- The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Aesop and Animal Fable
- Animals in Classical Art
- Good to Laugh With: Animals in Comedy
- Animals in Epic
- Animals in Tragedy
- Domestication and Breeding of Livestock: Horses, Mules, Asses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Swine
- Animal Husbandry
- Value Economics: Animals, Wealth, and the Market
- Fauna of the Ancient Mediterranean World
- Insects
- Ancient Fishing and Fish Farming
- Hunting
- Animal Communication
- Origins of Life and Origins of Species
- Civilization, Gastronomy, and Meat-Eating
- Pets
- Animals in Warfare
- Animal Magic
- Animals and Divination
- Animal Sacrifice in Antiquity
- Animals in Late Antiquity and Early Christianity
- Part-Animal Gods
- Metamorphosis: Human into Animals
- Wondrous Animals in Classical Antiquity
- Animals in Egypt
- Spectacles of Animal Abuse
- Horse Racing and Chariot Racing
- Animals and Triumphs
- Being the One and Becoming the Other: Animals in Ancient Philosophical Schools
- Philosophical Vegetarianism and Animal Entitlements
- Zoological Knowledge in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations
- Veterinary Medicine
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
In ancient Greece and Rome, animal sacrifice was performed as a ritual to communicate with the gods, heroes, and other divine beings. Such rituals were meant to ask the divine recipients for favours, protection, and help, or to appease them. Animal sacrifice, in which prayer was central, was also a way for human worshippers to know the will of the gods and often concluded with the distribution and consumption of the meat. Literary texts, inscriptions, images, and archaeological remains in the form of altars and other sacrificial installations, as well as animal bones, provide evidence of animal sacrifice during antiquity. In particular, the animal bones recovered from sanctuaries have yielded significant information about the handling of sacrificial animals, which ranged from dogs and horses to game, fish, and snakes. Aside from species, sex, age, and colour, an important factor for the choice of animal to be sacrificed was the economics involved.
Keywords: ancient Greece, Rome, animal sacrifice, gods, rituals, meat, altars, sanctuaries, sacrificial animals, economics
Gunnel Ekroth, Uppsala University
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- The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Aesop and Animal Fable
- Animals in Classical Art
- Good to Laugh With: Animals in Comedy
- Animals in Epic
- Animals in Tragedy
- Domestication and Breeding of Livestock: Horses, Mules, Asses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Swine
- Animal Husbandry
- Value Economics: Animals, Wealth, and the Market
- Fauna of the Ancient Mediterranean World
- Insects
- Ancient Fishing and Fish Farming
- Hunting
- Animal Communication
- Origins of Life and Origins of Species
- Civilization, Gastronomy, and Meat-Eating
- Pets
- Animals in Warfare
- Animal Magic
- Animals and Divination
- Animal Sacrifice in Antiquity
- Animals in Late Antiquity and Early Christianity
- Part-Animal Gods
- Metamorphosis: Human into Animals
- Wondrous Animals in Classical Antiquity
- Animals in Egypt
- Spectacles of Animal Abuse
- Horse Racing and Chariot Racing
- Animals and Triumphs
- Being the One and Becoming the Other: Animals in Ancient Philosophical Schools
- Philosophical Vegetarianism and Animal Entitlements
- Zoological Knowledge in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations
- Veterinary Medicine
- Index