Gabe und Erinnerung – Heiligtum und Opfer

Abstract

This article discusses the concepts of gift exchange and collective memory for the understanding of devotional offerings and votive depositions. Give and take in the sanctuary was embedded in the give and take of society. Neither the devotee nor the deity is wholly free in the exchange between humans and gods; each must abide by the standards of the procedure. Participation in this system necessarily preformed the training of the individual and the collective memory of the devotees, in terms of its track record. Votive offerings were therefore a flexible and extremely versatile medium of communication with the gods, through which nearly all facets of the society could be represented.

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