The Ritual Year of Athena: The Agricultural Cycle of the Olive, Girls' Rites of Passage, and Official Ideology

Håland, Evy Johanne

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9809.2011.01169.x

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…This finding offers the possibility that an image showing small round balls being raked out of a kiln by an attendant may be olive pits, not only charcoal as suggested in the literature. 38 Pomace would have been easily available in Athens given the cultural and economic importance of its olive oil industry (Haland 2012) and the ability to use materials that would otherwise have been wasted would have perhaps been a cost-savings for potters. In our own experimentation, we tested wet pine boughs, charcoal, cow manure, olive pits and olive pomace and found that each material had not only its own distinct ability (or inability) to hold heat but also produced its own distinctive 37 Cuomo Di Caprio (1984) even mentions the use of cut up horses' hooves as a possibility for fuel.…”

Section: The Third Sensory Phase: the Smell And Taste Of Black Potsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This finding offers the possibility that an image showing small round balls being raked out of a kiln by an attendant may be olive pits, not only charcoal as suggested in the literature. 38 Pomace would have been easily available in Athens given the cultural and economic importance of its olive oil industry (Haland 2012) and the ability to use materials that would otherwise have been wasted would have perhaps 37 Cuomo di Caprio (1984) even mentions the use of cut up horses' hooves as a possibility for fuel. 38 See the Penteskouphia plaque currently in the collection of the Louvre, accession number MNB 2856.…”

Section: The Third Sensory Phase: the Smell And Taste Of Black Potsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bringing Back the (Ancient) Bodies: The Potters’ Sensory Experiences and the Firing of Red, Black and Purple Greek Vases

Balachandran

2019

Arts

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The study of Athenian black-figure and red-figure ceramics is haunted by nearly a thousand "hands" of the artisans thought to be responsible for their painted images. But what of the bodies attached to those hands? Who were they? Given the limited archaeological and epigraphic evidence for these ancient makers, this study attempts to recover their physical bodies through the ceramics production process-specifically the firing of vessels-as a communal activity potentially including a large cast of participants including craftsmen and craftswomen, metics, freed people and slaves. Using an experimental archaeology approach, I argue that we can begin to approach the sensory experiences of ancient potters and painters as they produced all the colored surfaces (and not only images) that endure on Greek vases. I propose a four-stage sensory firing in combination with the three-stage chemical firing process known for the production of Athenian ceramics, suggesting that each stage-and the colors produced at each stage-had their own "sensory signatures." Examining extant vases with this awareness of the bodily experience of their ancient makers has the potential to bring back these ancient bodies, moving us beyond the limiting narrative of a single hand wielding a paint brush.which often assumes a single maker with a recognizable "hand." But what of the surfaces of Greek vases as a whole, the shades of red, black and purple that make the images and text legible and the whole bodies of the people who made them?This paper argues that we have not fully considered the surfaces that the ancient Greeks potters and painters made as evidence of these makers' skill and embodied experience. Moving beyond the painted line as the marker of a single craftsman at work, I look to the firing of Greek ceramics as the key moment in the communal production process, one in which all of the work involved in throwing and painting an easily mutable clay object literally crystallized into its durable and indelible final form. The firing was responsible for the production of the range of colors-the reds, oranges, shades of black and brown and also the purples-for which Greek vase painting is renowned. 1 These colors are iron compounds formed under specific temperature and environmental conditions and are chemically reproducible in an experimental archaeology approach. As will be described in this paper, such an approach to the firing of Athenian ceramics offers otherwise unknowable insights into the ancient production process. The firing is an intensely sensory experience, with specific senses heightened at different stages as different colors are being made on the vessels inside the kiln. The colored surfaces of vases therefore have not only a particular chemical, physical and artistic signature but also a "sensory signature." It is by considering these sensory cues that we may approach the bodies of ancient makers at work.As the Hellenistic poem "Kiln" 2 demonstrates, the firing was the stage most fraught with physical danger and the potential f...

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Section: The Third Sensory Phase: the Smell And Taste Of Black Potsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This finding offers the possibility that an image showing small round balls being raked out of a kiln by an attendant may be olive pits, not only charcoal as suggested in the literature. 38 Pomace would have been easily available in Athens given the cultural and economic importance of its olive oil industry (Haland 2012) and the ability to use materials that would otherwise have been wasted would have perhaps 37 Cuomo di Caprio (1984) even mentions the use of cut up horses' hooves as a possibility for fuel. 38 See the Penteskouphia plaque currently in the collection of the Louvre, accession number MNB 2856.…”

Section: The Third Sensory Phase: the Smell And Taste Of Black Potsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing Back the (Ancient) Bodies: The Potters’ Sensory Experiences and the Firing of Red, Black and Purple Greek Vases

Balachandran

2019

Arts

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“…Barrera-Bassols and Toledo (2005) discuss the complex entanglement of beliefs, knowledge and landscape management by presenting aspects of the Yucatec Mayan spiritual landscape and the sacred dimension as a key contributor to their social-ecological resilience. Håland (2009Håland ( , 2012Håland ( , 2015 has discussed ritual and agricultural yearly cycles by comparing modern and ancient Greek festivals, and illustrated the importance to farmers of fertility magic to ensure good harvests both in modern and ancient Greece. Salmón (1999) shows how the physical, social and mental health of northern Mexico Rarámuri are closely related to their cycle of ceremony.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Offering of Grain: The Agricultural and Spiritual Cycle of a Food System in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Darchula, Far Western Nepal

Castagnetti

Bhatta

Greene

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Foodscapes are commonly embedded in spiritual landscapes, making the spiritual dimension of local and indigenous food systems an important element of food sovereignty. However, this dimension is often overlooked in food systems research and policy making. Based on ethnobiological fieldwork conducted in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of far western Nepal, we show how religious festivals and rituals reenact the covenant between people and the land through the numinous intercession of Hindu gods and landscape deities. To demonstrate this, we present the local calendar of the agricultural and ritual year based on data collected through household surveys and participation in festivals and agricultural activities. The complex fabric of the local agri-food system is revealed as articulated in the warp and weft of interwoven agricultural and spiritual cycles. These cycles contribute to respectful and sustainable landscape management practices by shaping the relationship people have with the land. In the annual women's festival of Gaura, the fertility and well-being of people and land is affirmed through the offering of locally produced pulses and grains. Furthermore, local gastronomic identity is enriched by the incentive to cultivate heirloom varieties of crops that are prescribed in rituals performed during Gaura and other major festivals. We conclude that spiritual practices should be considered key elements of biocultural diversity, and recommend that they receive more attention in the implementation of sustainable development that aims to embody the principles of food sovereignty.

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“…The Mediterranean has affixed great importance to the cultural and religious connotations of olive trees and oil. Greek mythology regards the olive tree on the Acropolis of Athens as sacred, which Athena planted to create the order against the maritime dominance of Poseidon [10], and it was central to rituals during the Panathenaia festival [11]. Roman deities Mars and Pax are depicted holding an olive branch as a symbol of peace and order.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Religious and Cultural Information of Olive Oil on Consumer Behavior: Evidence from Japan

2020

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The olive tree and oil are iconic in the Mediterranean culture and religions, and producers incorporate those associations into the packaging of olive oil products they distribute regionally. This study examines the impact of religious and cultural information about olive oil on consumer behavior. A choice experiment was conducted to survey Japanese consumers’ willingness to pay for olive oil products. Results show that consumers respond with varying degrees of favor to the characteristic of “produced in pilgrimage destination,” but if cultural and religious information related to olive is provided, their willingness to pay increases 6.7 times. Measurements of cross-effects show that consumers that are more educated respond favorably to cultural and religious imagery, whereas older consumers and those with more children respond less favorably. Empirical results imply those regional religious and cultural allusions could be used to differentiate and promote olive oil products in a culturally distinct market.

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The Ritual Year of Athena: The Agricultural Cycle of the Olive, Girls' Rites of Passage, and Official Ideology

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Bringing Back the (Ancient) Bodies: The Potters’ Sensory Experiences and the Firing of Red, Black and Purple Greek Vases

Bringing Back the (Ancient) Bodies: The Potters’ Sensory Experiences and the Firing of Red, Black and Purple Greek Vases

An Offering of Grain: The Agricultural and Spiritual Cycle of a Food System in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Darchula, Far Western Nepal

Effect of Religious and Cultural Information of Olive Oil on Consumer Behavior: Evidence from Japan

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