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Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome
Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome
For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise" ( April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic A bas-relief (baʁəljɛf in French; French for "low relief" derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a Sculpture The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome.

Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred", from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacer, "sacred" + facere, "to make") is commonly known as the practice of offering food or the lives of animals or people to the gods as an act of propitiation or worship. Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always In Christianity Propitiation is a theological term denoting that by which God is rendered propitious i This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W The term is also used metaphorically to describe selfless good deeds for others or a short term loss in return for a greater gain, such as in a game of chess. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects In the game of Chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece or pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms

The practice of sacrifice is found in the oldest human records. The archaeological record contains human and animal corpses with sacrificial marks long before any written records of the practice. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Sacrifices are a common theme in most religions, though the frequency of animal, and especially human, sacrifices are rare today. Animal Sacrifice is the Ritual killing of an Animal as part of a Religion. Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing

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Judaism

See also: Korban and Shechita

In Judaism, a sacrifice is known as a Korban, from the Hebrew root karov, meaning "to [come] close [to God]". Korban ( Hebrew: "sacrifice" קרבן (plural Korbanot קרבנות in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings Shechita ( Hebrew:he שחיטה is the Ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Korban ( Hebrew: "sacrifice" קרבן (plural Korbanot קרבנות in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings

The centrality of sacrifices in Judaism is clear, with much of the Bible, particularly the opening chapters of the book Leviticus, detailing the exact method of bringing sacrifices. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Leviticus (from Greek Λευιτικός, "relating to the Levites " Sacrifices were either bloody (animals) or unbloody (grain and wine). Bloody sacrifices were divided into holocausts (burnt offerings, in which the whole animal was burnt), guilt offerings (in which part was burnt and part left for the priest) and peace offerings (in which similarly only part of the animal was burnt). Yet the prophets point out that sacrifices are only a part of serving God and need to be accompanied by inner morality and goodness.

After the destruction of the Second Temple, ritual sacrifice ceased except among the Samaritans (see [1]). The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE Maimonides, a medieval Jewish rationalist, argued that God always held sacrifice inferior to prayer and philosophical meditation. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and However, God understood that the Israelites were used to the animal sacrifices that the surrounding pagan tribes used as the primary way to commune with their gods. As such, in Maimonides' view, it was only natural that Israelites would believe that sacrifice was a necessary part of the relationship between God and man. Maimonides concludes that God's decision to allow sacrifices was a concession to human psychological limitations. It would have been too much to have expected the Israelites to leap from pagan worship to prayer and meditation in one step. In the Guide for the Perplexed, he writes:

"But the custom which was in those days general among men, and the general mode of worship in which the Israelites were brought up consisted in sacrificing animals. This page refers to the 12th century book by Maimonides For the 1977 book by E . . It was in accordance with the wisdom and plan of God. . . that God did not command us to give up and to discontinue all these manners of service. For to obey such a commandment would have been contrary to the nature of man, who generally cleaves to that to which he is used; it would in those days have made the same impression as a prophet would make at present [the 12th Century] if he called us to the service of God and told us in His name, that we should not pray to God nor fast, nor seek His help in time of trouble; that we should serve Him in thought, and not by any action. " (Book III, Chapter 32. Translated by M. Friedlander, 1904, The Guide for the Perplexed, Dover Publications, 1956 edition. )

In contrast, many others such as Nachmanides (in his Torah commentary on Leviticus 1:9) disagreed, contending that sacrifices are an ideal in Judaism, completely central. Nahmanides (1194 &ndash c 1270 was a Catalan Rabbi, philosopher, Physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator.

The teachings of the Torah and Tanakh reveal Judaism's abhorrence of human sacrifices. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is

Christianity

In Christian teaching, God became incarnate in Jesus Christ to accomplish the reconciliation of God and humanity, which had separated itself from God through sin (see the concept of original sin). Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Original sin is according to a doctrine in Catholic theology, humanity's state of Sin resulting from the Fall of Man. According to the view that has dominated Western theology since early in the 2nd millennium, God's justice required an atonement for sin from humanity if human beings were to be restored to their place in creation and saved from damnation. However, God knew limited human beings could not make sufficient atonement, for humanity's offence to God was infinite, so God sent his only Son to become the sacrifice of the everlasting covenant. In Christian theology, this sacrifice replaced the insufficient animal sacrifice of the Old Covenant; Christ the "Lamb of God" replaced the lambs' sacrifice of the ancient Korban Todah (the Rite of Thanksgiving), chief of which is the Passover in the Mosaic law. Lamb of God ( Latin: Agnus Dei) is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian

Geza Vermes writes that the title "Lamb of God" does not necessarily refer to the metaphor of a sacrificial animal. Géza Vermes ThD D Litt (ˈɡeːz̻ɒ ˈvɛr̪mɛʃ born 22 June 1924) is a Hungarian scholar and writer on religious history particularly He points out that in Galilean Aramaic, the word talya, literally "lamb", had the common meaning of "male child". Aramaic is a Semitic language with This is akin to kid meaning "child" in modern colloquial English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The female equivalent of talya was talitha, literally "ewe lamb" and figuratively "girl" (the word is found in the narrative of the daughter of Jairus). The narrative of the daughter of Jairus is a combination of Miracles attributed to Jesus in the Synoptic gospels ( Mark 521-43 Matthew 918-26 Thus, "Lamb of God" could have been a slang means of saying "Son of God" or "God's Kid". Son of God is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible, various other Jewish texts and the New Testament. This view differs from the traditional understanding of the phrase as it is used in reference to the acts of Jesus, and not merely his status as the Son of God.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, as well as among some High Church Anglicans, the Eucharist or Mass, and the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Church, is seen as a sacrifice. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world " High Church " relates to Ecclesiology and Liturgy in Anglican theology and practice The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world It is however, not a separate or additional sacrifice to that Christ on the cross; it is rather the exact same sacrifice, which transcends time and space ("the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world") (Rev. 13:8), renewed and made present, the only distinction being that it is offered in an unbloody manner. The sacrifice is made present without Christ dying or being crucified again; it is a re-presentation to God, of the "once and for all" sacrifice of Calvary by the now risen Christ, who continues to offer himself and what he has done on the cross as an oblation to the Father. The complete identification of the Mass with the sacrifice of the cross is found in Christ's words at the last supper over the bread and wine: "This is my body, which is given up for you," and "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed. . . unto the forgiveness of sins. " The bread and wine, offered by Melchizedek in sacrifice in the old covenant (Genesis 14:18; Psalm 110:4), are transformed through the Mass into the body and blood of Christ (see transubstantiation; note: the Orthodox Church does not hold as dogma, as do Catholics, the doctrine of transubstantiation, preferring rather to not make an assertion regarding the "how" of the sacraments), and the offering becomes one with that of Christ on the cross. Melchizedek is an enigmatic figure twice mentioned in the Hebrew Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active In the Mass as on the cross, Christ is both priest (offering the sacrifice) and victim (the sacrifice he offers is himself), though in the Mass in the former capacity he works through a solely human priest who is joined to him through the sacrament of Holy Orders and thus shares in Christ's priesthood. In a general sense the term Holy Orders refers to those in the Christian religion who have been ordained in Apostolic Succession. Through the Mass, the merits of the one sacrifice of the cross can be applied to the redemption of those present, to their specific intentions and prayers, and to the redemption of the souls in purgatory. A prophecy of the sacrifice of the Mass, offered in every corner of the world, is found in the Book of Malachi in the Old Testament: "from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name is great among the Gentiles" (Mal. Malachi or Mal'achi ( was a Prophet in the Bible, the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. 1:10-11).

The concept of self-sacrifice and martyrs are central to Christianity. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Often found in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity is the idea of joining one's own sufferings to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Thus one can offer up involuntary suffering, such as illness, or purposefully embrace suffering in acts of penance, such as fasting. Some Protestants criticize this as a denial of the all-sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, but it finds support in St. Paul: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24). Pope John Paul II explained in his encyclical Salvifici Doloris:

"In the Cross of Christ not only is the Redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering itself has been redeemed. . . Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished. . . In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ. . . The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world's redemption. This good in itself is inexhaustible and infinite. No man can add anything to it. But at the same time, in the mystery of the Church as his Body, Christ has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering. "

Some Protestants reject the idea of the Eucharist as a sacrifice, inclining to see it as merely a holy meal (even if they believe in a form of the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine, as Lutherans do). The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those The Real Presence is the term various Christian traditions use to express their belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther The more recent the origin of a particular tradition, the less emphasis is placed on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. The Catholic/Orthodox response is that the sacrifice of the Mass in the New Covenant is that one sacrifice for sins on the cross which transcends time offered in an unbloody manner, as discussed above, and that Christ is the real priest at every Mass working through mere human beings to whom he has granted the grace of a share in his priesthood. Since the word priest carries heavy connotations of "one who offers sacrifice", Protestants usually do not use it for their clergy. Evangelical Protestantism emphasizes the importance of a decision to accept Christ's sacrifice on the Cross consciously and personally as atonement for one's individual sins if one is to be saved—this is known as "accepting Christ as one's personal Lord and Savior". The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity.

The Orthodox Church sees the celebration of the Eucharist as a continuation, rather than a reenactment, of the Last Supper, as Fr. In the Christian Gospels the Last Supper (also called the Lord's Supper or Mystical Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his John Matusiak (of the OCA) says: "The Liturgy is not so much a reenactment of the Mystical Supper or these events as it is a continuation of these events, which are beyond time and space. The Orthodox Church in America ( OCA) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church in North America. Unlike many of the Protestant bodies, the Orthodox also see the Eucharistic Liturgy as a bloodless sacrifice, during which the bread and wine we offer to God become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the descent and operation of the Holy Spirit, Who effects the change. " This view is witnessed to by the prayers of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, when the priest says: "Accept, O God, our supplications, make us to be worthy to offer unto thee supplications and prayers and bloodless sacrifices for all thy people," and "Remembering this saving commandment and all those things which came to pass for us: the cross, the grave, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the sitting down at the right hand, the second and glorious coming again, Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee on behalf of all and for all," and "… Thou didst become man and didst take the name of our High Priest, and deliver unto us the priestly rite of this liturgical and bloodless sacrifice…"

Islam

Main article: Dhabihah

An animal sacrifice in Arabic is called ḏabiḥa (ذَبِيْحَة) or Qurban (قُرْبَان) . The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. This article refers to the Christian saint For other uses of the name see Chrysostomos. Dhabīḥah (ar ذَبِيْحَة is the prescribed method of Ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law The term may have roots from the Jewish term Korban'; in some places such as in India/Pakistan, qurbani is always used for Islamic animal sacrifice. In the Islamic context, an animal sacrifice referred to as ḏabiḥa (ذَبِيْحَة) meaning "sacrifice as a ritual" is offered only in Eid ul-Adha. Eid al-Adha ( Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated . . . "therefore, to thy Lord turn in prayer and in Sacrifice. " (Nahr)-Al Quran, 108. 2 Qurbani is an Islamic prescription for the affluent to share their good fortune with the needy in the community. On the occasion of Eid ul Adhaa, affluent Muslims all over the world perform the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) by sacrificing a goat or sheep. The meat is then divided into three equal parts. One part is retained by the person who performs the Qurbani. The second is given to his relatives. The third part is distributed to the poor. The Muslims say that this has nothing to do with blood and gore (Qur'an 22:37: "It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches God. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran It is your piety that reaches Him. . . "). The sacrifice is done to help the poor and in remembrance of Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God's command. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: The sacrificial animal may be a lamb, a sheep, a goat, a camel or a cow. The animal must be healthy and conscious.

The Islamic system of slaughter is called Ḏabīḥah. Dhabīḥah (ar ذَبِيْحَة is the prescribed method of Ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law

Hinduism

Main article: Yajna

The Sanskrit Yajna is often translated as "sacrifice" but also means worship, devotion, offering, and oblation. In Hinduism, Yajna ( Devanagari यज्ञ IAST yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya In Hinduism, Yajna ( Devanagari यज्ञ IAST yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya [1] It is especially used to describe the offering of ghee (clarified butter), grains, spices, and wood into a fire along with the chanting of sacred mantras. Ghee ( Hindi घी ghī, Urdu گھی ghī, Punjabi ਘਿਉ/گھیو ghiu, Kashmiri ग्याव/گیاو A mantra ( Devanāgarī मन्त्र (or mantram is a religious or mystical syllable or poem typically from the Sanskrit language The fire represents Agni, the divine messenger who carries offerings to the Devas. Agni is a Hindu and Vedic deity. The word agni is Sanskrit for "fire" (noun cognate with Latin ignis Deva (देव in Devanagari script pronounced as /'d̪evə/ is the Sanskrit word for "god Deity " [2] The offerings can represent devotion, aspiration, and seeds of past karma. In Vedic times, Yajna commonly included the sacrifice of milk, ghee, curd, grains, and the soma plant—animal offerings were less common. [3] In modern times, Yajna is often performed at weddings and funerals, and in personal worship. Sacrifice in Hinduism can also refer to personal surrender through acts of inner and outer worship. [4] http://www.khoda19.blogfa.com/post-176.aspx

Sacrifice by type of offering

Animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice offered together with libation in Ancient Greece. Attic red-figure oinochoe, ca. 430-425 BC (Louvre).
Animal sacrifice offered together with libation in Ancient Greece. A libation (spondee in Greek) is a Ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a god. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Attic red-figure oinochoe, ca. An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe, (Gr Οινοχόη is a Wine jug and a key form of Greek pottery. 430-425 BC (Louvre). The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France
Main article: animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. Animal Sacrifice is the Ritual killing of an Animal as part of a Religion. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos It is practiced by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature. Animal sacrifice has turned up in almost all cultures, from the Hebrews to the Greeks and Romans (particularly the purifying ceremony Lustratio) and from the Aztecs to the Yoruba. Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Lustratio was an ancient Roman and ancient Greek purification ceremony involving a Procession and in some circumstances the Sacrifice Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political The Yoruba (Yo•row•ba ( Yorùbá in Yoruba Orthography) are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or Ethnic groups in West Africa However, the practice was a taboo among the Ancient Egyptians, and they tended to look down on cultures that practiced this custom. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Animal sacrifice is still practiced today by the followers of Santería and other lineages of Orisa as a means of curing the sick and giving thanks to the Orisa (gods). Santería, also known as La Regla de Lukumi (Lukumi's Rule and The Way of the Saints is an Afro-Cuban religious tradition derived from traditional beliefs An Orisha (also spelled Orisa or Orixa) is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare (God in the Yoruba spiritual See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always However in Santeria, such animal offerings constitute an extremely small portion of what are termed ebos—ritual activities that include offerings, prayer and deeds. Some villages in Greece also sacrifice animals to Orthodox saints in a practise known as kourbània. The practise, while publicly condemned, is often tolerated for the benefits it provides to the church and the sense of community it engenders.

Human sacrifice

Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Mendoza, 16th century (Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Mendoza, 16th century (Bodleian Library, Oxford. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the
Main article: Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice was practiced by many ancient cultures. Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing People would be ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease a god or spirit. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath While not widely known, human sacrifices for religious reasons still exist today in a number of nations.

Some occasions for human sacrifice found in multiple cultures on multiple continents include:

Some of the best known ancient human sacrifices were those practiced by various Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined The Aztec were particularly noted for practicing this on an unusually large scale; a human sacrifice would be made every day to aid the sun in rising, the dedication of the great temple at Tenochtitlán was reportedly marked with the sacrificing of thousands, and there are multiple accounts of captured Conquistadores being sacrificed during the wars of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

In Scandinavia, the old Scandinavian religion contained human sacrifice, and both the Norse sagas and German historians relate of this, see e. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages g. Temple at Uppsala and Blót. The Temple at Uppsala was a religious site in Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala near modern Uppsala, Sweden, that was created to worship the Norse gods The blót ( Old Norse plural same as singular refers to Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and Elves.

There is evidence to suggest Pre-Hellenic Minoan cultures practised human sacrifice. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. Sacrificed corpses were found at a number of sites in the citadel of Knossos in Crete. A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός kno̞ˈso̞s also known as the Knossos Palace is the largest Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the The north house at Knossos contained the bones of children who appeared to have been butchered. It is possible they may have been for human consumption as was the tradition with sacrificial offerings made in Pre-Hellenic Civilization. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements [2] The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur (set in the labyrinth at Knossos) provides evidence that human sacrifice was commonplace. For other uses see Theseus (disambiguation Theseus (Θησεύς was a Legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( Greek:, Mīnṓtauros) was a creature that was part man and part bull. In the myth, we are told that Athens sent seven young men and seven young women to Crete as human sacrifices to the Minotaur. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's This ties up well with the archaeological evidence that most sacrifices were of young adults or children. See also Religious abuse, and Infanticide Child sacrifice is the Ritualistic Killing of Children in

Human sacrifice still happens today as an underground practice in some traditional religions, for example in muti killings. Muti is a term for Traditional medicine in Southern Africa as far north as Lake Tanganyika. Human sacrifice is no longer officially condoned in any country, and these cases are regarded as murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries

In Hindu narratives, practising human sacrifice and eating human meat was a work of the demons (see Demon).

In the Aeneid by Virgil, the character Sinon claims that he was going to be a human sacrifice to Poseidon to calm the seas (of course Sinon was lying). For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or In Greek mythology, Sinon, a son of Aesimus (son of Autolycus) or of the crafty Sisyphus, was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker"

Human sacrifice is a common theme in the religions and mythology of many cultures. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore"

Other aspects

Self sacrifice

Self-sacrifice, the act of deliberately following a course of action that has a high risk or certainty of suffering or death (which could otherwise be avoided), in order to achieve a perceived benefit for certain others, is a powerful theme with a well-established place in many cultures, myths, and societies. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic See also Mythology Myth is derived from the Greek word μύθος mythos, which simply means 'story' A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions Self-sacrifice may also be more broadly defined as selflessness, or the readiness to inflict pain upon yourself to save others; it is this definition which, for example, Leo Tolstoy embraced and espoused. Leo Tolstoy, or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy ( –) (Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й, was a Russian Writer widely regarded

Sacrifice in games

Sacrifice is also used metaphorically to describe a number of plays in games. A game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for Enjoyment and sometimes also used as an Educational tool Sacrifices, in this sense, are plays that lose pieces or opportunities in order to obtain a more important advantage.

In chess, a number of exchanges are described as sacrifices: these typically involve losing a piece or a pawn to disrupt the opponent's formation and open up an attack. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. The exchange in Chess refers to a situation in which one player loses a minor piece (i In the game of Chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece or pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms The pawn (♙♟ is the weakest and most numerous piece in the Game of Chess, representing Infantry Chess openings that involve sacrifices are usually called "gambits" by chess players; in these gambits, usually a pawn is deliberately lost; gambits that lose a piece are rare and risky. In Chess the word " opening " has two common meanings both of which are discussed in this article A gambit is a Chess opening in which the first player risks or sacrifices material usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous

In contract bridge, a sacrifice is a deliberate higher level bid of a contract which is likely to fail, in the hope that the adverse cost of the failure will still be less than the opponents' likely successful scores would have been. Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking Card game of skill and chance (the relative proportions depending A sacrifice is a (usually deliberate bid of an unmakeable contract in Contract bridge in the hope that the penalty will be smaller than the value

In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a play in which a batter hits a fly ball deep into the outfield for an out so as to enable a runner on any base, depending on the runner's speed, to score. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each In Baseball, a batted ball is considered a sacrifice fly if the following four criteria are met There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit Likewise, a sacrifice bunt in baseball is one in which a batter deliberately allows himself to be put out while advancing a teammate to second and/or third base, from where he has a greater chance to score. Players who commit either a sacrifice fly or bunt are not charged with a "time at bat," thus the out that they sacrificed is not charged against their batting average.

In a few role-playing games, some characters have the ability to give up their hit points in order to restore all others' hit points and magic points. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. Health is a Game mechanic used in computer and Video games to give value to characters, enemies NPCs, and related objects Health is a Game mechanic used in computer and Video games to give value to characters, enemies NPCs, and related objects Magic points ( MP; also called mana) are units of magical power that are used in many role-playing, computer role-playing and similar games

See also

External links

Further reading

References

  1. ^ "act of worship or devotion, offering, oblation, sacrifice (the former meanings prevailing in Veda, the latter in post-Vedic literature", Monier-Williams.
  2. ^ Subramuniyaswami, Satguru Sivaya (2003). Dancing With Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism. Himalayan Academy Publications. ISBN 0945497962.   p. 849.
  3. ^ "Indeed the offering of milk into the fire was more common than animal offerings. "Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521438780.   p. 359.
  4. ^ Subramuniyaswami, p. 849.

Dictionary

sacrifice

-verb

  1. To offer as a gift to a deity.
  2. To give away something valuable to get at least a possibility to gain something else of value (such as self-respect, trust, love, freedom, prosperity), or to avoid an even greater loss.
  3. To trade a value of higher worth for one of lesser worth; to sell without profit.
  4. (chess) To intentionally give up a piece in order to improve one’s position on the board.
  5. (baseball) To advance a runner on base by batting the ball so it can be caught or fielded, placing the batter out, but with insufficient time to put the runner out.

-noun

  1. Something sacrificed.
  2. (baseball) A play in which the batter is intentionally out in order that runners can advance around the bases.
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