Kernos. Supplement 43. The sacrificial bestiary in Greek ritual norms.
University Press of Liège| N° d'inventaire | 31325 |
| Format | 15.7 X 24 |
| Détails | 322 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Liège, 2024 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782875624147 |
In ancient Greece, the sacrifice of a domestic animal had a nutritional significance, but was above all a ritual act intended to interact with the superhuman world. In the context of sacrifices offered by individuals, the choice of animal was generally left to the sacrificer according to his financial means. In contrast, for sacrifices performed within the framework of official and public cults, the selection of the animal was subject to strict regulations. Ritual norms constitute a corpus particularly suited to the study of ritual associations between gods and animals: these inscriptions indeed produce numerous prescriptions concerning the characteristics of animals offered in public contexts, such as their species, sex, age, and sometimes even their color. However, the cult regulations say nothing about the basis for these choices. What were the criteria that justified the selection of one animal rather than another for a given deity? This question lies at the heart of the work, which thus aims to contribute to a better understanding of Greek sacrificial practices on a pan-Hellenic, but also local, scale.
In ancient Greece, the sacrifice of a domestic animal had a nutritional significance, but was above all a ritual act intended to interact with the superhuman world. In the context of sacrifices offered by individuals, the choice of animal was generally left to the sacrificer according to his financial means. In contrast, for sacrifices performed within the framework of official and public cults, the selection of the animal was subject to strict regulations. Ritual norms constitute a corpus particularly suited to the study of ritual associations between gods and animals: these inscriptions indeed produce numerous prescriptions concerning the characteristics of animals offered in public contexts, such as their species, sex, age, and sometimes even their color. However, the cult regulations say nothing about the basis for these choices. What were the criteria that justified the selection of one animal rather than another for a given deity? This question lies at the heart of the work, which thus aims to contribute to a better understanding of Greek sacrificial practices on a pan-Hellenic, but also local, scale.