Page - 69 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

PhilippKobusch 5 Fountains andBasins inGreekSanctuaries On theRelationshipBetweenRitual PerformanceandArchitecture Abstract:Ancientwritten sources emphasise the importanceofwater sources forGreek sanctu- aries.However, this significance is onlymirrored in exceptional cases in anelaborate architec- tural stagingof fountainsor springs.Despiteanoftenveryprominent locationwithin the teme- nos, they usually do not play any role in the structuring and hierarchisation of spaces. The ritual use of water differs significantly from this. Sacred space was explicitly constituted and structuredperformatively throughvarious lustral rituals inwhichwaterplayedadominant role. These ritual acts usually took place in front of or behind the actual architectural entrance, oftenamonumentalpropylon,asprovedbythecorrespondingbasinsandfountains.Ritualand architecturalboundarieswere thereforenot identical.Architectureandritual,or theexperiences of crossing the architecturallymarkedborder and theperformative rite depassage, are thus to be regardedas clearly differentiatedphenomenadespite their spatial proximity. τοῦ ναοῦ δὲ οὐ πόρρωστάδιον χῶμα γῆς ἐστι […]. ἔστι δὲ ἐν τοῖς πρὸς ἄρκτον τοῦ ναοῦ κρήνη, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ βιασθῆναι τῇκρήνῃφασὶνΑὔγηνὑπὸἩρακλέους […]. ἀπωτέρωδὲτῆςκρήνηςὅσονσταδίοις τρισίν ἐστινἙρμοῦ ναὸςΑἰπύτου. Not far from the temple [of Athena in Tegea] is a stadium formedby amoundof earth […]. To the north of the temple is a fountain, and at this fountain they say that Augewas outraged byHerakles […]. Some three stades away from the fountain is a temple ofHermesAepytus.1 Introduction: In thedescriptionof the sanctuaryofAthenaAlea inTegea,Pausaniasmentions only the stadiumanda spring asworth seeing in addition to the templehedescribed indetail before. On the other hand, hedidnotmention anyother architectural structures, though their existence canbeproven archaeologically in Tegea.2 In other places, too, Pausanias repeatedly emphasizes springs and fountains as essential features of Greek sanctuaries in a very similar way.3 Partly, as in Tegea, they are connected with a myth,4 partly a specific use in ritual is tangible5 or special qualities were attributed to water, for example in the context of healing cults.6 Manyother text sources emphasize the importance ofwater in theGreek sanctuary,which is reflected here.7 Water could possess mantic qualities,8 springs could be assigned a sacred character if theywere consecrated to deities or nymphs, and they could receive their own cult officialsandtheirowncult facilities, suchasastatueoracult table,as is recordedepigraphical- ly forAndania.9 It isobviousthatwatersourcesbeyondsuchspecificcultic implicationsfulfilled purely practical tasks, especially in extra-urban shrines, which had to offer visitors overnight accommodationand refreshments. Sacred laws, for example,donotonlyproveagreat effort to 1 Paus.8, 47, 4 (translationby Jones 1979). 2 Østby 2014, 16. 3 Paus.2, 27, 7; 3, 22, 8; 3, 26, 1; 4, 31, 1; 4, 33, 4; 7, 5, 2; 7, 24, 3; 7, 27, 9; 8, 10, 4; 8, 19, 2; 8, 32, 5. 4 Paus. 1, 21, 4; 2, 32, 4; 3, 21, 2; 3, 24, 2. 5 Paus. 1, 34, 4; 2, 17, 1; 5, 16, 8; 6, 20, 2; 7, 21, 12–13. 6 Paus.4, 35, 8–11; 5, 13, 11; 6, 22, 7; 8, 29, 1; 10, 24, 7. Plut.Mor. 41, 433 B-Cmentions the special quality of the riverAlpheius inOlympia. 7 Summarizing: Cole 1988. 8 Friese 2010, 96–98. 9 Gawlinski 2012, 84–86 = IGV,1 1390, 84–86. For other holy fountains, cf. Paus. 2, 24, 6; 3, 20, 1; 3, 23, 8; 7, 22, 4; 9, 10, 5; 9, 24, 4. OpenAccess.©2020PhilippKobusch, publishedbyDeGruyter. Thiswork is licensedunder theCreative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0 License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110677065-005