Professor Cheema

LIT3107

Joshua Nazario

Wednesday Feburary 8th

Classical Greco-Roman culture (Pastoral and Republic era)

Religious ceremonies in the Greco-Roman world often revolved upon animal sacrifices, by

which men of a ruffian nature would use hammers, staves, or axes to stun animals and proceed to

slice the trachea of animals to spill blood. At first glance, this may appear to be a fairly

commonly known fact to the elemental history student but, as historians have recently disovered,

these offal ceremonies are often glossed over for their major key to understanding mystical

Roman cultural. That is to say that animals sacrifices, while mostly accredited to the actions of

priests and aristocrats, were mostly committed by the average servant who was instructed to

follow strict parameters in order to make an “ideal sacrifice”. As oppose to Greek animal

sacrifices, commentators have noticed that Roman rites required animals to be a “willing

victim”. In laymen terms, a Roman rite is required to be perfect, not even the slightest resistance,

annoyance, and agitation from an animal must occur before the altar. A servant was stipulated to

not hold the animals by its hooves, horns, or any sensitive parts of their body. This will, in turn,

result in the animal’s agitation and yelp; the ritual will be invalidated and would require the entry

of another “willing victim”. A Bovine, in 460 BCE was posited to be the most strong, aggressive,

and recalcitrant species of cow that Roman domesticators raised. To physically attain one would

pose a major challenge; one bovine weighed approximately 500 kg (1,100 lbs). What is

seemingly mind boggling about this practice is the use of rudimentary equipment to bind a

400~500kg bovine; historians and commentators alike quiver at the fact that an anonymous
servant was required to immobilize and placate the maddened beast of a cow. These victamarri

(Latin translation of “to be victimized” were expected to be unconstrained prior to entry to the

altar and completely insensible for the impending death. Not to mention, a bovine, cow, or bull

was required to shed blood for circa 20-30 seconds before spurting enough blood to complete the

rite. A pint or less will result in the eventual failure of the rite and a readmittance of another

animal is required to redo the trite. In a hierarchical sense, slaves were hailed for undergoing the

challenge of placating a naturally aggressive animal as well as being a chief cornerstone to a

repentance/offal ceremony. Here, slaves are elevated to the position of priest or aristocrat–an odd

occurrence in such a rigorous hierarchy system, save ancient India. A non-precision weapon like

a hammer had to be wield in such a way as to produce a devastating blow to the animals

head–rendering it defenseless. “ Even if one possessed the skill and experience to strike such a

delicately calculated blow, the slightest movement of the animal or variation in its anatomy might

result in a bungled sacrifice”- (Aldrete 1)

Here, the bovine (victamarri) is docily accepting its fate as the axe wielding popa

swoops down the axe for the sacrifice (a genuinely intriguing rite that is not shared by

the Ancient Greeks).

Aldrete, G. S. (2014). Hammers, axes, bulls, and blood: Some practical aspects of roman

animal sacrifice*. The Journal of Roman Studies, 104, 28-50.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075435814000033