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Figurines de terre cuite en Méditerranée grecque et romaine

 | 
Arthur Muller
, 
Ergün Laflı

3.2. Asie mineure

Bulls and Men on the Mountaintop. Votive Terracottas from Çirişli Tepe (Central Black Sea)

Des taureaux et des hommes au sommet de la montagne. Terres cuites votives de Çirişli Tepe (mer Noire)

Lâtife Summerer

Abstract

People living in the central Black Sea area climbed a high mountain peak, which is situated about 50 km south of the coastal city Amisus to deposit offerings on its summit over centuries. The offerings were dedicated evidently to Apollo, but perhaps primarily to a local deity, and involved objects ranging from a marble inscription to clay lamps, vessels, and terracotta figurines. This cult assemblage was recovered in 1883 during a short visit to the site by Alfred Biliotti and subsequently was brought to London and finally bequeathed to the British Museum in 1885. While the dedicatory inscription was immediately published, the terracotta offerings were neglected until today. This paper presents some of these terracotta votive offerings and discusses their subject and iconography. Taking the iconographic repertoire as a guideline, the votive assemblage from the Çirişli Tepe will be interpreted in relation to cult practice and its religious background.

Index terms

Mots clés :

sanctuaire, offrande, taureau

Keywords :

sanctuary, votive, bull

Geographical index :

mer Noire

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Excerpt

Votive terracottas are usually considered offerings made to gods in thanks for favors expected or received. Although such objects are typical features of ancient societies they have been remarkably neglected by coroplastic studies.1 The reasons for this neglect may be derived from the fact that these simply-produced terracottas from ritual deposits and hoards generally resist typological and stylistic analyses. Votive offerings were usually not produced for artistic purposes, rather to express needs and wishes of worshippers in order to gain favour with the supernatural forces of the gods.

In this paper I will present the votive terracottas from Çirişli Tepe in the central Black Sea region of Anatolia and argue that these votive terracottas provide valuable and important data for our understanding of ancient religious practices. Focusing on their religious significance, I will discuss whether or not we can learn of the beliefs and rituals that involved the use of votive terracottas i...

Author

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Institut für Klassische Archäologie, München, Germany.

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