Temple Sleep: A Close Encounter of Ritual Dynamics? A Short Historiographic Exploration

1. Temple Sleep: A Close Encounter of Ritual Dynamics? A Short Historiographic Exploration Mark Beumer – External PhD-Candidate

2. PhD Project: Rituele dynamiek: een historiografische verkenning gethematiseerd via tempelslaap (Ritual dynamics: a historiographical exploration thematized through temple sleep) June 2018 – June 2022 Supervisors: Prof. dr. Paul Post Dr. Martin Hoondert

3. Geographical/temporal scope for PhD-project: Roman Empire in Late Antiquity (2nd-7th century AD)

4. Aim • To explore the historiography of ritual dynamics in Late Antiquity from 3 perspectives: • Ritual Studies • Early Christianity • Temple sleep Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734), The Dream of Aesculapius (c.1718), oil on canvas, 80 × 98 cm, Galleriedell’Accademia, Venice

5. Ritual Studies: new research field since the 1970s (Post 2015) ‘a field of inquiry reaching across disciplinary boundaries’, bringing together the interests of collaborating fields’ (Grimes 1987: 422). The field of ritual studies is characterized by: (1) a pluralistic approach to the definition of ‘ritual’; (2) an increased interest in theory (although showing a wide spectrum of different strategies); and (3) the application of interdisciplinary perspectives on ritual. (Post 2015). Ritual dynamics is a perspective, a process of continue change in development. Related concepts (scale): ‘ritual dynamics’ or ‘dynamic of rituals’ (Post 1999; 2009, Michaels 2010, Grimes 2014, Hekster 2009, Rüpke 2017) ‘ritual change’ (Bell 1992; 1997) ‘ritual transfer’ (Langer 2006, Michaels 2010, Van der Ploeg 2018) ‘cult transfer’ (Burkert and Gilman 2000) ‘cultural transferral (Van der Ploeg 2018) ‘cultic change’ (Van der Ploeg 2018) ‘religious change’ (Hekster 2009, Rüpke 2017) ‘religious transformation’ (Bonnet and Bricault 2013) ‘ritual failure’ (Koutrafouri & Sanders 2013) ‘ritual modification and innovation’ (Ascough in: DeMaris 2019) Further: contestation, continuity/change, syncretism, agency, assimilation, invention, adaptation, fusion, conversion. Ritual dynamics: concept and variations

6. Ritual dynamics: Interdisciplinary Egyptology Ethnology Roman Languages and Literature Germany Studies Indology (Hindu Studies) Medieval History Theology Philosophy Classical Archaeology Ancient, Medieval and Modern History Modern History • Psychology • Ritual Studies • Sociology • Gender Studies • Anthropology • Liturgy Studies • Music Studies • Jewish Studies • Religious Studies • Dance Studies, • Theatre Studies

7. Application to Early Christianity

8. Early Christianity Only recent attention for ritual dynamics in Early Christianity Paradigm of conflict model replaced Risto Uro: University Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University Helsinki, Faculty of Theology, and a life member of Clare Hall College, University of Cambridge. Recent awareness of importance ritual in Christian Studies First connection with ritual studies Risto Uro, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual (Oxford University Press 2019). A few references to temple sleep (Uro 2019:246, 308, 401, 654) but no reference ritual dynamics 2018 2016 2017 Risto Uro 2019

9. Temple sleep: definition and depiction Temple sleep: an ever-repetitive ritual performed by a person or an authorized representative, with the primary goal of curing mainly chronic diseases. Prior to the encounter with a divine figure, various preparatory rituals must be performed, such as cleansing, fasting and sacrifice, which can differ geographically and temporally. Divine figures (god, hero, martyr, saint, angel) are consciously called to appear in a dream, for which one often, but not always, slept in or near a sanctuary (temple, church, tomb) so as to be provided with healing through medical advice, touch or surgery. After a successful cure, the incubant often had to pay a fee, in which thank-offering was also given, whether or not on behalf of a divine figure. 2011 2015

10. Temple sleep: a short historiography 1989 1906 2017 2011 2015

11. Focus historiography temple sleep Hamilton 1906: • Historical perspective • Conversion • From deity to saint • From temple to church • Chtonic/celestialdeities Meier 1986: • Psychology, psychotherapy, self healing • Temple sleep as hypnosis • No Christian imitation pagan temple sleep Kim 2011: • Temple sleep as type-scene • To muchHistory of Religions-approach • Temple sleep als ritual and literaire device • Von Ehrenheim 2015: • Temple sleep is “receiving a dream in a sanctuary” • Historical context • Design and development ritual structure • Complete material (?) • Uses Bell 1997 • Renberg 2017: • Critical about historiography • Lack of studies about dreams • Therapeutic and oracular temple sleep • History, archaeology, definitions, sources

12. Conclusion Ritual dynamics as single perspective is interdisciplinary Ritual dynamics is a process of continue change in development Scholarship Ritual Dynamics since the 90’s from Ritual Studies Only recent scholarship ritual studies and ritual dynamics in Early Christianity Handbook of Early Christian Ritual (2019): Early Christianity + ritual studies + temple sleep Temple sleep is notexaminedfrom ritual dynamics theoristsandscholars of temple sleep do not use ritual dynamics theorists! (Exception Ehrenheim 2015) Only ‘classical’ perspectives as lens: Ancient History, Archaeology, Classics Solution: “building bridges” – Start researchingconnections.

13. Bibliography (1) Richard S. Ascough, ‘Ritual modification and innovation’, in: Richard E. DeMaris, Jason T. Lamoreaux and Steven C. Muir (eds.), Early Christian Ritual Life (Routledge 2018) 167-182. Jovan Bilbija, The Dream in Antiquity: Aspects and Analyses (Amsterdam 2012, PhD). Lauren Bricault en Corinne Bonnet (eds.), Panthée: Religious Transformations in the Graeco-Roman Empire (Brill 2013). Walter Burkert and Howard Gilman, Migrating Gods and Syncretisms: Forms of Cult Transfer in the Ancient Mediterranean (Tel Aviv University 2000). Hedwig von Ehrenheim, Greek incubation rituals in Classical and Hellenistic times (Press Universitaires de Liège 2015). Philip F. Esler (ed.), The Early Christian World.Second Edition (Routledge 2017). Ronald L. Grimes, The Craft of Ritual Studies (Oxford University Press 2014). Mary Hamilton, Incubation or, the cure of disease in pagan temples and Christian churches (W.C. Henderson & Sons, St. Andrews 1906). Olivier Hekster, Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner, and Christophe Witschel (eds.), Ritual Dynamics and Religious Change in the Roman Empire. Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Heidelberg, July 5-7, 2007) (Leiden 2009). Vasiliki Koutrafouri & Jeff Sanders (eds.), Ritual Failure. Archaeological Perspectives (Sidestone Press 2013). Koowon Kim, Incubation as a type-scene in the Aqhatu, Kirta, and Hannah stories : a form-critical and narratological study of KTU 1.14 i–1.15 III, 1.17 I–II, and 1 Samuel 1:1–2:11 (Brill 2011). Robert Langer e.a., ‘Transfer of Ritual’, in: Journal of Ritual Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1 (2006) 1-10

14. Bibliography (2) Carl Meier, Healing Dream and Ritual. Ancient Incubation and Modern Psychotherapy (Daimon Verlag, Fourth edition 2009 [1985]). Axel Michaels (ed.), Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Volume 5 Transfer and Spaces (Hassarowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden 2010). Axel Michaels (ed.), Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. 5 Volumes (Lsd 2010-2011). Ghislaine van der Ploeg, The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius (Brill 2018). Paul Post, ‘Rituele dynamiek in liturgisch perspectief: een verkenning van vorm, inhoud en beleving’, in: Jaarboek voor liturgie-onderzoek, Vol. 15 (1999) 119-14 Paul Post, ‘Rituelen en religieuze identiteiten in Europa. Casus: actuele rituele en religieuze dynamiek in Nederland’, in: Jaarboek voor liturgie-onderzoek, Vol. 25 (2009) 125-155 Gil Renberg, Where Dreams May Come. Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World (Brill 2017). Jörg Rüpke, Dynamics of Religion. Past and Present (De Gruyter 2017). Risto Uro, Ritual and Christian Beginnings. A Socio-Cognitive Analyses (Oxford University Press 2016). Risto Uro, ‘Ritual and the rise of the early Christian movement’, in: Philip F. Esler (ed.), The Early Christian World.Second Edition (Routledge 2017) 427-441. Risto Uro et al (eds.), Handbook of Early Christian Ritual (Oxford University Press 2019).