The statues made in Greece were made with perfect people in mind often modeled after gods and goddesses, while the statues in Rome have all the faults a real person would have. 44 Two differences between greek roman religion and christianity. The most famous vegetal offering occurred at the Liberalia, the festival of the god Liber, described by Varro: Liberalia dicta, quod per totum oppidum eo die sedent sacerdotes Liberi anus hedera coronatae cum libis et foculo pro emptore sacrificantes (The Liberalia is so called because on that day priestesses of Liber, old women crowned with ivy, settle themselves throughout the whole town with cakes and a brazier, making sacrifices on behalf of the customer).Footnote There is a small group of other rituals that share certain structural similarities with sacrificium, but which the Romans during the Republic and early Empire appear to have distinguished from it. 216,Footnote 344L and 345L, s.v. 59 6 The answers to these questions might reshape our understanding of what were the crucial elements of sacrificium. Hammers appear in only fifteen scenes, two-thirds of which date between the first century b.c.e. D. 6.9 (which probably draws on Varro) and possibly Paul. More rare are images like those on the arches of Trajan at Benevento and of Septimius Severus at Lepcis Magna which show the moment that the axe is swung.Footnote In overlooking the differences between the Roman idea of sacrificium and the modern idea of sacrifice, we lose some of the details of how the Romans perceived a core element of their own experience of the divine. There is also a queen of gods in Greek and Roman mythologies. Martins, Manuela Fest. I concede that, to a certain extent, the insider-outsider lens does not show us difficulties that were previously invisible. Roman sacrificium is both less and more than the typical etic notion of sacrifice. 73 40 Roman Sacrifice, Inside and Out* | The Journal of Roman Studies I follow Elsner Reference Elsner2012: 121 in setting aside the plethora of images of the tauroctony of Mithras and the taurobolium of Cybele and Attis. Once we have recognized that there are two notions of sacrifice at play, we can set aside our etic, outsider ideas for the moment and look at the Roman sources anew. 22.1.19; 45.16.6; Plin., N.H. 36.39; Tac., Ann. Similarities and Differences Between Greek and Roman Footnote 23, The importance of sprinkling mola salsa might explain a pattern in Roman public artwork from the republican through the high imperial periods. 29 There is some limited zooarchaeological evidence for the consumption of dogs at some Roman sites, such as the inclusion of dog bones bearing marks of butchery among bone deposits that comprise primarily bovine and ovine remains, but it is not widespread. 90 The distinction is preserved by Suet., Prat. Cf., n. 89 below. Yet to limit the consideration of immolatio to the moment of killing is to overlook the other actions (running a knife along the animal's back, cutting a few hairs from it) that Scheid has identified as being part of that stage of sacrificium 70 At 8.10.1112, Livy notes that a commander could devote one of his soldiers rather than himself. 423L s.v. This assertion is based on a search of sacrific* on the Brepolis Library of Latin Texts A. Even if this is the case, the argument still stands that these passages underscore how essential was consumption to the ritual of sacrificium. 83 Huet Reference Huet and Bertrand2005; Reference Huet and van Andringa2007. 23 93L, s.v. Instead they seem to have conceived of it as the ritual consecration of an animal which was afterwards killed and eaten. Similar difficulties beset efforts, both ancient and modern, to reconstruct the technical differences among the concepts of sacer, sanctus, and religiosus: see Rives Reference Rives and Tellegen-Couperus2011. Two famous examples are found on the altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus (Ryberg Reference Ryberg1955: fig. Study sets, textbooks, questions. 73 The catinus is a piece of everyday ware used to serve food that contains a lot of liquid (L. 5.120). 63 25 77 5 233; CIL 12.1531=ILLRP 136=ILS 3411 (from Sora). Elsner has proposed that the choice, increasingly frequent in the third century c.e., to represent the whole sacrificial ritual with libation and incense-burning scenes rather than with images involving animals is an indication of the increased emphasis on vegetarian sacrifice in that period.Footnote Somewhat surprising is the considerably smaller presence of bovines,Footnote 100 Published online by Cambridge University Press: Another animal sometimes sacrificed by the Romans but not regularly eaten by them is the human animal. 61 For example, Cic., Rep. 3.15 and Font. mactus; Walde and Hofmann Reference Walde and Hofmann1954: 2.4 s.v. Moses, Reference Moses, Brocato and Terrenatoforthcoming. e.g., J. Scheid, s.v. By looking at Roman sacrificium through the insider-outsider lens, by keeping in sight what is there in the sources, what we add to it, and where our modern notion of sacrifice does and does not align with the Romans own idea, we have a sharper, more detailed picture of one aspect of Roman antiquity. 69 26. 15 at the battle of the Veseris between Rome and the Latins (8.9.114), the ritual consists of the recitation of the dedicatory formula by the consul P. Decius Mus while in the midst of battle. 42 The elder Cato instructs his reader to pollucere a cup of wine and a daps (ritual meal) to Jupiter Dapalis (Agr. This has repercussions for our understanding of some elements of Roman religious thought. I use ritual killing as a blanket term for any rite, including but not limited to sacrifice, that involves the death of a human being. While the attention of our Roman sources is drawn most frequently to blood sacrifice, there is good reason to think that, if there was indeed a climax to the ritual,Footnote This draws further support from the fact that the object referred to by the instrumental ablatives that accompany the verb sacrificare is almost never a knife, an axe, a hammer, or other weapon.Footnote Thinking along the same lines, it is reasonable to conclude that there are relatively few images of slaughter among Roman sacrificial scenes in public artwork of the Classical period because the emphasis in state-sponsored sacrifice lay elsewhere. frag. It appears that if a worshipper could not afford to sacrifice something that was itself tasty, he might fulfill his obligation by giving something that evoked the idea of it.Footnote View all Google Scholar citations He stresses the traditional nature of the burial of the one Vestal with the phrase as is the custom (uti mos est) and describes her death in neutral terms (necare).Footnote 84 Horses: Plin., N.H. 28.146; Fest. It is possible that this genus-species relationship in fact existed in the Roman mind, as is perhaps suggested by the fact that sacrificare means to make sacred, and these other rituals seem to be different ways of doing the same work, namely transferring items from human to divine ownership. 2 In Latin, one does not sacrifice with a knife or with an axe. Although the remains come from a known sacred area, it should not be assumed that all of them are evidence of sacrificium or other rituals: some may be garbage, material used as fill, or even the remains of animals (like mice) that died while exploring the refuse heap. At N.H. 29.578, Pliny tells us that a dog was crucified annually at a particular location in Rome, and that puppies used to be considered to be such pure eating that they were used in place of victims (hostiarum vice) to appease the divine; puppy was still on the menu at banquets for the gods in Pliny's own day. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. mactus; de Vaan Reference De Vaan2008: 357 s.v. Nonius 539L identifies mactare with immolare, but the texts he cites do not really support his claim. differences between Roman They were rewarded for their endeavors with the position of judge in the Underworld. ex Fest. 74 The Gods in Greek and Roman mythology, while initially having almost no differentiation (we could easily lose in the Spot the difference game), yet started slowly being more dependent on the civilization where they were worshiped. See, for example, citations from Pomponius and Afranius in Non. 39 The problem is widely acknowledged, but see specifically Moussy Reference Moussy1977; Reference Moussy1990; Engels Reference Engels2007: 25982. This is a bad answer - I don't have sources available. It is my understanding that we lack a great deal of the sources needed for an emic unders Was a portion consumed later? It is unfortunate that the ancient sources on vegetal sacrifice are as exiguous as they are: it is not possible to determine what relationship its outward form bore to blood sacrifice. 16 There is also a queen of gods in Greek and Roman mythologies. 27 Furthermore, because there were multiple rituals not just sacrificium through which the Romans could share food and other goods with their gods, we can see that the Romans had a wider range of ritual tools available to them for communicating with the divine. 1; Sall., Hist. eadem est enim paupertas apud Graecos in Aristide iusta, in Phocione benigna, in Epaminonda strenua, in Socrate sapiens, in Homero diserta. Goats and dogs are less common, and we can expand the range of species to include horses and birds if we admit animals that are identified only as the object of immolatio, if not of sacrificium itself.Footnote } Greeks call the queen Hera, whereas Romans queen of gods is Juno. Scheid Reference Scheid2005: 4457; Reference Scheid and Rpke2007: 2639. Match. While there is a growing body of work done on the osteoarchaeological material from other regions of the Empire, especially the north-western provinces,Footnote 67 Val. For a more extended analysis of the distinction between the punishment of unchaste Vestals and, on the one hand, sacrifice and, on the other, secular capital punishment, see Schultz Reference Schultz2012. There is a difference, however. The difference between Greek Gods and Roman Gods is that Greek gods have unique names of their own, whereas, Roman gods are 36 45 14.30; Sil. Lodwick, Lisa 24 14 WebThe ancient Greeks and Romans performed many rituals in the observance of their religion. 10 190L s.v. 2.47.10 (M)=2.44.10 McGushin. Roman sacrifice - Oxford Reference This statement and much of what follows is based on a series of searches in the Brepolis on-line database of Latin literature, Libraries A and B (http://apps.brepolis.net/BrepolisPortal/default.aspx) conducted throughout the summer of 2015. Paul. Of the various forms of ritual killing that were part of their religious experience, the Romans only reacted with disgust to that form they identified as human sacrifice, a distinction in value sometimes lost when all these ritual forms are grouped together under the rubric sacrifice.Footnote ipsilles with 398L, s.v. Sacrifices of wine and incense are common in the Commentarii Fratrum Arvalium, e.g. Plaut., Stich. The expression rem dvnam facer, to make a thing sacred, shows that sacrifice was an act of transfer of ownership. There is also evidence that the Romans had a variety of rites, only one of which was sacrificium, that involved presenting foodstuffs to the gods. Others, such as animal ex Fest. Reed, Kelly Although it is sixty years old, the lesson still works well. 69a). 54 Parents: Aeacus: Zeus and Aegina; Rhadamanthus and Minos: Zeus and Europa. 5401L. The numerous sources for this event are collected and analysed in Engels Reference Engels2007: 41618, 4438. Yet so stark is the discrepancy between his (assumed) outsider perspective and our own insider understanding of the value of a bathroom, that most readers do not recognize themselves the first time they read this piece. One can also pollucere grain, wine, oil, cheese, meat, fish with scales, a host of other food items, and even unidentified (and presumably inedible) goods.Footnote The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. ex Fest. Instead, their presence should be attributed to the status of those species as valuable and efficacious: the prevalence of dogs, lizards, and beavers in medicinal and magical recipes for potions is an indication of the exceptional value the animals were thought to have, an indication that they were somehow special, and therefore might be worthy of the gods. 79 22 78L, s.v. Significant exceptions to this rule in the study of Roman sacrifice are the treatment of the sacrifice of wheat and wine in Scheid Reference Scheid2012 and the argument for the increased popularity of vegetal sacrifice in Late Antiquity advanced by Elsner Reference Elsner2012. Greek Translation. Ernout and Meillet Reference Ernout and Meillet1979: 376 s.v. The most common images of blood sacrifice in Roman art are procession scenes of animals being led to the altar or standing before it, waiting for mola salsa to be applied to them.Footnote 17 One does, however, sacrifice with a cow, with a pig, or with a little cruet. I owe many thanks to C. P. Mann, B. Nongbri, and J. N. Dillon for their thoughtful, challenging responses to earlier drafts of this article, and to audiences at Trinity College, Baylor University, and Bryn Mawr College for comments on an oral version of it. In Greek and Roman religion, the gods and Contra Prescendi Reference Prescendi2007: 223. Hemina fr. 38 WebIn Greek mythology the king of gods is known as Zeus, whereas Romans call the king of gods Jupiter. Were these items sprinkled with mola salsa?Footnote Rpke Reference Rpke, Georgoudi, Piettre and Schmidt2005 offers a different interpretation of the meal that follows the sacrifice. The basic argument transfers well to the Roman context. Difference Between Romans and Greeks and Oliveira, Cludia the differences between Roman gods and Greek Emic and etic, terms drawn originally from the field of linguistics (Pike Reference Pike1967: 3744; reprinted in McCutcheon Reference McCutcheon1999: 2836), are one of several pairs of words used to present the insider-outsider distinction. 36 17 Modern theorizations of sacrifice focus on animal victims, treating the sacrifice of vegetal substances, if they are considered at all, as an afterthought or simply setting vegetal offerings as a second, lesser ritual, a substitution or a pale imitation.Footnote Although they were not suitable as daily fare, there is evidence that several of the unexpected species from the S. Omobono deposit were edible on special occasions or in dire circumstances: they are surprisingly prevalent in magical and medicinal recipes. 3.3.2, citing the late republican jurist Trebatius; Prescendi Reference Prescendi2007: 256. In Livy's account of the first devotio in 340 b.c.e. Paul. 95 The offering of a dog to Robigus may be the same ritual as the augurium canarium referred to by Plin., N.H. 18.14. Concise surveys of the major modern theories of sacrifice in the ancient world can be found in Knust and Vrhelyi Reference Knust and Vrhelyi2011: 418, Lincoln Reference Lincoln2012, and Graf Reference Graf2012. 62 (ed.) incense,Footnote An etic approach allows the researcher to see functions, causes, and consequences of insider behaviours and habits that may be invisible to the people who perform them, as Miner illustrated for us. For many readers of Latin, the most obvious translation of the Latin is except a beechwood cruet with which he would offer sacrifice, taking quo as an instrumental ablative and thereby making the vessel an instrument of sacrifice rather than the object of sacrifice itself. 08 June 2016. . ex Fest. Now, the Romans did not eat people, so how does their performance of human sacrifice reinforce the link between sacrifice and dining? 65 Livy's abhorrence of the Romans action is in line with other Roman authors disgust at the performance of sacrificium on humans by other ethnic groups, especially Carthaginians and Gauls.Footnote 8 Braga, Cristina 71. Roman Gods vs. Greek Gods: Know the Difference WebWhile Greek and Roman sculpture and ruins are linked with the purity of white marble in the Western mind, most of the works were originally polychrome, painted in multiple, lifelike colors. Q. Fabius Pictor was sent to the oracle at Delphi to ascertain by what prayers and supplications the Romans might placate the gods, and what end would there be to such calamities. See also n. 9 above. Render date: 2023-03-04T10:22:59.089Z 3 10 most famously those of Burkert, who identifies sacrificial slaughter as the basic experience of the sacred, and Girard, who begins his investigation into the origin of sacrifice by asserting its close kinship to murder and criminal violence.Footnote Pliny and Apuleius may reflect an lite misconception about the religious praxis of lower class worshippers, offering an incorrect, emic interpretation of an observable phenomenon. and Paul. Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Rome As in the Greek world, sacrifice was the central ritual of religion. Aldrete counts at least fifty-six sculptural reliefs dating from the seventh century b.c.e. 59 35 In this way, the native, or emic, Roman view of sacrifice is more expansive than ours. Footnote 84 94. As in the Greek world, sacrifice was the central ritual of religion. 3.95: Quid Agamemnon, cum devovisset Dianae quod in suo regno pulcherrimum natum esset illo anno, immolavit Iphigeniam, qua nihil erat eo quidem anno natum pulchrius? Because the context is Greek, it is safe to assume that Cicero is using, as he often does elsewhere when addressing a general audience, technical terms in a very general way. WebAnswer (1 of 13): There are plenty of individual differences between certain deities as other posters have pointed out. It is important to remember, however, that no ancient source articulates any sort of relationship among these rituals. These offerings, ubiquitous in Roman Italy through to the end of the Republic, are mentioned at most twice in extant Latin literature.Footnote At the centre of the whole complex was the immolatio, during which the animal was sprinkled with mola salsa (a mixture of spelt and salt), the flat of a knife was run along its back, and then it was slaughtered. The hypothesis that only sacrificium required mola salsa is strongly supported by the sources, but because that is an argument ex silentio, it cannot be proved beyond all doubt. What we find is that for the Romans, to sacrifice was not simply to kill in a ritual fashion. As a comparandum, we can point to the Roman habit of creating votive deposits, collections of usually relatively inexpensive items buried in the ground: gifts to the gods that had been cleaned out of overstuffed temples and intentionally buried. Decline was interrupted by the short-lived Restoration under the emperor Augustus (reign 27 BC AD 14), then it resumed. This is the insider-outsider problem in nuce. As proof, he recounts a story about M. refriva faba. Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes If the devotio was not successful (i.e., the devotus somehow survived), expiatory steps had to be taken: the burial of a larger-than-life-sized statue and piaculum hostia caedi. Livy, however, treats each burial in a distinct way. 3 132; Cass. B. Rives provided valuable consultation on specific points and V. C. Moses generously shared her work-in-progress on the osteoarchaeological evidence from S. Omobono. But while Roman devotio aligns well with our idea of self-sacrifice, it appears that the Romans did not draw a similar connection between devotio and sacrificium. 6.34. 22.57.26, discussed also in Schultz Reference Schultz2012: 1267. For illustration, we can turn once again to the elder Pliny, who writes about the habits of the Gallic tribes north of the Alps: et nuperrime trans Alpis hominem immolari gentium earum more solitum, quod paulum a mandendo abest (And very recently, on the other side of the Alps, in accordance with the custom of those peoples, individuals were habitually sacrificed, which is not all that far from eating them N.H. 7.9).