Incense, Abstracted Space, and the Visualisation of Phoenician Deities

Abstract

This article argues that incense-burning functioned as a key mechanism for materialising divine presence in
Phoenician ritual performance. Archaeological evidence points to aniconic cult media – betyls and sacred stone installations – while glyptic art, terracotta figurines, and stelae imagery repeatedly visualises anthropomorphic deities. Rather than treating this as a contradiction, the study proposes “abstracted space” (such as provided by an empty throne) as a ritual locus that could be conceptually occupied. Iconographic patterns show incense burners placed consistently between worshipper and deity, suggesting that smoke marked the moment of epiphany and encounter. The images of deities are therefore read not as portraits of cult statues but as formulas for staging divine presence. In short, Phoenician gods were made visible through ritual performance – above all through incense, staged space, and shared visual conventions.