See also:

• SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

SACRIFICE (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. sacrificium; sacer, See also:

• HOLY

holy, and facere, to make)  , the See also:

• RITUAL (from Lat. ritus, a custom, especially a religious rite or custom)

ritual destruction of an See also:

• OBJECT

object, or, more commonly, the slaughter of a victim by effusion of See also:

• BLOOD

blood, suffocation, See also:

• FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire or other means . While the See also:

• HEBREW

Hebrew for See also:

• SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

sacrifice, nai, makes the killing of the victim the central feature of the ceremony, the ' Latin word brings out the fact that an See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of sacralization (see See also:

• TABOO (also written tapu and tabu)

TABOO) is an essential See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element in many cases . The sacrifice of desacralization is, however, also found; hence MM . See also:

• HUBERT (HUCBERTUS, HUGBERTUS), ST (d. 727)

Hubert and Mauss describe a sacrifice as " a religious act, which, by the See also:

• CONSECRATION (Lat. consecrallo, from con and sacrare, " to make sacred ")

consecration of a victim, modifies the moral See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of the sacrificer or of certain material See also:

• OBJECTS

objects which he has in view," i.e. it either confers sanctity or removes it and its analogue, impurity . It is, in fact, " a See also:

• PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

procedure whereby communication is established between the sacred and profane See also:

• SPHERES, MUSIC OF THE

spheres by a victim, that is to, say by an object destroyed in the course of the ceremony." By this See also:

• DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition the See also:

• TERM

term sacrifice is extended to See also:

• COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the inanimate offering which is consumed by fire, broken or otherwise rendered useless for the purpose of human See also:

• LIFE

life . Theories of Sacrifice.—Explanations of sacrifice, as of other See also:

• RITES

rites, are naturally not wanting among the peoples who have practised or still practise it; but they are often of the nature of aetiological myths and give no See also:

• CLUE

clue to the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original meaning . Scientific theories date from the second See also:

• HALF

half of the last See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and were originated in the first instance by the See also:

• ENGLISH

English anthropological school . (a) According to the view put forward by Dr See also:

• TYLOR, EDWARD BURNETT (1832- )

Tylor, the. sacrifice is originally a See also:

• GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift, offered to supernatural beings by See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man for the purpose of securing their favour or minimizing their hostility . By a natural See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of transitions the gift theory became transformed, in the minds of the sacrificers, into the See also:

• HOMAGE (from homo, through the Low Lat. hominaticum, which occurs in a document of 1035)

homage theory, which again passed by an easy transition into the renunciation theory . These were, in fact, simply the popular theories of sacrifice put on an evidential basis by facts See also:

• DRAWN

drawn from various stages of culture . (b) .With W . See also:

• ROBERTSON, FREDERICK WILLIAM (1816-1853)
• ROBERTSON, GEORGE CROOM (1842-1892)
• ROBERTSON, JOSEPH (1810-1866)
• ROBERTSON, THOMAS WILLIAM (1829-1871)
• ROBERTSON, WILLIAM BRUCE (182o-1886)

Robertson `See also:

• SMITH
• SMITH, ADAM (1723–1790)
• SMITH, ALEXANDER (183o-1867)
• SMITH, ANDREW JACKSON (1815-1897)
• SMITH, CHARLES EMORY (1842–1908)
• SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON (1807–1862)
• SMITH, CHARLOTTE (1749-1806)
• SMITH, COLVIN (1795—1875)
• SMITH, EDMUND KIRBY (1824-1893)
• SMITH, G
• SMITH, GEORGE (1789-1846)
• SMITH, GEORGE (184o-1876)
• SMITH, GEORGE ADAM (1856- )
• SMITH, GERRIT (1797–1874)
• SMITH, GOLDWIN (1823-191o)
• SMITH, HENRY BOYNTON (1815-1877)
• SMITH, HENRY JOHN STEPHEN (1826-1883)
• SMITH, HENRY PRESERVED (1847– )
• SMITH, JAMES (1775–1839)
• SMITH, JOHN (1579-1631)
• SMITH, JOHN RAPHAEL (1752–1812)
• SMITH, JOSEPH, JR
• SMITH, MORGAN LEWIS (1822–1874)
• SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
• SMITH, ROBERT (1689-1768)
• SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN
• SMITH, SIR THOMAS (1513-1577)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY (1764-1840)
• SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845)
• SMITH, THOMAS SOUTHWOOD (1788-1861)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (1769-1839)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (c. 1730-1819)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (fl. 1596)
• SMITH, WILLIAM FARRAR (1824—1903)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1808—1872)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1825—1891)
• SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-'894)

Smith, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, a new era was reached, in which the recently recognized existence of See also:

• TOTEMISM

Totemism (q.v.) was made the basis of an See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to give a 1 Scipione de See also:

• RICCI, MATTEO (1552-1610)

Ricci, See also:

• BISHOP (A.S. bisceop, from Lat. episcopus, Gr. irio-Korros, " overlooker " or " overseer ")
• BISHOP, ISABELLA (1832-1904)
• BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY (1786-1855)

bishop of See also:

• PISTOIA
• PISTOIA, SYNOD OF

Pistoia from 178o to 1791, on the ex-See also:

• JESUITS

Jesuits requesting him to consecrate a See also:

• BELL
• BELL, ALEXANDER MELVILLE (1819—1905)
• BELL, ANDREW (1753—1832)
• BELL, GEORGE JOSEPH (1770-1843)
• BELL, HENRY (1767-1830)
• BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD (1803-1874)
• BELL, JACOB (1810-1859)
• BELL, JOHN (1691-178o)
• BELL, JOHN (1763-1820)
• BELL, JOHN (1797-1869)
• BELL, ROBERT (1800-1867)
• BELL, SIR CHARLES (1774—1842)

bell dedicated to this object, issued a See also:

• PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter (3rd See also:

• JUNE

June 1784) in which he pointed out that the spirit of true See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion was " far removed from fetichism," and warned his See also:

• FLOCK

flock against " cardiolatry." This pastoral was subsequently in 1786 annexed to the resolutions passed by the re-forming See also:

• SYNOD
• SYNOD (Gr. vbvobos)

synod of Pistoia (q.v.), and was condemned with eighty-four other propositions by papal See also:

• BULL
• BULL, GEORGE (1634–1710)
• BULL, JOHN (c. 1562–1628)
• BULL, OLE BORNEMANN (18ro-188o)

bull in 1794.—En, theory of origins .

The first See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of his theory distinguishes (i.) honorific, (ii.) piacular and (iii.) mystical or sacramental sacrifices; but the latter type is traced back to the same See also:

• CYCLE
• CYCLE (Gr. KUK)^os, a circle)

cycle of ideas as that in which the piacular sacrifice originated . (i.) The essential feature of this type was that the See also:

• GOD

god and his worshippers shared the sacrifice and might thus be regarded as commensals, or table companions . The human commensals were the totem-See also:

• KIN (0. E. cyn, a word represented in nearly all Teutonic languages, cf. Du. kunne, Dan. and Swed. kon, Goth kuni, tribe; the Teutonic base is kunya; the equivalent Aryan root gan- to beget, produce, is seen in Gr. 'yEvos, Lat. genus, cf. "kind")

kin, whom Robertson Smith conceived to have been in 'the See also:

• HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit of sharing a See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• MEAL

meal in daily life, or at least of not mixing with other kins . The object of sharing the meal with the god was to renew the blood See also:

• BOND
• BOND, SIR EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1815-1898)

bond . The victim was the See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal of a hostile totem-kin or an animal commonly offered to the god . The god was originally a stranger, taken into the kin by a rite of blood brotherhood, and this constitutes the dark point of the theory; for Robertson Smith regards the blood bond as relatively See also:

• LATE

late; hence we do not see how the god became associated with the kin . (ii.) The piacular sacrifice arose from the need of atoning for bloodshed within the kinship See also:

• GROUP

group; properly speaking, the See also:

• CULPRIT

culprit himself should suffer: should he be unknown or beyond the reach of vengeance, a substitute had to be found . This was naturally found in the non-human member of the totem-kin--the totem animal; in a sense, therefore, the god died for his See also:

• PEOPLE

people . (iii.) In the mystical sacrifice the god is himself slain and eaten by his worshippers . In the Religion of the Semites (and ed., 1894) the theory was remodelled so as to overcome the difficulty pointed out above . The god, the victim and the human group are regarded as of the same kin; the animal (totem) is the earlier form of the god; the deity was originally See also:

• FEMALE

female, for under matrilineal rules the See also:

• MOTHER

mother alone is of kin to her See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, but, with the rise of descent in the male See also:

• LINE

line, the god was transformed into a male . The sacrifice is in its origin a communion; god and worshippers have a bond of kinship between them; but it is liable to be interrupted or its blood .

strength diminished . Ceremonies of See also:

• INITIATION (Lat. inilium, beginning, entrance, from mire, to go in)

initiation are the means (e) Dr Westermarck takes the view that human sacrifice is as by which the affiance is established between the deity and a See also:

• RULE

rule an act of substitution, in that men offer a victim in the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young man, when the latter enters upon the rights of manhood; and the supposed bond of kinship is thus regarded as an artificial See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

union from the outset, so far as the individual is concerned, although Robertson Smith still maintains the theory of the fatherhood of the god, where it is a question of the origin of the totem-kin . From the communion sacrifice sprang the piaculum, which here becomes a subsidiary form and finds its full explanation in the ideas connected with the mystic union of god and worshippers . For the object of the piaculum is the re=See also:

• ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of the broken See also:

• ALLIANCE

alliance, which was precisely that of the communion sacrifice . With the decline of totemism arose the need for human sacrifice—the only means of re-establishing the broken tie of kinship when the animal See also:

• SPECIES

species was no longer akin to man . This theory of Robertson Smith's has been attacked from two sides . In the first See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, L . Marillier (Rea. de l'hist. See also:

• DES

des religions, See also:

• XXXVI

xxxvi . 243) argues that if there was an original bond of kinship between the god and the kin, there is no need to maintain it by sacrificial 'rites, and cites against Smith's view the practice of totemic See also:

• GROUPS
• GROUPS, THEORY

groups . To this it might be replied that the real significance of 'initiation ceremonies is still obscure; it is a plausible See also:

• ARGUMENT

argument 'that the See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child does not form See also:

• PART

part of the kin till. after initiation, but this argument seems inconclusive, for in See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West See also:

• AUSTRALIA

Australia there is solidarity, according to See also:

• GREY, CHARLES GREY, 2ND EARL (1764-1845)
• GREY, HENRY GREY, 3RD EARL (1802-1894)
• GREY, LADY JANE (1537-1554)
• GREY, SIR EDWARD
• GREY, SIR GEORGE (1812–1898)

Grey (See also:

• JOURNALS

Journals, ii . 239), between the whole of the kinship group; whether adult or not; and, moreover, nowhere are rites found which are intended to strengthen the union between a man and his totem by means of the blood bond, unless we include the aberrant totemism of the Arunta (See also:

• SPENCER
• SPENCER, HERBERT (1820-1903)
• SPENCER, JOHN CHARLES SPENCER, 3RD EARL (1782-1845)
• SPENCER, JOHNPOYNTZ SPENCER
• SPENCER, WILLIAM ROBERT (1769-1834)

Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes of Central Australia, 167), who eat their totems in See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order to gain magical See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of increasing the stock of the totem animal . Marillier further argues that if, on the other hand, there was no bond between god and people but that of the common meal, it does not appear that the god is a totem god; there is no See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason why the animal should have been a totem; and in any See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case this See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of sacrifice can hardly have been anything but a slow growth and consequently not the origin of the practice .

In the second place, MM . Hubert and Maus's point out that Robertson Smith is far from having establishedeither the See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical or the logical connexion between the common meal and the other types of sacrifice; the simplest Semitic forms known to us are the most recently recorded; further their simplicity may mean no more than documentary insufficiency, and in any case does not imply any priority; the piaculum is found See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side by side with the communion at all times . Moreover, under piaculum are confused See also:

• PURIFICATION

purification, propitiations and expiations; Smith's contention that purifications, whose magical See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character he recognizes but interprets as late, are not sacrificial, is far from conclusive . (c) See also:

• BUILDING

Building in part on the See also:

• FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation laid by Robertson Smith, Dr J . G . Frazer has put forward the view that while the sacrifice of the god may have been piacular, it was also intended to preserve his divine life against the inroads of old 'See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age . This theory he exemplifies by two orders of cases, (i.) the putting to See also:

• DEATH

death of the man-god, who is often also the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king, on whose See also:

• HEALTH

health is held to depend the safety of his people, of the See also:

• WORLD

world, or even of the universe; and (ii.) the See also:

• ANNUAL

annual killing of the representative of the spirit of vegetation or of the See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

Corn-spirit (see See also:

• DEMONOLOGY (L1alµwv, demon, genius, spirit)

DEMONOLOGY) . (d) For L . Marillier sacrifice was, at its origin, essentially a magical rite—the liberation by the effusion of a victim's blood. of a magical force which was to See also:

• BEND

bend the gods to the will of man; from this arose, under the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of cult of the dead, the gift theory of sacrifice . Adopting the theory of W . R.,Smith, Marillier also maintained, but without clearly explaining the relation of this part of his theory to the preceding, that a human kinship group conceived the idea of allying itself with one god in particular . This they did by sacrificing a victim and effecting communion with the god by ' the application of its blood to the See also:

• ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

altar; or, more directly, by the sacrifice of the animal-god . and the , contact of the sacrificer with its the See also:

• HOPE, ANTHONY
• HOPE, THOMAS (c. 1770-1831)

hope of saving themselves; but he also recognizes funeral sacrifices of various kinds.: Certain sacrifices of animals he explains as intended to See also:

• TRANSFER (from Lat. transferre, to bear across, carry over)

transfer a conditional curse .

(f) The' preceding theories are attempts, in the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main, to derive from one source all the forms of sacrifice . MM . Hubert and Maass, while admitting that in all sacrifices is found some idea of See also:

• PURCHASE

purchase or. substitution, decline to admit that all have issued from one See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive form . 'In their view, based on an See also:

• ANALYSIS (Gr. avci and Meta, to break up into parts)

analysis of Hebrew and See also:

• HINDU

Hindu forms of sacrifice, the unity of sacrifice consists in the immediate aim of the ritual, not in the ultimate end to be attained; for we rarely find a rite other than complex and by the same sacrifice more than one result may be sought. or attained . The unity of procedure consists in the fact that every sacrifice involves putting the divine in communication with the profane by an intermediary—the victim—which may' be piacular or honorific, a messenger or a means of See also:

• DIVINATION
• DIVINATION, OMEN, ASTROLOGY

divination, a means of alimenting the eternal life of the species or a source of magical See also:

• ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy which the rite diffuses over objects in its neighbourhood . (g) Our knowledge of primitive forms of sacrifice is meagre; even were it more extensive, it would probably be impossible to determine the origin or origins of sacrifice; for no ritual has necessarily survived unchanged in form and meaning since its inception, and even permanence of form cannot be taken' to imply a corresponding permanence of meaning for the worshippers . If, however, we turn to Australia, where sacrifice is 'unknown, we find more than 'one class of rites in which we can 'trace an idea akin to some forms of sacrifice . Just as the See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German reaper leaves the last ears of corn as an offering to Wodan, so the Australian See also:

• BLACK
• BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874)
• BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810–1883)
• BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898)

black offers a portion of a find of See also:

• HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey; in New See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

South See also:

• WALES (Cymru, Gwalia, Cambria)

Wales a pebble is said to have been offered or a number of spears, in See also:

• QUEENSLAND

Queensland' the skin removed in forming the See also:

• BODY

body-scars . Thus it appears that the gift theory may after all be primitive; the See also:

• WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship of, or care for, the dead' may have supplied in other areas the See also:

• MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive for the transition from offering to sacrifice or the See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution may have been due to the spiritualization of the gods . In Australia, among the See also:

• HOTTENTOTS

Hottentots, in the See also:

• MALAY

Malay See also:

• PENINSULA
• PENINSULA (Lat. paeninsula, from paene, almost, and insula, an island)

Peninsula and elsewhere, blood ceremonies are in use which are unconnected with the slaughter of a victim; in this blood ritual we may see another possible source of sacrifice . The Arunta hold that the See also:

• SPIRITS

spirits of kangaroos are expelled by human blood from certain rocks . By parity of reasoning a blood ritual may have been adopted by peoples who practise the See also:

• EXPULSION (Lat. expulsio, from expellere)

expulsion of evils, conceiving them either animistically or as powers; catharsis, in the sense of removal of uncleanness, is not necessarily primitive .

Principles of See also:

• CLASSIFICATION (Lat. classis, a class, probably from the root cal-, cla-, as in Gr. icaMce, clamor)

Classification.—It is possible to classify sacrifices according to (a) the occasion of the rite, (b) the end to be achieved, (c) the material object to be affected or (d) the form of the rite . (a) The See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division into periodical and occasional is important in Hindu and other higher religions, and the sutras constantly draw the distinction; the former class is obligatory, the latter facultative . In less See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed See also:

• CREEDS (Lat. credo, I believe), or CONFESSIONS OF FAITH

creeds the difference tends to remain in the background; but where sacrifices are found, See also:

• SOLEMN (Lat. sollemnis, sollemnis, less correctly solennis, yearly, annual; from sollus = totus, whole, entire, Gr. Mos., and annus, year)

solemn annual rites, communal, purificatory or expiatory, are celebrated, and these are held to be in like manner obligatory . (b) The end to be achieved is, as has been shown by Hubert and Mauss, sometimes sacralization, sometimes desacralization . In the former case the sacrificer is raised to a higher level; he enters into closer communion with the gods . In the latter either some material object, not necessarily animate, is deprived of a portion of its sanctity and made See also:

• FIT

fit for human use, or the sacrificer himself loses a portion of his sanctity or impurity . In the sacrifice of sacralization the sanctity passes from the victim to the object; in that of desacralization, from the object to the victim . (c) Sacrifices may be classified into (i.) subjective or See also:

• PERSONAL

personal, where the sacrificer himself gains or loses sanctity or impurity; (ii.) See also:

• OBJECTIVE, or OBJECT GLASS

objective, where the current of mans (see TABOO) is directed upon some other See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person or object, and only a secondary effect is produced on the sacrificer himself . (d) The form of the sacrifice is discussed in the next See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section . Ritual.—For See also:

• HINDUISM

Hinduism and later Judaism we possess a See also:

• WEALTH

wealth of material on which to See also:

• BASE

base a See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative study of the forms of sacrifice; a form of this—animal sacrifice in the Vedas—has been analysed by MM . Hubert and Mauss . For See also:

• GREECE

Greece and See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome, where the instructions as to ritual were not embodied in the elaborate codes handed down in Hinduism or Judaism, our material is far less See also:

• COMPLETE

complete .

For other areas we have often no description of the procedure at all, but merely the briefest outline of the actual See also:

• PROCESS

process of slaughter, and we are ignorant whether the form of the rite is in reality See also:

• SIMPLE

simple (either from a loss of primitive elements or from never having advanced beyond the See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage at which we find it), or whether the See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of detail Is due to the inattention or lack of See also:

• INTEREST

interest of the observer . It must therefore be understood that the following analysis of ritual, based on the most elaborate codes known to us, is by no means conclusive as to the primitive form or forms of sacrifice . The necessary elements of a Hindu sacrifice are: (r) the sacrificer, who provides the victim, and is affected, directly or indirectly, by the sacrifice; he may or may - not be identical with (2) the officiant, who performs the rite; we have further (3) the place, (4) the See also:

• INSTRUMENTS

instruments of sacrifice and (5) the victim; where the sacrificer enjoys only the secondary results, the See also:

• DIRECT

direct influence of the sacrifice is directed towards (6) the object; finally, we may distinguish (7) three moments of the rite—(a) the entry, (b) the slaughter, (c) the exit . The sacrifices of sacralization and desacralization mentioned above find their analogues in the Hindu See also:

• SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

scheme of the rite; sacralization and desacralization, sometimes performed by means of subsidiary sacrifices, are the essential elements of the preparation for sacrifice and the subsequent See also:

• LUSTRATION

lustration . In the most developed forms, such as the offering of See also:

• SOMA (Sanskrit for " pressed juice," from the root su, to press)

soma, they assumed a See also:

• GREAT

great importance; (r) the sacrificer had to pass from the world of man into a world of the gods; consequently he was separated from the common See also:

• HERD (a word common to Teutonic languages; the O. Eng. form was heord; cf. Ger. Herde, Swed. and Dan. hjord; the Sans. ca'rdhas, which shows the pre-Teutonic form, means a troop)

herd of mankind and purified; he underwent ceremonies emblematic of rebirth and was then subject to number-less taboos imposed for the purpose of maintaining his ceremonial purity . In like manner (2) the officiant prepared himself for his task; but in his case the natural sanctity of the See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest relievedhim of the See also:

• NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of undergoing all that the common man had to pass through; in fact, this was one of the causes which brought him into existence,' the other being the need of a functionary See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar with the ritual, who would avoid disastrous errors of procedure, destructive of the efficacy of the sacrifice . (3) Where there was an appointed place of sacrifice—the See also:

• TEMPLE
• TEMPLE, FREDERICK (1821-1902)
• TEMPLE, RICHARD
• TEMPLE, SIR RICHARD, BART
• TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART

Temple at See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem, according to later Jewish See also:

• PRESCRIPTION

prescription—there was no need of preparation of a place of sacrifice; but the Hindu See also:

• CHOSE (Fr. for " thing ")

chose, each for himself, the site of his altar . (4) The necessary rites included (a) the establishment of the fires, See also:

• FRICTION (from Lat. fricare, to rub)

friction being the only permitted method of kindling it, (b) the tracing on the ground of the vedi, or magical circle, to destroy impurities, (c) the digging of the hole which constituted the real altar, (d) the preparation of the See also:

• POST

post which represented the sacrificer and to which the victim was tied, and other See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

minor details . (5) The victim might be naturally sacred or might have to undergo sanctification . In the former case (a) individual animals might be distinguished by certain marks, or (b) the whole species might be allied to the god; in the latter case the victim had to be without blemish; (c) the age, See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour or See also:

• SEX (Lat. sexes; possibly connected with secure, to cut)

sex of the victim might differ according to the purpose of the sacrifice . It was first cleansed; then plied with laudatory epithets; and, thirdly, soothed, so that it might be more acceptable to the gods and less likely to do an injury after its death, when its spirit was set See also:

• FREE

free . It had now reached a degree of sanctity and only the priest might See also:

• TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch it; it was sprinkled with See also:

• WATER

water, and anointed with See also:

• BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gr. 0obrvpov, apparently connected with $ous, cow, and rvpbs, cheese, but, according to the New English Dictionary, perhaps of Scythian origin)

butter; finally, the priest made three turns See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round it with a lighted See also:

• TORCH (O. Fr. torche, from Med. Lat. tortia, derived from tortus, twisted, torquere, to twist)

torch in his hand, which finally separated it from the world and fitted it for its high purpose .

The object of the sacrifice being to See also:

• BRIDGE

bridge the gulf between the sacred and profane worlds, the sacrificer had to remain in contact with the victim, either personally, or, to avoid ritual perils, by the intermediary of the priest . After excuses made to the animal or to the species in See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general, the victim was placed in position, and silence observed by all who were See also:

• PRESENT

present . The See also:

• CORD (derived through the Fr. corde, from the Lat. chorda, Gr. xop(5rt, the string of a musical instrument)

cord was drawn tight and the victim ceased to breathe; its spirit passed into the world of the gods . But this did not conclude the ceremony, even as far as the victim was concerned; it remained to dispose of the See also:

• CORPSE (Lat. corpus, the body)

corpse . After a rite intended to secure its perfect ceremonial purity, a part of the victim, the vapa, was removed, held over the fire and finally See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast into it . The See also:

• REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder, divided into eighteen portions, was cooked; seven See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell to the sacrificer, after an invocation, which made them sacred by calling the deity to descend into the offering and thus sanctify the sacrificer . (6) Then followed the rites of desacralization, including burning of certain of the instruments, lustration of the post, destruction of the butter, &c . Finally the priest, the sacrificer and his wife performed a lustration, found in an exaggerated form in the " See also:

• BATH
• BATH, THOMAS THYNNE
• BATH, WILLIAM

bath " which concluded the soma sacrifice, and the ceremonies were at an end . How far this scheme of sacrifice holds See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good for other areas, and in particular for more primitive peoples, is an open question . Our data are nowhere so full as for See also:

• INDIA
• INDIA, FRENCH

India; where they are comparatively abundant they refer either to a civilized or semi-civilized people, or to an See also:

• AREA

area, like West See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa, where the influence of See also:

• ISLAM

Islam has introduced a disturbing element . Though the moralization of gods has only proceeded pari passu with the moralization of mankind, the deities of the more advanced nations are perhaps See also:

• FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt by them to be more terrible and more difficult of See also:

• ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access than the divinities of See also:

• LOWER

lower races; herein lies one explanation of the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of the priesthood . Even if the conception of the relative sanctity of gods and men remained unaltered, it by no means follows that in primitive times the same precautions were necessary in approaching the former as were demanded by the consciousness of later generations .

With our present knowledge the problem of the original form of sacrifice, if there be a single See also:

• PRIMARY

primary form, is insoluble . No general survey of sacrificial ritual is possible here, but a few details as to the mode of slaying the victim and disposing of the body may be given . The See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head of the animal or man may be cut off (and See also:

• CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom often requires that a single See also:

• BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow shall suffice), its spine broken or its See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart torn out; it may be stoned, beaten to death or shot, torn in pieces, drowned or buried, burned to death or hung, thrown down a precipice, strangled or squeezed to death . The sacrificer may aim at causing a speedy death or a slow one . The corpse may be burnt, in part or as a whole; portions may be assigned to the priest, the sacrificer and the gods; the See also:

• SKULL

skull, bones, &c., may receive See also:

• SPECIAL

special treatment; the See also:

• FAT (O.E. fdett; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vet, Ger. Fett, &c., and may be ultimately related to Greek Irian, and =apos, and Sanskrit pivan)

fat or blood may be set aside, and they or the ashes may be singled out as the See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share of the god, to be offered upon the altar; the skin of the victim may be employed as a covering for the idol or material representative of the god, either permanently or till the next annual sacrifice . The blood of the victim may be drunk by the priest as a means of inducing See also:

• INSPIRATION (Lat. inspirare, breathe upon or into)

inspiration, its entrails may be employed in divination, its flesh consumed in a common meal, exposed to the birds and beasts of See also:

• PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

prey or buried in the See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth . It is equally impossible to give a general survey of the purposes of sacrifice; not only are they too numerous but it is rare to find any but mixed forms; the scapegoat, for example, is also a messenger to the dead, and its flesh is eaten by the sacrificers . Certain main types may, however, be enumerated . Cathartic Sacrifice.—In primitive cults the distinction between sacred and unclean is far from complete or well defined (see TABOO); consequently we find two types of cathartic sacrifice —(i.) one to cleanse of impurity and make fit for common use, (ii.) the other to rid of sanctity and in like manner render suitable for human use or intercourse . (i.) The most conspicuous example of the first class is the scapegoat . Two goats were provided by the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient See also:

• HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews on the See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

Day of See also:

• ATONEMENT

Atonement; the high priest sent one into the See also:

• DESERT

desert, after confessing on it the sins of See also:

• ISRAEL (Hebrew for " God strives " or " rules "; see Gen. xxxii. 28; and the allusion in Hosea xii. 4)

Israel; it was not permitted to run free but was probably cast over a precipice; the other was sacrificed as a See also:

• SIN
• SIN (O. Eng. syn: a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zonde, Ger. Siinde)

sin-offering . In like manner in the purification of lepers two birds were used; the See also:

• THROAT (O. Eng. protu, prote or }Prota, possibly from preotan, to press, whence threat, or, with loss of initial s, connected with strut, to swell)

throat of one was cut, the living See also:

• BIRD

bird dipped in the blood mingled with water and the leper sprinkled; then the bird was set free to carry away the leprosy .

In both these rites we seem to have a duplication of ritual, and the See also:

• PARALLELISM, PSYCHOPHYSICAL

parallelism of sacrifice and liberation is clear . (ii.) As an example of the second class may be taken the sacrifice of the bull to See also:

• RUDRA (probably from the root rud, " to howl," hence " the howler ")

Rudra . MM . Hubert and Mauss interpret this to mean that the sanctity of the remainder of the herd was concentrated on a single animal; the god, incarnate in the herd, was eliminated by the sacrifice, and the See also:

• CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle saved from the dangers to which their association with the god exposed them . In the Feast of Firstfruits we have another example of the same sort; comparable with this concentration of holiness is the respect or veneration shown to a single animal as representative of its species (see ANIMAL WORSHIP) . In both these cases the object of the rite is the elimination of impurity or of a source of danger . But the See also:

• NAZARITE

Nazarite was equally See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound to See also:

• LAY

lay aside his holiness before mixing with common folk and returning to See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary life; this he did by a sacrifice, which, with the offering of his See also:

• HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair upon the altar, freed him from his See also:

• VOW (Lat. votum, vow, promise: cf. VOTE)

vow and reduced him to the same level of sanctity as ordinary men . With regard to the scapegoat, it must be noted that we also meet with a more See also:

• CONCRETE
• CONCRETE (Lat. concretes, participle of concrescere, to grow together)

concrete idea of expulsion of evil (see DEMONOLOGY, ExoactsM), which is present among the most primitive peoples, such as the Australians . This raises the problem of how far the catharsis dealt with above is in its original form an elimination of impurity, and how far something more definite—a spirit or other principle of evil—is held to be expelled by scapegoat and allied ceremonies . Communal Sacrifice.—In spite of the importance attached to the idea of the common meal by Robertson Smith, it is not a primitive rite of See also:

• ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption . The custom of eating the body of the victim does not necessarily See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring from any idea of communion with the god; it may also arise from a See also:

• DESIRE

desire to incorporate the sanctity which has been imparted to it—an idea on a level with many other See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food customs (see See also:

• COUVADE (literally a "brooding," from Fr. couver, to hatch, Lat. cubare, to lie down)

COUVADE), and based on the idea that eating anything causes its qualities to pass into the eater . Where the victim is an animal specially associated with a god (the most conspicuous case is perhaps that of the corn spirit), it may be granted that the god is eaten; but preciselyin these cases there is no custom of giving a portion of the victim to the god .

Deificatory Sacrifice.—The object of certain sacrifices is to provide a tutelary deity of a See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house, See also:

• TOWN

town or frontier . (a) In See also:

• BURMA

Burma, as in many other countries, those who See also:

• DIE
• DIE (Fr. de, from Lat. datum, given)

die a violent death are held to haunt the place where they met their See also:

• FATE

fate; consequently when a town is built living men are interred beneath the ramparts and the pillars of the See also:

• GATES, HORATIO (1728-1806)

gates . (b) In parts of See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North See also:

• AMERICA

America the nagual or manitu animal, of which the See also:

• INDIAN

Indian dreams during the initiation fast and which is to be his tutelary spirit, is killed with certain rites . (c) Human representatives of the corn or vegetation spirits are killed; in these, as in other cases of the sacrifice of the man-god cited by Dr Frazer, the killing of the old god is at the same See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time the making of a new god . (d) See also:

• SUICIDE (from Lat. sui, of oneself, and cidium, from cued ere, to kill)

Suicide is treated as a means of raising a human being to the See also:

• RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank of a god . (e) Gods may be sacrificed (in theriomorphic form) to themselves as a means of renewing the life of the god . (f) The method of creating a fetish (see See also:

• FETISHISM

FETISHISM) on the See also:

• CONGO

Congo resembles deificatory sacrifice; but here there is no actual slaughter of a human being; magical means are alone relied upon . Honorific Sacrifices.—Whatever their origin, sacrifices tend to be interpreted as gifts to the god . Man seeks to influence his See also:

• FELLOW

fellow men in various ways, by intimidation, by deceit, by See also:

• BRIBERY (from the O. Fr. briberie, begging or vagrancy, bribe, Mid. Lat. briba, signifying a piece of bread given to beggars; the Eng. " bribe " has passed through the meanings of alms, blackmail and extortion, to gifts received or given in order to influ

bribery; and it is quite natural to find the same ideas in the See also:

• SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere of religion . Food is often given to a god because he is believed to take See also:

• PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure in eating; the germ of this idea may have been identical with that of some funerary sacrifices—to nourish the divine life . At a later See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period, See also:

• PARR
• PARR, CATHERINE (1512-1548)
• PARR, SAMUEL (1747-1825)
• PARR, THOMAS (c. 1483—1635)

parr passu with the spiritualization of the god, comes a refinement of the tastes attributed to him, and the finer parts of the sacrifice, finally it may be only its savour, are alone regarded as acceptable offerings . Just as attendants are provided for the dead, so the god receives sacrifices intended to put slaves at his disposal .

This latter idea was the more likely to arise, as the gift theory of sacrifice is closely associated with that of the god as the ruler or king to whom man brings a See also:

• TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute, just as he had to appear before his earthly king bearing gifts in his hands . The honorific sacrifice is essentially a propitiation; it must be distinguished from the piaculum (see below), to which in some aspects it is allied . See also:

• MORTUARY (Med. Lat. mortuarium, from mortuus, dead)

Mortuary Sacrifice.—Sacrifices, especially of human beings, are offered immediately after a death or at a longer See also:

• INTERVAL

interval . Their object may be (a) to provide a See also:

• GUIDE (in Mid. Eng. gyde, from the Fr. guide; the earlier French form was guie, English " guy," the d was due to the Italian form guida; the ultimate origin is probably Teutonic, the word being connected with the base seen in O. Eng. witan, to know)

guide to the other world; (b) to provide the dead with servants or a See also:

• RETINUE (O. Fr. retenue, from retenir, Lat. retenere, hold back, retain)

retinue suitable to his rank; (c) to send messengers to keep the dead informed of the things of this world; (d) to strengthen the dead by the blood or life of a living being, in the same way that food is offered to them or blood rituals enjoined on mourners . Piacular Sacrifice.—Whereas the god receives a gift in the honorific sacrifice, he demands a life in the piacular . This, according to Westermarck, is the central idea of human sacrifice: the victim is substituted for the sacrificer, to deliver him from perils by disease, See also:

• FAMINE (Lat. fames, hunger)

famine or, more indefinitely, from the wrath of the god in general . The essential feature of the piaculum is that it is an expiation for wrong-doing, and the victim is often human . Human Sacrifice.—Many theories of the relation of human to animal sacrifice have been put forward, most of them on an insufficient basis of facts . It has been held that animal sacrifice is the primitive form and that the decay of totemism or lack of domestic animals has brought about the substitution of a human victim; but it has also been urged that in many cases animal victims are treated like human beings and must consequently have replaced them, that human beings are smeared with the blood of sacrifice, and must therefore have themselves been sacrificed before a milder regime allowed an animal to replace them . If tradition is any guide, human sacrifice seems in many important areas to be of secondary character; in spite of the great development of the rite among the See also:

• AZTECS (from the Nahuatl word aztlan, " place of the Heron," or " Heron " people)

Aztecs, tradition says that it was unknown till two See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred years before the See also:

• CON

con-quest; in See also:

• POLYNESIA, (Gr. iroXi,, many, and vnno-os, island)
• POLYNESIA, MELANESIA, MICRONESIA (q.v.)

Polynesia human sacrifices seem to be comparatively See also:

• MODERN

modern; and in India they appear to have been rare among the Vedic peoples . On the whole, human sacrifice is far commoner among the semi-civilized and barbarous races than in still lower stages of culture . In Australia, however, where sacrifice of the ordinary type is unknown, the ritual killing of a child is practised in connexion with the initiation of a magician; it is therefore by no means axiomatic that animals were offered before human beings; the problem of priority is one to be solved for each area separately, but probably no See also:

• SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution is possible; in the absence of Aztec traditions it would hardly have seemed probable that two centuries had seen so great a transformation .

Among the forms of human sacrifice must be reckoned religious suicide . This is perhaps mainly found in India but is not unknown in Africa and other parts of the world . Human sacrifices were known in ancient India and survived till late in the 19th century (see below); both Greeks and See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans practised them, no less than the wilder races of ancient See also:

• EUROPE

Europe . Semites and Egyptians, Peruvians and Aztecs, slew human victims; Africa, especially the West See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

Coast, till recently saw thousands of human victims perish annually; in Polynesia, See also:

• TAHITI

Tahiti and See also:

• FIJI
• FIJI (Viii)

Fiji were great centres of the rite—in fact, it is not easy to name an area where it has not been known . No general survey of sacrifice on See also:

• GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical lines is possible, but some of the more important features in each area may. be noticed . Sacrifice in Greece and Rome.—Both the mainland of Greece and the See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek colonies practised human sacrifice, usually as a means towards expulsion of evil . Thus, the Athenians maintained a number of outcasts, from whom in times of See also:

• NATIONAL

national calamity two were selected, one for the men, one for the See also:

• WOMEN

women, and stoned to death outside the See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city; at the See also:

• THARGELIA

Thargelia two victims were annually put to death in the same way . Many animal sacrifices were known; of especial importance is the annual sacrifice of a See also:

• GOAT (a common Teut. word; O. Eng. gat, Goth. gaits, Mod. Ger. Geiss, cognate with Lat. haedus, a kid)

goat on the See also:

• ACROPOLIS (Gr. aKpos, top, a6)Xts, city)

Acropolis, though at other times the animal was not permitted to enter the temple . Important features of Greek sacrifice, though not necessarily found in every rite, were the putting of wreaths and pieces of See also:

• WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool on the victim, the See also:

• GILDING

gilding of its horns, the lustration of the officiant and the sprinkling of those present.with See also:

• HOLY

holy water . It was held inauspicious if the animal were unwilling; if it nodded all was well . See also:

• BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

Barley meal was strewn on its See also:

• NECK (O. Eng. hnecca; the word appears in many Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch ride, Ger. Nacken; in O. E. the common word was heals; cf. Ger. Hals)

neck, and a See also:

• LOCK (from the O. Eng. loc.; the word appears, in different forms, in many Teutonic languages, but with such various meanings as " hole," Ger. Loch, " lid," Swed. lock, &c.; probably the original was a root meaning " to enclose ")
• LOCK, MATTHIAS

lock of hair cut from its forehead and burned . The animal was then clubbed, its throat cut and the altar sprinkled with its blood .

Finally the body was skinned and cut up and the god's. share burned on the altar . The important See also:

• ATTIC (i.e. "in the Attic style ")

Attic sacrifice of the Dipolia, known as TA $ovOov£a, demands some See also:

• NOTICE

notice . Cakes were laid on the altar of See also:

• ZEUS

Zeus Polieus and oxen driven round; the one which touched the cakes was the victim . An officiant at once struck it with his See also:

• AXE (0. Eng. aex; a word common, in different forms, in the Teutonic languages, and akin to the Greek 41v17; the New English Dictionary prefers the spelling " ax ")

axe and another cut its throat; then all See also:

• SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save the one who struck the first blow partook of its flesh . Then the hide was stuffed with grass and yoked to a plough; the participants were charged with ox See also:

• MURDER

murder and each laid the blame on the other; finally the axe was thrown into the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea . The See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation of the rite is uncertain; it may perhaps be connected 'with agrarian rites . At Rome the scapegoat did not suffer death; but in the Saturnalia a human victim seems to ha