Furthermore, to only depict animals on state reliefs and private dedications under-
lines to what extent getting in touch with the deity is conceived to be accomplished
by ritual and the gift offered in its course. Although an altar is a dedication occa-
sioned entirely by specific individual experiences, the dedicator neither asserts his ideas
about the deity in question, nor hints at his reasons or expectations. There is no
personal encounter between dedicator and deity to be visualized; the only empha-
sis lies on the raw matter playing the central part in this act of communication. On
the grounds of this gift, the dedicator feels entitled to confront the deity with his
prayer and to hope for its fulfillment. The image, in short, indicates the price for
divine protection.
FURTHER READINGRyberg (1955) remains a thesaurus of material. Recent monographs that include fully docu-
mented catalogues and images address several subjects: cultic personnel and musicians (Fless
1995); priestly symbols (Siebert 1999); self-representations of magistrates and priests (Ronke
1987); and rituals (Moede 2004).
Reliefs, Public and Private 175