The gesture of offering lies at the heart of the materiality of ancient Greek cult practices. To cultivate their relationship with the divine, worshippers would place a wide variety of gifts at the altar, accompanying sacrifices and libations. In the 7th century BCE, as the institutions of the city-state began to emerge, a new form of visual representation developed within the sanctuaries of the polis: that of the donor, the hierophoros.

The social and anthropological implications of this innovation have largely gone unnoticed until now. Yet the appearance of figurines and statues depicting men and women carrying an object or animal marks a fundamental turning point.

As a self reflection of the individual, this embodiment of the offering gesture reveals a major shift in the presence of dedicants within the cult and signals the emergence, around 600 BCE, of a new expression of Greek ritual: the performative image.

Das Kolloquium "Aus laufenden archäologischen Forschungen" des Fachbereichs Klassische Archäologie und der Vindonissa-Professur findet jeweils am Mittwoch von 18.15 bis 19.45h im Schnitz Seminarraum S 01, statt. Ausnahmen sind im Programm vermerkt.

Gäste sind herzlich willkommen!