Animal Sacrifice in the Ancient Greek World

Experts in Greek language, literature and material culture re-examine the role of animal sacrifice in Greek life across the Mediterranean.

Sarah Hitch (Edited by), Ian Rutherford (Edited by)

9781108820202, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 May 2020

350 pages, 24 b/w illus.
15.5 x 23 x 1.5 cm, 0.51 kg

This volume brings together studies on Greek animal sacrifice by foremost experts in Greek language, literature and material culture. Readers will benefit from the synthesis of new evidence and approaches with a re-evaluation of twentieth-century theories on sacrifice. The chapters range across the whole of antiquity and go beyond the Greek world to consider possible influences in Hittite Anatolia and Egypt, while an introduction to the burgeoning science of osteo-archaeology is provided. The twentieth-century emphasis on sacrifice as part of the Classical Greek polis system is challenged through consideration of various ancient perspectives on sacrifice as distinct from specific political or even Greek contexts. Many previously unexplored topics are covered, particularly the type of animals sacrificed and the spectrum of sacrificial ritual, from libations to lasting memorials of the ritual in art.

Introduction Sarah Hitch and Ian Rutherford
Part I. Victims: 1. Bare bones: zooarchaeology and Greek sacrifice Gunnel Ekroth
2. Venison for Artemis? The problem of deer sacrifice Jennifer Larson
3. Don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg? Some thoughts on bird sacrifices in ancient Greece Alexandra Villing
Part II. Procedure: 4. Sacrifice and purification in the Greek world Stella Georgoudi
5. 'Polis religion' and sacrificial regulation Fred Naiden
6. Meaty perks: epichoric and topological trends Mathieu Carbon
Part III. Representation: 7. Sacrifice and the Homeric hymn to Hermes 112-41 Oliver Thomas
8.. Visualising veneration? Images of sacrifice on Greek votive reliefs Anja Kloeckner
9. Sacrifice in drama: the flow of liquids Richard Seaford
Part IV. Margins: 10. Animal sacrifice in Hittite Anatolia Alice Mouton
11. The reception of Egyptian animal sacrifice in Greek writers: ethnic stereotyping or transcultural discourse? Ian Rutherford
12. A quiet slaughter? Julian and the etiquette of public sacrifice Sergio Knipe.

Subject Areas: Worship, rites & ceremonies [HRLF], History of religion [HRAX], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]