Chaining Gods: Ritualized Coercion and the Excessive Agency of Bound Cult Images in the Ancient Mediterranean

Abstract This paper explores the ritualized binding of cult images with chains or fetters in the ancient Mediterranean. Both ancient and contemporary interpretations often view these practices as efforts to retain divine presence in times of crisis or to restrain the volatile power of fickle gods. This paper suggests an alternative interpretation grounded in materiality theory and comparative insights from East Asian ritual iconoclasm. I argue that ritualized binding served as a material means to activate the latent power of the cult image, and that chaining an image was a performative strategy intended to compel divine efficacy through materialized humiliation. I argue that the application of chains constructed the power of the image, transforming inert matter into powerful locations of divine presence. Ultimately, the paper reframes binding as a generative religious technology that mediated divine power through material intervention and ritual manipulation.