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ucin1186592935.pdf (23.97 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
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CHILDBIRTH VOTIVES AND RITUALS IN ANCIENT GREECE
Author Info
WISE, SUSAN J.
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1186592935
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2007, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : Classics.
Abstract
This dissertation provides the first comprehensive account of private worship associated with childbirth throughout the ancient Greek world. It documents the rituals performed by individuals during various stages of the reproductive cycle and the different types of votives that were dedicated to the gods of fertility and birth. My work on this subject builds upon previous studies, which have collected much of the available evidence, by asking new questions of the material. In particular, I have sought to define the patterns of childbirth rituals that occurred in the lives of Greek women and to examine how the dedication of childbirth votives fits within this larger pattern of worship. The first chapter examines the cultural background within which the rituals and the votives must be understood. In addition to providing information about the divinities who oversaw childbirth and the sanctuaries for which childbirth worship is attested, this chapter explores the wider social and religious attitudes towards procreation and birth that played a defining role in the formation and practice of childbirth rituals. The second chapter provides a detailed discussion of the rituals surrounding childbirth. By examining the private rituals performed both within sanctuaries and within the home, this chapter establishes the patterns of ritual that punctuated the entire process of birth from the period immediately preceding conception through the time when the mother and child were (re)admitted into society after the birth. The third chapter examines the votives that represent the best-preserved evidence for childbirth rituals. By providing a critical assessment of the votives by type, I first define what objects were dedicated as childbirth votives, and then I examine these votives in order to gather further information about childbirth rituals and Greek attitudes towards childbirth in general. A catalogue of the votives is provided in Appendix 1. In my conclusions I summarize the patterns of ritual that accompanied reproduction and analyze the iconography of the childbirth votives within the broader context of artistic depictions of birth.
Committee
Dr. Brian Rose (Advisor)
Pages
334 p.
Keywords
childbirth
;
infants
;
religion
;
ancient Greece
;
antiquity
;
Greek
;
worship
;
ritual
;
votive
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Citations
WISE, S. J. (2007).
CHILDBIRTH VOTIVES AND RITUALS IN ANCIENT GREECE
[Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1186592935
APA Style (7th edition)
WISE, SUSAN.
CHILDBIRTH VOTIVES AND RITUALS IN ANCIENT GREECE.
2007. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1186592935.
MLA Style (8th edition)
WISE, SUSAN. "CHILDBIRTH VOTIVES AND RITUALS IN ANCIENT GREECE." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1186592935
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
ucin1186592935
Download Count:
4,154
Copyright Info
© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.