The Materiality of Light in Religious Celebrations and Rituals in the Roman East

Abstract

Abstract Because of a variety of factors, nocturnal celebrations and rituals became more frequent and elaborate in the Hellenistic and imperial periods. The nocturnal setting had a cognitive and emotional impact on the participants, arousing fear, anxiety, and hope for a direct communication with the divine, generating the illusion of divine epiphanies, and creating feelings of exclusivity and identity. This impact was enhanced through sensory stimuli that included the manipulation of artificial light, fire rituals, and the selection or construction of suitable spaces. This paper discusses relevant evidence concerning the cults of Isis, the festival of an Oriental goddess in Larisa, the cult of Zeus Idaios in Crete, the ‘mysteries’ of Glykon Neos Asklepios in Abonou Teichos and of Mithras, the imperial cult in Messene, and the festival of the Daidala in Boiotia. In addition to the use of lamps and torches in these festivals, there is also evidence for the daily and periodic illumination of temples and shrines, the existence of personnel dedicated to the task of lighting the lamps, the specialized production of lamps for certain cults, and the setting up of torch-bearing statues. The study of the materiality of artificial light contributes to a better understanding of the emotional, sensory, and cognitive aspects of religious celebrations.