aedes), a cella (cella), a chapel (aedicula) and an altar (ara). We know for sure that one of the temples of the Great Mother was positioned in the northeastern part of the city. Epigraphic material reveals that the Salonitan followers formed associations called cognatios, and erected dedications for the restoration of the sanctuary and the collective welfare of the participants. The tombstone of Lucius Barbunteius Demetrius testifies that during the second century the Salonitan cult had an archigallus; a high priest who organized festivals and rituals. Along with the worship of the Great Mother, an integral part of the Salonitan cult was the worship of Atis, a mythical companion who sinned against the goddess, after which he fled to the peak of Dindim where he emasculated himself with a stone. The inscription of Aurelius Maximus reveals that the city had a collegium of dendrophori, whose members actively participated in Atis' festivals during March. Epigraphic evidence about shrines on the banks of river Jadro can give us a clue that Salonitan worshipers took part in lavation; ritual washing of the Goddess’ statue. One of the inscriptions that was found near the source of the Jadra claims that the Curia Prisca restored the sanctuary of the Great Mother according to a vow, gifting cymbals (cymbals), timpani (ty{n}pana), bowls (catillum) and forfices (first and second century).
Cymbals and tympani are ritual objects of the Metroac cult and were used during the procession in honor of the Great Mother; when the followers carried the statue of the goddess and played musical instruments. Literary sources reveal to us that cymbals and tympani took part in mystery formulas. Graillot assumed that the musical instruments used in the mystery rite contained bread and wine, which Vermaseren refutes because participation in the festivities required abstinence from bread and wine. On the other hand, Boyancé claims that the mystics recited the formula to prove purity, which allowed access to the innermost part of the temple. According to the author, the participants of the festivities experienced purification by listening to the music of the goddess's cult and feeding on their ears. This is indicated by fragments of Varro's satire Eumenides where the galli sang, claiming that the drums of the Mother of Gods are not an empty sound, and demanding that their prudence and shame be observed. Although, according to the available records we cannot determine whether the musical instruments really served as a medium of food and drink, or as instruments for the purification of the goddess's faithful, or as ordinary musical instruments during a procession in public festival, we can conclude that cymbals and timpani played a crucial role in both public and mysterious rites of the Metroac cult in Salona.
The last term from the Salonitan inscription is forfices. The compilers of CIL 3 have assumed that the object was used during ritual castration, while Vermaseren emphasized that the term can also refer to other actions. Vilogorac Brčić notes that the forfices in the Metroac cult could be used to hold objects, and Nikoloska assumes, without detailed argumentation, that it was used to hold animal testicles during ritual devirilization. Both authors emphasize the lack of iconographic and ritual links with the object in question in the cult sphere. However, one of the gripper-like instruments associated with the cult of the Great Mother was found in the river Thames. The London object is made of bronze, and consists of two elongated, flat parts that curve at the tips in the form of a half ellipse. The outer edges are decorated with busts of the gods representing the days of the Roman week, and a pair of bulls and a pair of horses, while on the elliptical top is a representation of the Great Mother and a person with a headdress resembling a Phrygian cap. Based on the mechanical constitution of the London object, Francis hypothesized that the instrument had the role of squeezing the human scrotum during the ritual emasculation of the galli, zealous followers of the Great Mother. Such an instrument was not mentioned in the ritual emasculation of the goddess' devotees, but an object similar to it was used in the castration of animals. One of the ritual acts in the cult of the Great Mother involved the devirilization of the sacrificial animal, which is accomplished by removing the genitalia of a bull or ram. By consecrating the vires of the sacrificial animals, the zealous followers did not have to sacrifice their own reproductive system which allowed the inclusion of women and Roman citizens in the cult and priesthood of the Great Mother. Therefore, with due epistemic caution, we can assume that the forfices from the Salonitan inscription served the purpose of devirilizing the sacrificial animal and that it had a mechanism similar to the London instrument with the representation of the Great Mother.
Ključne riječi
mysteries; cult; religion; Salona; Cybele; Great Mother; Attis; forfices
Hrčak ID:
313340
URI
Datum izdavanja:
18.12.2023.
Posjeta: 104 *