Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome

For the computer game, see Sacrifice.

Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning 'to make sacred', from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; 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. The term is also used metaphorically to describe selfless good deeds for others. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (825x1024, 290 KB)Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: Bas-relief, Capitoline Museum Rome Source antmoose, 4 June 2005 Released to Creative Commons by the photographer File history Legend: (cur... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (825x1024, 290 KB)Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: Bas-relief, Capitoline Museum Rome Source antmoose, 4 June 2005 Released to Creative Commons by the photographer File history Legend: (cur... Bust of Aurelius in the Louvre Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. ... Bas relief is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal. ... Piazza del Campidoglio, on the top of Capitoline Hill, with the façade of Palazzo Senatorio. ... Sacrifice is a 3D real-time strategy game with strong RPG elements, developed by Shiny Entertainment, the creators of the Earthworm Jim franchise. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. ... Propitiation is a theological term denoting that by which God is rendered propitious, i. ... Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ... In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin) is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects. ...

Theologies of sacrifice

The theology of sacrifice remains an issue, not only for religions that continue to practice rituals of sacrifice, but also for those religions that have animal sacrifice in their scriptures, traditions, or histories, even if sacrifice is no longer made. Religions offer a number of reasons for why sacrifices are offered. Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... The word tradition, comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ...

• Gods need sacrifice to sustain themselves and their power, without which they are diminished.
• Sacrificed goods are used to make a bargain with the god, who has promised some favour in return for the sacrifice.
• The lives or blood of sacrificial victims contains mana or some other supernatural power whose offering pleases the god.
• The sacrificial victim is offered as a scapegoat, a target for the wrath of a god, which otherwise would be visited on the followers.
• Sacrifice deprives the followers of food and other useful commodities, and as such constitutes an ascetic discipline.
• Sacrificed goods actually become part of a religious organisation's revenue; it is a part of the economic base of support that compensates priests and supports temples.
• The sacrifice is actually a part of a festival and is ultimately consumed by the followers themselves; often this includes an element of redistribution where the poor get a larger share than they contributed.
• The sacrifice may be a sign of a covenant between a god and His people.

Mana is a traditional term and a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians and Micronesians. ... The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The Akshardham Hindu temple, Delhi, India The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... A festival or fest is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some theme, sometimes on some unique aspect of the community. ... Redistribution is a term often applied to finite commodities within a society. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Sacrifice in Judaism

In Judaism, a sacrifice is known as a Korban from the Hebrew root karov meaning to "[come] Close [to God]". Korban (קרבן) (plural: Korbanot קרבנות) in Judaism, is commonly called a religious sacrifice or an offering in English, but is known as a Korban in Hebrew because its Hebrew root K [a] R [o] V (קרב) (or K [o] R [a] V) means to [come] Close (or Draw Near) [to God], which the... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Korban (קרבן) (plural: Korbanot קרבנות) in Judaism, is commonly called a religious sacrifice or an offering in English, but is known as a Korban in Hebrew because its Hebrew root K [a] R [o] V (קרב) (or K [o] R [a] V) means to [come] Close (or Draw Near) [to God], which the... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ...

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. 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. The Bible (Hebrew תנ״ך tanakh, Greek η Βίβλος [hē biblos] ) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ...

After the destruction of the Second Temple, ritual sacrifice ceased except among the Samaritans (see). Maimonides, a medieval Jewish rationalist, argued that God always held sacrifice inferior to prayer and philosophical meditation. 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 to the Perplexed he writes: Drawing of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great A stone (2. ... For the ethnic group of this name, see Samaritan. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Moshe ben Maimon (March 30, 1135–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher. ... Not to be confused with E.F._Schumachers similiarly titled 20th Century philosophical work, The Guide for the Perplexed (Hebrew: Moreh Nevuchim) is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides, or the Rambam. ...

"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... 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 is the common name for Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi; the name is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Ben Nahman, meaning Son of Nahman. He is also commomly known as Ramban, being an acronym of his Hebrew name and title, Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, and by his Catalan name...

The teachings of the Torah and Tanakh reveal Judaism's abhorrence of human sacrifices. Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ...

Sacrifice in Islam

An animal sacrifice in Arabic is called Qurban (قُرْبَان) . However this word has a pagan connotation in some places (however, in India, the word qurbani is used for Islamic animal sacrifice). In the Islamic context an animal sacrifice is usually referred to as Udhiyah (أُضْحِيَّة) meaning sacrifice. Udhiyah, as a ritual, is offered only in Eid ul-Adha. 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 Allah. 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 (according to the Muslims, Ishmael) at God's command. The sacrificial animal may be a lamb, a sheep, a goat, a camel or a cow. The animal must be healthy and conscious. Eid ul-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى) occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... For a king of Anglo-Saxon England, see Aella of Deira or Aelle II of Northumbria or Aelle of Sussex. ... Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, (circa 1700 BCE) Standard Hebrew Avraham, Tiberian Hebrew ; Arabic ابراهيم ; Geez አብርሃም ) is regarded as a patriarch of Israelite religion, recognized by Judaism and later Christianity, and a very important prophet in Islam as well as in the Bahai Faith. ... Ishmael or Yishmael (יִשְׁמָעֵאל God hears or obeys, Standard Hebrew YiÅ¡maÊ¿el, Tiberian Hebrew YiÅ¡māʿêl, Arabic إسماعيل) is Abrahams eldest son, born by his servant Hagar. ...

The Islamic system of slaughter is called Dhabĥ (ذَبْحٌ); In the name of Allah, the throat and both jugular veins are cut quickly with a sharp knife. Neither the spinal cord is to be severed nor the neck bone broken until after the animal has ceased to move, in fear that pain may caused. Other forms of slaughter such as blugdeoning, electrocution, and driving of a spike through the animals cranium are explicitly forbidden. For a king of Anglo-Saxon England, see Aella of Deira or Aelle II of Northumbria or Aelle of Sussex. ...

The reasoning behind invoking the name of the creator at the moment of sacrifice is stated by some to be the equivalent of acknowledging the right of that creator over all created things, as such this invocation is then a type of permission granted to the one performing the sacrifice and endows a sense of gratitude even prior to partaking in the meat of the animal. The meat is generally distributed to relatives and the needy, although it may, depending upon purpose and occasion, be consumed by the person himself.

All animals must be sacrificed in the above mentioned manner, regardless of whether the meat is for religious commeration or personal consumption. This meat is then considered Halal and hence fit for consumption. Halaal (Arabic: حلال , also sometimes spelled halal) is the Islamic term for permissible, similar to the Jewish kosher. ...

Sacrifice in Hinduism

Hindus believe in Ahimsa (non-violence). Even the oldest of their religious texts speak about earth, fire, water and air but not about animal sacrifices. Some very small sects residing in the Indian region practise animal killings. In India, some semi-tribal Hindus, as well as some worshipper-communities of Shaktism (the Mother Goddess) offer sacrifice of goats and buffaloes to the deity, but this practise is by and large quickly vanishing, being condemned by other Hindus as superstitious and as inconsistent with Hindu concepts of compassion and ahimsa. Among the Hindus of Nepal, animal sacrifices are common even today, not only for the mother goddess, but also for almost all deities of the Hindu pantheon. The Hindu way of slaughtering the animal may be less painful than others, as it involves an immediate severing of the whole neck of the animal by one quick stroke of a sword or an axe (otherwise great calamities are believed to befall the sacrificer), rather than slitting of the throat. Ādivāsīs (आदिवासी) or tribal peoples comprise a substantial minority of the population of India. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi -- the Hindu name for the Great Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. ... This article is about goats, the animals. ... Binomial name Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792) The Water Buffalo is a very large ungulate. ... Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. ...

There is no word for religious sacrifice in Hindi. Yajna typically refers to any fire-offering or such equivalent ritual of the Vedic Indo-Aryans. The offerings were usually of vegetable origin, including saw-dust for the fire, grains like barley, etc. Milk and ghee (clarified butter) was also offered in large quantities. A mysterious, unidentified plant's juice, called Soma, was offered at special Soma sacrifices. The Vedas actually contain the mantras to be chanted for these yajnas. Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Ghee Ghee (Hindi घी, from Sanskrit ghṛta घृत sprinkled) is a type of clarified butter important in Pakistani and Indian cuisine and tradition. ... Soma (Sanskrit), or Haoma (Avestan) (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Sauma) was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the later Vedic and Iranian cultures. ...

Behavior like killing and eating animals is viewed as barbaric and has long been prohibited in Hinduism.

Animal sacrifice

The remains of an animal surrounded by stone, found in New Mexico, possibly representing modern animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised 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 and from the Aztecs to the Yoruba. However, the practise was a taboo among the Ancient Egyptians, and they tended to look down on cultures that practised this custom. Animal sacrifice is still practised 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). 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. Download high resolution version (900x630, 197 KB)photo by Einar Einarsson Kvaran sacrifice File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (900x630, 197 KB)photo by Einar Einarsson Kvaran sacrifice File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Official language(s) None, English and Spanish de facto Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 550 km 595 km 0. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Hebrews (syns. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... The Yoruba (native name Yorùbá) are the largest single ethnic group in Nigeria. ... Map of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was the civilization of the Nile Valley between about 3000 BC and the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation it is the quintessential example of an hydraulic empire. ... Lukumí, Regla de Ocha or Afro-Cuba, most widely known as Santeria, (Santería in Spanish) is a set of related religious systems that superficially seem to fuse Catholic beliefs with traditional Yorùbá beliefs. ... This article is about the type of spirit. ... This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. ...

Human sacrifice

Main article: Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice was practiced by many ancient cultures. People would be ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease some god or spirit. While not widely known, human sacrifices for religious reasons still exist today in a number of nations. Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel) This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

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

• Human sacrifice to accompany the dedication of a new temple or bridge.
• Sacrifice of people upon the death of a king, high priest or great leader; the sacrificed were supposed to serve or accompany the deceased leader in the next life.
• Human sacrifice in times of natural disaster. Droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions etc were seen as a sign of anger or displeasure by deities, and sacrifices were supposed to lessen the divine ire.

Some of the best known ancient human sacrifice was that practiced by various Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. 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. The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... Sculpture remembering the moment when aztecs found the sign for Tenochtitlan foundation place given by Huitzilopochtli. ... For other uses, see Sun (disambiguation). ... Plan of Tenochtitlan (Dr Atl) Mexico City statue commemorating the foundation of Tenochtitlan Tenochtitlan (pronounced ) or, alternatively, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was the capital of the Aztec empire, which was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in what is now central Mexico. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ...

In Scandinavia, the old Scandinavian religion contained human sacrifice and both the Norse sagas and German historians relate of this, see e.g. Temple at Uppsala and Blót. For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Norse mythology, Viking mythology or Scandinavian mythology refer to the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. ... The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: sögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... The Temple at Uppsala was a temple in Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), near modern Uppsala, Sweden, that was created to worship the Norse gods of ancient times. ... The Blót was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ...

There is evidence to suggest Pre-Hellenic Minoan cultures practised human sacrifice. Sacrificed corpses were found at a number of sites in the citadel of Knossos in Crete. One such find at the North house in Knossos numbered 337 bones of children who appear 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.The evidence that this practice was widespread throughout Minoan culture is not strong. It is also possible that the human sacrifices at Crete were one-off occurrences as Knossos did befall an epic tectonic natural disaster around the time at which these sites would have been preserved. Hence these human sacrifices could be explained in terms of the Minoans desperation in the situation and being far from routine procedures. The temple of Anemospilia at Knossos exemplifies this view. Here they found the sacrifice of a teenager which was interrupted by the temple collapsing on the participants due to the tectonic activity at the time. The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur (set in the labyrinth at Knossos) provides evidence that Human sacrifice was commonplace. In the myth we are told that Athens sent seven young men and seven young women to Crete as human sacrifices to the Minotaur. This ties up well with the archaeological evidence that most sacrifices were of young adults or children. This view contrasts with the Utopian view of the Minoans propagated by the archaeologist Arthur Evans. Map of Minoan Crete The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, prior to Helladic or Mycenaean culture (i. ... This article is about a type of fortification. ... Knossos Knossos (35°18′N 25°10′E; alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti, Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... Knossos Knossos (35°18′N 25°10′E; alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ... ... The Akshardham Hindu temple, Delhi, India The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... Anemospilia is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan temple on Crete. ... Theseus (Greek Θησεύς) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aegeus (or of Poseidon) and of Aethra. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature that was part man and part bull. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα Athína IPA ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Sir Arthur John Evans (July 8, 1851 – July 11, 1941) was an English archaeologist. ...

Human sacrifice still happens today as an underground practice in some traditional religions, for example in muti killings. Human sacrifice is no longer officially condoned in any country, and these cases are regarded as murder. Muti is a generic term for medicine in Southern Africa. ...

Some people in India are adherents of a religious sect that is referred to as Tantrism; a small percent of unscrupulous Tantric practitioners engage in human sacrifice, often with the promise of inducing childbirth in a sterile couple (see Further Reading). These superstitious practices are quickly disappearing. Human sacrifice has been completely absent at all times in mainstream Hinduism, and is severely condemned and seen with utmost horror by all mainstream Hindus. But the absence of any central dogma in Hinduism has allowed some unscrupulous sideline cults to exist. A few Indian tribes like Maraya and Thugs used to also practice human sacrifice. In Hindu narratives, practising human sacrifice and eating human meat was a work of the demons (See Demon). Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit/Hindi: ; also known as Sanatana Dharma - , and Vaidika Dharma - ) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is generally regarded as one of the oldest religions still practised in the world. ... // Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas) is belief or doctrine held by a religion or any kind of organization to be authoritative and not to be disputed or doubted. ... St. ...

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). The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BCE (between 29 and 19 BCE) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. ... A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC–19 BC), known in English as Virgil or Vergil, is a Latin poet, the author of the Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid, the last being an epic poem of twelve books that... 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 (Ποσειδῶν) was the god of the sea, and of earthquakes, as Earth-Shaker, and of horses. ...

Human sacrifice is a common theme in the religions and mythology of many cultures. The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογειν mythologein to relate myths, from μυος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λογος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the...

Sacrifice in Christianity

The concept of self-sacrifice and martyrs are central to 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). God's perfect justice required atonement for sin from humanity if human beings were to be saved from damnation, but God knew limited human beings could not make sufficient atonement, for humanity's offence to God was infinite. So God, in his perfect mercy, himself became a man so as to pay the debt on behalf of humanity. Only God could make the infinite sacrifice; only a human being could offer it on behalf of humanity, hence only Jesus Christ, truly God and truly human, could offer the atoning sacrifice. This he did by his death on the Cross. On the cross, Jesus suffered infinitely, as only infinite God can, taking upon himself the eternal punishment for all sin and thus atoning humanity. This sacrifice replaced the insufficient animal sacrifice of the Old Covenant; Christ the "Lamb of God" replaced the lambs sacrificed at Passover in the Mosaic law. Christ's bodily resurrection three days after his crucifixion shows the efficacy of his sacrifice in freeing human beings from the chains of death. Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for their convictions or religious faith, such as during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about sinfulness. ... Lamb of God (Latin: Agnus Dei) is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian tradition. ...

Also, note that some scholars such as Thomas McElwain consider the belief that Jesus has already paid the whole price for sin as a later belief, one completely unknown to Paul, Jesus or any of the disciples of the first century. They argue that the "the followers of Jesus Christ went on participating in the sacrificial system of the temple in Jerusalem until its destruction in AD 70" and "the apostolic church, for more than a generation after the ascension of Jesus, still offered the Old Testament sacrifices." The epistle to the Hebrews clearly teaches that Jesus replaces the temple service, its sacrifices and its priests. But they argue that "the historical fact is that such belief came only in connection with the destruction of the temple." The composition of the book of Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the Pauline epistles were collected and began to circulate, circa AD 95 which is after the destruction of the temple. ^[1] Also Geza Vermes averred that the title Lamb of God does not necessarily refer to the metaphor of a sacrificial animal. He points out that in Galilean Aramaic the word talya, literally "lamb," had the common meaning of "male child". This is akin to "kid" meaning "child" in modern colloquial English. 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). Thus, "Lamb of God" could have been a slang means of saying "Son of God" or "God's Kid". Thomas McElwain is a Shia Twelver Muslim Islamic scholar, former Christian, that specializes in Islamic Christianity studies. ... The term Pauline epistles refers to the thirteen or fourteen letters in the New Testament of the Christian Bible traditionally believed to have been written by the apostle Paul. ... Geza Vermes (born 22 June 1924) is a scholar and writer on religious history, particularly Jewish and Christian. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

In the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church, as well as among some High Church Anglicans and some Lutherans, the Eucharist or Mass is seen as a sacrifice. 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 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 Melchisidech 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), and the offering becomes one with that of Christ on the Cross. 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. 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. High Church is a term that may now be used in speaking of viewpoints within a number of denominations of Protestant Christianity in general, but it is one which has traditionally been employed in Churches associated with the Anglican tradition in particular. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament, to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... Transubstantiation is the belief held by the Roman Catholic Church that the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus during Consecration. ... Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. ...

Also 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."

Most 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 Protestant tendency is to see the Sacrifice on the Cross as a definitely past event which did away for the need for any sacrifices or human priests ever again. In favor of this position is cited the letter to the Hebrews, the theme of which is the uselessness of the human priests of the old covenant and their regular sacrifices against Christ's 'one sacrifice for sins.' (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, as discussed above, and that Christ is the real priest at every mass working through mere human beings who 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 consciously, personally accept Christ's sacrifice on the Cross 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 Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament, to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... Real Presence is a doctrine of many Christian traditions that Jesus the Christ is present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ...

As opposed to both traditional Catholic/Orthodox and Evangelical Christianity, modern Christianity has sometimes tended to lessen the focus on the sacrifice of the Cross. If one is uncomfortable with the idea of original sin, or with the idea that sin demands atonement or punishment, as many today are, the theological significance of the sacrifice of the Cross appears less relevant. Thus some urge focus on Christ's life as moral teacher rather than on his death as sacrificial victim. Some hold that his death has been decoupled from the concept of atonement for sin in modern Christianity, and is seen primarily as an identification of the Messiah with all victims of political and social injustice. It is relevant to note that interest in a renewed focus on Christ's sacrifice increased in many circles coincident with the release of the 2004 religious blockbuster The Passion of the Christ. The Passion of the Christ (2004) is a film about the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ. ...

Sacrifice in games

Sacrifice is also used metaphorically to describe a number of plays in games. Sacrifices, in this sense, are plays that deliberately lose pieces or opportunities in order to obtain some other advantage. This article is about a recreational activity. ...

In chess, a number of plays 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 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. Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-05, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... In the game of chess, a sacrifice is the deliberate giving up of a chess piece by a player, allowing or even forcing the opponent to capture it. ... The pawn (♙♟) is the weakest and most numerous piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly pikemen. ... The first moves of a chess game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening. ... A gambit is a chess opening, where something is sacrificed in order to achieve a better position. ...

In contract bridge, sacrifice is a deliberate bid of an unmakable contract in the hope that the cost of penalty will outweigh opponents' likely score. Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game for four players, usually sitting around a table, who form two partnerships, or sides. The partners on each side sit opposite one another. ... 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 of an opponents contract. ...

In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a play in which a batter deliberately allows himself to be called out so as to enable another player on base to score. Likewise, a sacrifice bunt in baseball is one in which a batter allows himself to be put out while advancing a team mate, usually to second, but sometimes to 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. Baseball is a team sport in which a player on one team (the pitcher) attempts to throw a hard, fist-sized ball past a player on the other team (the batter), who attempts to hit the baseball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical stick called a bat. ... In baseball, a batted ball is considered a sacrifice fly (denoted by SF) if the following four criteria are met: There are fewer than two outs. ... In baseball, a sacrifice hit is the act of deliberately striking the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base, while the batter is himself put out. ...

In Magic: The Gathering, "sacrifice" means to intentionally destroy one's own card, typically to produce some effect. Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ...

In yu-gi-oh you sacrifice up to 3 cards to summon a more powerful card or for a card's effect. Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volume 1 (English version) Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王 yūgiō, Japanese for King of Games) is a popular Japanese anime and manga franchise from Kazuki Takahashi that mainly involves characters who play a card game called Duel Monsters (originally called Magic and Wizards (M&W...

See also

• Human sacrifice, Child sacrifice, Ritual murder, Sati
• Propitiation
• Martyrdom
• Scapegoat
• Immolation
• Celts and human sacrifice
• Ashvamedha
• Quetzalcoatl
• Jephthah
• Greek mythology, Lycaeus, Iphigenia
• Nordic religion (Norse mythology)
• Behanzin
• Sacrifice (band)

Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please, propitiate or force supernatural beings in order to achieve a desired result. ... Ritual murder is murder performed in a ritualistic fashion. ... Sati may refer to any of the following: The Hindu Goddess Sati, daughter of Daksha and wife of Shiva A social practise in some parts of India in past centuries, often spelt Suttee The Buddhist Sati; see mindfulness. ... Propitiation is a theological term denoting that by which God is rendered propitious, i. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ... Immolation means a sacrificial killing by burning, such as: Animal sacrifice Human sacrifice Sati is a Hindu funeral custom involving immolation. ... The Celts practised human sacrifice on a limited scale as part of their religious rituals. ... The Ashvamedha, or the horse-sacrifice is one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion (1st millennium BC, the last recorded performance dates to the 4th century AD), described in detail in the Yajurveda (books 22–25) and the pertaining commentaries. ... Statue of Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake or plumed serpent; in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl; in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations and also the name given to some Toltec rulers... Jephtha יפתח -- one of the so called Judges in Israel between the conquest of Canaan and the first king. ... Greek mythology consists of an extensive collection of narratives detailing the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, which were first envisioned and disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition. ... Lycaeus (Mons Lycaeus, mod. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... Nordic religion is a termed used to abbrevate the religion preferably amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries under pre-Christian period that are supported by archaeology findings and early written materials. ... Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Behanzin in 1894 Behanzin is considered (if Adandozan is not counted) eleventh King of Dahomey (now Benin). ... Sacrifice formed in Toronto in 1985 with Rob Urbinati on vocals and guitar, Joe Rico on guitar, Scott Watts on bass and Gus Pynn on drums. ...

Further reading

• Human Sacrifice: In History and Today Nigel Davies; Dorset Press, 1981 ISBN 0-88029-211-3
• In India, case links mysticism, murder John Lancaster, Washington Post, 29 November 2003

November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

^ 1) Thomas McElwain, Islam In The Bible, Printed In Great Britain for Minerva Press, ISBN 0-75410-217-3 Thomas McElwain is a Shia Twelver Muslim Islamic scholar, former Christian, that specializes in Islamic Christianity studies. ... Islam In The Bible is a book about Islam and the Bible writen by Thomas McElwain. ...

External links

• BBC news story about muti killings
• Indian human sacrifice bid in Kamakhya temple foiled
• Police have arrested a village priest in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly carrying out a human sacrifice
• Hindu monks in India pledge to fight human sacrifice
• Killing for 'Mother' Kali: A spate of ritual killings in India shows that human sacrifice lives on - TIME Asia magazine