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The Mater Dolorosa of Ancient Rough Cilicia: Tracking an Archetype

The Mater Dolorosa of Ancient Rough Cilicia: Tracking an Archetype. Prof. Matthew Dillon Dept. of Classics and Archaeology Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Monumental Relief, Kenetepe RC 0304 Alt. 780 m. Ht.: 5.2m. Who is she?. Close up of female Figure, Kenetepe Relief.

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The Mater Dolorosa of Ancient Rough Cilicia: Tracking an Archetype

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  1. The Mater Dolorosa of Ancient Rough Cilicia:Tracking an Archetype Prof. Matthew Dillon Dept. of Classics and Archaeology Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles

  2. Monumental Relief, Kenetepe RC 0304 Alt. 780 m. Ht.: 5.2m

  3. Who is she? Close up of female Figure, Kenetepe Relief

  4. Similar examples of “mater dolorosa” in Rough Cilicia L: Tomb stele from Anamur Museum; R: Altar from Hisar (RC 0405)

  5. Some Context:Who Are These People? • Rough Cilician coast exposed to various influences (including pirates!): • Phoenician (cf. legend of Cilix) • Greek • Roman • Egyptian (under Cleopatra) • Butnative population group dominates • Luwians, related to Hittites

  6. L: Location of Rough Cilicia R: Major Sites in Western Rough Cilicia Maps: pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~rauhn/index

  7. Tentative Extent of Luwian Language Groups, 3rd mill. BCE From: The Luwians, C. Melchert (Brill 2003), p. 9

  8. Luwian Language • Hieroglyphic Script used by Hittites (2nd mill. BCE) • Following collapse of Hittite empire (ca. 1200 BCE), “Neo-Hittite” kingdoms of eastern Anatolia provide extensive corpus of Luwian inscriptions (11th-8th c. BCE) • Local scripts in Lycia, Pamphylia last until 3rd c. BCE • Spoken language still in use in 1st c. CE • Paul & Barnabas addressed in Lycaonian dialect, Acts 14:11

  9. Luwian Hieroglyphs From Karkemish, Ca. 9th c. BCE

  10. Karkemish Location of Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscriptions From The Luwians, p. 142

  11. Native Luwian Scripts, ca. 3rd c. BCE L: Lycian, near Xanthos R: Side, in Pamphylia Personal Photos

  12. Lycaonia Xanthos, etc. Side Areas with evidence of native language, 3rd c. BCE-1st c. CE Map:www.ancientanatolia.com/ map03.htm

  13. Luwian Remnants in Rough Cilicia • Of over 2,200 inscriptions from western Rough Cilicia, NONE in native language • 32 in Latin, rest in Greek • But nomenclature indicates ethnic dominance of native Luwians • Ca. 75% of names non-Greek, mostly Luwian • Some evidence of Lycian influence

  14. E.g.: Name List from Korykion Antron Thali]archos son of Oxeus Ollis son of Trokoarbasis Rondbeis son of Xenon Ronzrumeris son of Oetasis Tetes son of Oxeus Mos son of Rosgetis Neon son of Rosarma Marbollas son of Oetasios Tetes son of Oxeus II Oxallas son of Oxeus Papas son of Deliarchos, etc. Text: Repertorium der Westkilikischen Inschriften, S. Hagel & K. Tomaschitz, Vienna 1998, p. 185. Korykion Antron

  15. Lycian Influence? ROUGH CILICIA LYCIA Xanthos Nirgistepe Note ogival arch characteristic of Lycian sarcophagus lids L: Lykian tomb from Xanthos R: Tomb-shaped relief from Nirgistepe (RC 99-2)

  16. Recap • Luwian People of Rough Cilicia indigenous since the Bronze Age • Iron Age power centers in East • Extensive Greek influence in Hellenistic period • Language & Politics • In RC, native artistic traditions survive into Roman Period • Most sites from 1st-4th centuries CE • Dating based on surface pottery, inscriptions

  17. So, who is she? A Goddess? What kind of goddess?

  18. Basic Assumptions • Female figure of importance/power • Mature, respectable (veil) • Mother/Wife • Funerary • Mournful attitude • Location in or near necropoleis • Ergo, mater dolorosa “sorrowful mother” • Repetitions indicate “type” • Can we speak of “archetype”? • Trace first mater, then dolorosa in Anatolia

  19. What is an “Archetype”? • Greek Arcetupon: pattern, model • Appropriated by C.G. Jung for symbols (“primordial images”) from collective unconscious • Used to analyze neuroses: • “The mother archetype forms the foundation for the so-called mother complex….Typical effects on the son are homosexuality and Don Juanism, and sometimes also impotence.” • “Psychological Aspects of the Mother Archetype”, from: C.G. Jung, Four Archetypes, Princeton 1970, p. 19.

  20. Back to Basics • Term still useful in mythology/art: • Recurrent symbol from human experience • Strong examples of basic archetypes: • Father (sky god, king) • Mother (earth goddess, queen)

  21. Ancient Sky Gods Greek Zeus, c. 6th c. BCE users.bigpond.net.au/d.keenan/ sagittal/gift/Episode1.htm Babylonian god (Ninurta?), 9th c. BCE aagc.dis.ulpgc.es/gt_historia_ constelaciones/mitolmesop.htm Neo-Hittite Teshub/Tarhunt c. 850 BCE perso.wanadoo.fr/ spqr/hit_rel.htm

  22. Mother Goddesses • Various Types/Archetypes • Emphasis on: • Power (mater natura, “Mother Nature”) • Dominatrix? • Fertility (alma mater, “nourishing mother”) • Loss (mater dolorosa, “sorrowful mother”) • Startling concentration of female power in Anatolia • Matrix of all mothers!

  23. Neolithic Mothers • Hacilar and Çatal Höyük offer striking examples from 7th-6th mill. BCE • Animal imagery survives 5,000 year gap! Çatal Höyük Hacilar Mother with child, Hacilar, 7th mill. BCE www.anatours.com/ tour.html Goddess flanked by Lions, Çatal Höyük, 6th mil. BCE www.geocities.com/anadolu_muzesi/image016.JPG

  24. Hittite Arinna • Little Evidence for Bronze Age Mother Cult • Sun goddess Arinna appears at Yazilikaya, near Hittite capital (13th c. BCE) • Note mountains, lion, high crown (polos) Arinna Images from: www.hattuscha.de/turk/themen/03-yazilikaya/yazilikaya.htm

  25. Neo-Hittite Kubaba • Localized around Karkemish, ca. 950-700 BCE • Attributes: polos (high crown), pomegranate, mirror • Attested as far west as Sardis in Lydia Karkemish Sardis Kubaba with polos, pomegranate perso.wanadoo.fr/ spqr/karkemish.htm

  26. The Great Mother (Magna Mater) • Most important mother cult in Mediterranean • Localized in Phrygia, spread far & wide • Phrygians enter central Anatolia ca. 900 BCE • Only Phrygian deity attested in art, inscriptions • Name is simply Matar (Mother) • But epithet kubileya (“mountain”?) establishes specious connection with Kubaba, widely accepted • Greeks & Romans called her Kubelh, Cybele Map: www.geocities.com/stojangr/new___kingdoms.htm

  27. Matar’s Iconography • Stands upright (in naiskos) • Attributes: polos, bird, lion, jug 7th c. relief near Ankara Flanked by musicians From Bogazkoy, 6th c. Photos: In Search of God the Mother, L. Roller, Berkeley 1999.

  28. Major sites connected with Phrygian Mother Goddess cult From: Roller, In Search of God the Mother, map 1

  29. Growth of the Matar Cult: Greece • Adopted as Mhthr(Qewn, oreia, megalh), Kubhbh/Kubelh • Short Homeric Hymn (6th c. BCE?) refers to ecstatic music, animals, mountains • Ionia a likely point of intersection • Metroon in Athenian Agora at heart of civic center • But cult overshadowed by Mysteries of Demeter Meter in naiskos, Miletos, 6th c. BCE (Roller, p. 129)

  30. Magna Mater in Rome • Sibylline Books direct cult image to be brought from Phrygia with great fanfare in 204 BCE. • Sources describe aniconic stone (meteorite?) • Ovid (Fasti 4.179ff.) narrates Quinta Claudia’s miracle • Popular cult also intrigues Lucretius (DRN 2.600ff), Catullus (c. 63) Relief of Quinta saving the day, 2nd c. CE (Roller, p. 312)

  31. Unsavory Aspects? • Literary sources emphasize castration • Complex Myth of Attis adapted in Catullus 63 • Dea, magna dea, Cybebe, dea domina Dindymi! • Galli (eunuch priests of cult) notorious • Calling Dr. Jung! • But little evidence from Anatolia! Gallus, with paraphernalia 3rd c. CE Relief of Cybele & Attis www.wilsonsalmanac.com/ cybele.html www.timelessmyths.com/ classical/mysteries.html

  32. Mater Dominatrix? • Several myths associate dominant female with subordinate male • Cybele and Attis • Inanna and Dumuzi (Mesopotamian) • Venus and Adonis • Intersection with “Mistress of Animals” (Potnia Theron) motif? • Mother Nature has power to control, terrify

  33. Mistress of Animals • Appears on Greek pottery during “Orientalizing period” •Associated with Artemis, goddess of pristine nature •Phrygian examples may derive from Greek models Boiotian vase, ca. 680 BCE L:web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/ myth/images/haifa/h56.jpg R: web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/ myth/images/haifa/h57.jpg Francois Vase, ca. 570 BCE

  34. Syncretism: Unity in Diversity • Merging of cults inevitable • Apuleius provides locus classicus (Metam. 11.5) • Isis cult adds to Mediterranean mix • Ephesus, capital of Roman Asia, provides fertile ground for interaction • Luwian Apasa? • Center of Artemis cult • Christian crossroads Map:www.turizm.net/ cities/ephesus/

  35. Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! • Roots of unique cult image unknown • Temple a Wonder of the World • Paul ousted from theater by devotees (Acts 19.23ff.) L. Ephesian Artemis,2nd c. CE; R: modern reconstruction (from Das Artemision von Ephesos, 2) www.wcg.org/lit/bible/eph/EphesusTheater_small.jpg

  36. Artemision (Artist’s Reconstruction) www.crystalinks.com/ seven.html As it looks today(personal photo)

  37. Another Ephesian Goddess? • Scripture puts Mary, mother of Jesus, in John’s care (John 19.25-27) • John allegedly buried near Ephesus • “Mary’s House” located (1891) via visions of Sr. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) • Her visions also guided Gibson’s Passion! • House now a cult site for BVM

  38. Cult Sites of Mary and John Tomb of St. John St. John’s Basilica 6th c. CE, Selcuk petrov.com.ua/Turkey/ pages/ Selcuk_StJohn_Tomb.htm “House of the Virgin Mary”, outside Ephesus (Personal Photo)

  39. The Cult of Mary • “Mariolatry” officially rejected by Roman Catholicism • But “apparitions” most common of all • Virgin, Mother, Queen unite archetypes • Cf. Virgin/fertility cult of Ephesian Artemis • Emphasis less on power, domination • Opens door for more human aspects • Alma Mater (“nourishing mother”) • Mater Dolorosa (“sorrowful mother”) Photo: www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/17/grilled-cheese-mary-0471117.html

  40. Neohittite from Karatepe, 8th c. BCE From: E. Akurgal, Ancient Civilizations and Ruins of Turkey, pl. 105 Panaghia galaktotrophousa, 14 c. CE mah.ville-ge.ch/musee/ presse/icones/icones.html Phrygian Mother (goddess?), 8th c. BCE (Roller, p. 106) E. Neumann, The Great Mother, pl. 147 Alma Mater

  41. Crucifixion with Mary and John Byzantine, 13th c. Mater Dolorosa, J. Klauber, 1750 Titian, Mater Dolorosa. 1553-1554 Pal C. Monar (Hungarian) 1935 A. Duerer, The Seven Sorrows, 1496 Pieta, Hungarian, 1450 Mater Dolorosa

  42. Origins of Mater Dolorosa • Archetype closes circle of life and death • Women’s role in Funerary ritual crucial • More prevalent in Myth than in Art • Thetis, in Iliad (set in NW Anatolia) • Demeter, at Eleusis near Athens • Niobe, turned to stone in Lydia • Penelope, for husband and son • Can we connect to RC reliefs? “Penelope”, Roman copy of Hellenistic original www. philipresheph.com/demodokos/ odyssey/od1a.htm “Weeping Niobe”, Mt. Sipylos www.forteantimesmag.co.uk/articles/142_niobe.shtml

  43. Back in Context: What message does this Gateway send?

  44. Mater surrounded by images of military activity: Their message clear? But what is woman’s role?

  45. The Women of Rough Cilicia • Epigraphy gives (limited) view of female roles in Roman period (1st-4th c. CE) • Women figure prominently in both funerary and honorific texts • Inscriptions suggest fair amount of respect, independence, visibility • “Lineage Society” model must take women into account

  46. Funerary Evidence • Some communal tombs place in separate chambers (men above, women below) • But not all, and couples are often buried together • Men erect tombs for wives, daughters, mothers-in-law • “Tomb holds us like one bedroom and one bed” (OlB46) • Wives erect tombs for husbands • Women erect tombs for themselves • Priestess of Demeter for “self and no one else” (Kan22) • Mothers erect tombs for daughters • Daughters erect tombs for fathers • Brothers erect tombs for sisters

  47. Honorary Inscriptions • Wives, daughters, mothers honored with statues by “Council and People” • For “modesty”, “respectability”, “consular” rank • One woman served as gymnasiarch(Kes4a) • Women pay for statues, columns, public dinners • Wife and daughter build public propylaion(Kzb6) • Cf. civic activity of Plancia Magna at Perge (ca. 80 mi. W. of RC) Plancia Magna, 2nd c. CE www.atamanhotel.com/plancia.html

  48. Conclusions • Female powers in Anatolia run gamut of archetypes • Dolorosa type counterbalances Dominatrix • Prominence of mater dolorosa motif in RC suggests acknowledgement of female power, esp. in funerary context • Indigenous Luwians of RC maintain cultural identity in multicultural Roman empire • Women apparently active, visible in civic life and death

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