Classics

• a blood sacrifice is the offering of a victims blood to the gods or the dead
• victim - the animal that was chosen to be killed for a sacrifice. most houses would sacrifice small animals, however cities would not hesitate to sacrifice cows for a feast
• libation - a liquid offering to the fods by pouring it on the ground e.g wine milk and oil
• votive offering - small gifts or tokens offering to the gods
• hecatomb - a sacrifice in honour of a god of a hundred oxen
• burning the victim - the god derives pleasure from the smoke as it rose to mount olympus
• offerings of grain fruit and cakes were made
• ritual slaughter of a victim - different gods preffered different animals to be sacrificed to them
• 3 main parts to the sacrifice -

  the preparation

  the kill

  the sharing of the meat
• greek preperation

  participants would clean themselves as to not pollute sacrifices, wear there best clothes and wear garlands of leaves and twigs

  the animal would be prepared by guilding its horns and decorated with garlands

  attendants would carry baskets of barley and oats - basket also had the sacrificial knife

  the victim would be processed by water bearers and musicians trying not to startle the bull

  once it arrived they would cleanse themselves light a fire and pour water on its head so it nods for consent.

  a woman had to be present
• greek kill

  sacrificer would cut some of the victims hair and throw it into the fire

  the sacrificer would slit the victims throat and the blood would be collected in a bowl

  the women would cry / perform an ululation to mark the passage to the afterlife
• grain used in acrifice to throw into the fire to show the participants
• greek sharing

  the gods received their portion of thigh bone wrapped in fat and wine

  once the gods were satisfied the entrails were read

  the remaining meat cut and shared amongst the participants then the remaining shared with the community

  rare opportunity to eat meat

  the animal skin donated ot the temple
• roman preparations

  participants dressed up in best clothes and cleaned themselves - no garland

  animal decorated

  items gathered - official popa and cultraris and mola salsa

  priest would veil his head with his toga in the procession accompanied by a flue player - no women
• roman kill

  sprinkled mola salsa on animals head followed by wine to make the victim nod

  then struck with a popa to daze it would slit its throat

  no ululation
• roman sharing -

  utter a prayer

  entrails read

  cooked meat offered to the gods

  first the priests ate then senate then citixens
• why eat meat

  rare chance to eat meat

  prometheus tricked zeus into choosing the bone wrapped in fat

  dont want to waste meat
• what was the point of sacrifices

  get the gos approval

  give thanks to the god

  ensuring something wont or will happen

  the gods did not necessarily return the favor
• gods preferred sacrificial animals

  apollo - donkey

  demeter - pig

  hecate - black dog

  poseidon - horse

  asclepius - rooster

  everyone else oxen
• thysia

  dawn

  any animal gender

  slaughter over the altar

  blood collected

  offer thigh bone wrapped in fat - the rest eaten
• sphagia

  done at sunset

  female animals only

  slaughter over a low altar or on the ground

  blood allowed to seep into the ground

  offering burnt whole - holocaust
• human sacrifice was the greatest sacrifice