Sensuous encounters

Abstract

This chapter examines the various evidence for the different forms of embellishment of ancient Greek cult images: their original polychromy, attachments such as metal ornaments, jewellery, and inlays, the use of textiles for dressing them, and treatments with waxes, oils and perfumes. It further explores the ways in which this adornment engaged the senses and created a sensory spectacle – visual, auditory, olfactory, and haptic – of rituals involving cult statues, and how this contributes to our knowledge of how people encountered the sacred in ancient temples. The chapter thus argues that the ancient experience of sculptural art, particularly cult statues, was multisensorial. The statues were not simply visual phenomena experienced from a distance. Instead, the artistic exploitation and manipulation of the senses governed and shaped the experience of ancient cult images.