Sources On Greek Sacrifice Flashcards
Why is Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica Book 1 important ?
Think victim, incentive, routine and prophecy
‘Dragged to the altar’- evidence against willing victim
Jason provided Apollo with an incentive to answer his prayer and a later poem due of more sacrifice if Apollo grants them safe travel
- reciprocal relationship and votive offering
Shows evidence against a hard and fast routine of sacrifice as the oxen are hit on the head with a club not the conventional slicing of the throat
Function of sacrifice also shown to be important with prophecy as Idmon reads the smoke of the sacrifice as a good omen however he will perish
Why is argonautica book 3 important for our understanding of sacrifice ?
It’s a cthonic sacrifice
- the ritual seems more private and away from the thorough fairs ‘set apart from men’s paths’
- evidence of pre sacrifice washing as Jason bathes to remove any miasma
- a hole is dug in the ground for sheep’s blood
- no divison of the carcass when cthonic sacrifice is involved instead it’s a Holocaust where the whole animal is burnt
What is Burkerts argument in Greek religion (1985) ?
In Greek sacrifice we see the remains of the hunter- gatherer
- the kill is the most important element as he underplays the religious aspects arguing it’s difficult to conceive how it benefits the gods
For man the sacrifice and the act of killing creates bonds of community
- marked by the washing of hands, communal throwing and the dining
- even deeper the communally enacted aggression creates shared guilt and therefore solidarity
What is Heinrich (2012) viewpoint ?
That Burkerts argument which is based on a fear factor ‘ fear for one’s own life’ becoming a sacrifice
- it relies to heavily upon tragic imagination and blurs the lines between drama and reality
What is Connolly (1998) view point ?
The fallacy of the willing victim
- the sprinkling of water on the head of the sacrificial animal causing it to involuntary shake its head was taken as a ‘sign of its willingness to be sacrificed’
What does Burkerts Homo Necans (1972) argue ?
At the core of male society are the two key acts of communal killing and eating
- the conscience inhibition of man to kill another man is given freedom in sacrifice
- the act of sacrifice is the evolutionary ingrained act of killing artificially channeled into the ritual taking of an animals life
- by the animal nodding its head it dissolves responsibility for the kill
Why is Aristophanes Peace important for our understanding of sacrifice ?
Lays out important objects for sacrifice
- Garland and barley grain, a knife, a fire to roast the victim
- provides evidence for the fallacy of the willing victim ‘shake your head quickly’ the animal must agree to the sacrifice
What does Naiden (2007) argue about the fallacy of the willing victim ?
- the Greeks did not seek the animals permission to carry out a sacrifice as slaughter was a prescribed element of sacrifice
- instead, Naiden argues this movement is to demonstrate its liveliness making it acceptable to the fro
What does Plutarch decline of Oracles show?
- when sacrificing to an oracle the shaking of the head isn’t enough the animal must quiver and make noise: a denial of the fallacy of the willing victim instead it’s showing it to be active and healthy
- the animal must be pure in body and soul
- to test its sound in mind they attempt to feed it before the sacrificial ritual: it if eat it’s good to go
What does Vernant (1989) argue ?
- it invite the gods to take part in the communal enjoyment of the feast
- His arguement echo’s the time when man and god shared the same table
- also by eating the better peices men acknowledge their inferiority of the mortal condition conforming their submission to the Olympians
Why is Odyssey book 14 important for our understanding of sacrifice ?
‘Dragged’ the five year old hog up to the altar
- emphasise the importance to the gods portion who is served first
- communal element of feasting underpins the sacrifice as they quench their hunger and thirst
Why is Iliad book 10 important for our understanding of sacrifice ?
- votive offering where a sacrifice is promised if the god fulfils an obligation
- promise to guild the horns of the animal in gold adding a materialistic element of the sacrifice
Why is Oedipus the King important to our understanding of sacrifice ?
- the removal of the corrupt individual from sacrifice interweaves community as it removes the person from religious affairs
Why is Odyssey book 5 important to our understanding of sacrifice?
- Hermes complains of not being able to enjoy the smell of Knesa
What is the myth that justifies the portion of the gods ?
Prometheus as a friend of man laid out the parts of sacrifice and out of compassion for man Zeus chose the least edible elements Hesiod Theogony
What is Garlands arguement on the feast within a sacrifice ?
Since the gods received the least edible part the humans became the chief beneficiary
- the meal was the most important element of the sacrifice as men and gods recirge an intimate connection
- not irreligious for the benefit of man as it is justified by Hesiod and according to Vernant confirms their position as inferior to the gods
