Offerte incruente in Magna Grecia. Un approccio iconografico per lo studio di dolci e pani in contesto rituale

Iconography constitutes a fundamental source in the studies on ancient ritual and bloodless sacrifice, especially for the areas in which the literary and epigraphic evidence is meager, like Western Greece. This approach is particularly fruitful when examining bread and cakes: the paper deals with the role of these offerings in ancient Magna Graecia focusing on the coroplastic evidence coming from the areas of Metapontum and Epizephyrian Lokroi. Several aspects (morphology, culinary implications, occurrence, ritual associations with other foods, different ways of presentation and offering in sacred contexts, relations to determinate religious spheres, deities and festivals, etc.) are taken into account, in order to contribute to the reconstruction of this important part of ritual performance and worship.