Identifier: lifeofgreeksroma00guhl (find matches)
Title: The life of the Greeks and Romans
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: Guhl, E. (Ernst), 1819-1862 Koner, W. (Wilhelm), 1817-1887, joint author Hueffer, Francis, 1843-1889, tr
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Publisher: London, Chapman and Hall
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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gods and kings.Offerings of the former class consisted of the first-fruits of thefield, such as onions, pumpkins, grapes, figs, and olives. Preparedeatables, such as cakes (ire^fxara, ireKavot) and other pastry,frequently in the shapes of animals, and in the place of real ones,were also offered to the gods. Eoasted barley (oivW, ov\o\vrai) 284 SACRIFICES. was another common gift; it was either thrown into the flames orsprinkled on the necks of the animals brought for sacrifice. A blood-less offering is depicted in Fig. 317. The laurel-crowned prieststands in front of the fire on the altar, throwing into it the barleywhich is presented to him by an attendant in a basket adornedwith sacred twigs. On the other side another youthful attendantis holding a long staff resembling a torch, to the upper end ofwhich is fastened some wool or oakum, serving most likely tolight a fire. By other archaeologists this figure is explained asa neokoros with a besom of laurel branches ; a musician accom-
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panies the ceremony on the pipe. Libations formed an essentialfeature of sacrifices, just as they did at the meals of mortals. Tosome gods unmixed wine was offered; others, for instance theErinies, Nymphs, Muses, and deities of Light, received honey,milk, and oil. A libation of this kind is represented in thefrequently repeated choragic bas-reliefs, where Nike pours thesacred beverage into a vase which is offered to her by the vic-torious Kitharoidos (Millin, Galerie mythol., PI. XYIL, No. 58). The choice of the animals to be sacrificed depended on theindividual qualities of the various gods. The Olympian gods pre-ferred white animals; those of the sea and the nether world, blackones. To Demeter a pig was sacrificed, to Dionysos a he-goat,because these animals destroyed the gifts granted to man bythese gods. Heifers, sheep, goats, and pigs were offered in largeror smaller numbers, according to the wealth of the worshipper ; SACRIFICES. 285 sometimes these different animals were promis

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