Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-395 CE): Power, Communication, and Cultural Transformation

For over a thousand years, the practice of animal sacrifice held a central place in ancient Graeco-Roman culture as a means of both demonstrating piety to the gods and structuring social relationships. As Christianity took root in Rome in the third century CE, the cultural role of this practice changed dramatically. In Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-395 CE) , J. B. Rives explores the shifting socio-economic, political, and cultural significance of animal sacrifice in this crucial period of change. Drawing on literary, epigraphic, archaeological, art historical, philosophical, and scriptural evidence, this volume provides a comprehensive and detailed study of the central role of animal sacrifice in the ancient Mediterranean world and traces the changes in its social function and cultural significance during the period when that world became Christianized. By focusing on the evolution of this specific cultural practice, Rives illustrates the larger phenomenon of the religious and cultural transformation taking place in the Graeco-Roman world in the third and fourth centuries CE, providing a unique perspective which will appeal to scholars across religious and classical studies. Cover Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 bce–395 ce) Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Introduction PART I. The Practice of Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire Prologue: The Sacrifices of Nestor (Odyssey 3.5– 66 and 418– 72) 2. The Economics of Animal Sacrifice 3. Animal Sacrifice and Euergetism in the Roman Empire 4. Animal Sacrifice and Graeco-​Roman Culture 5. Animal Sacrifice and the Roman Emperor Epilogue Part II. Discourses of Animal Sacrifice in Graeco-​Roman Culture and Early Christianity Prologue: Paul and Barnabas at Lystra (Acts 14.8– 18) 6. Theorizing Animal Sacrifice I: From Hesiod to Plutarch (c. 700 BCE–​c. 100 CE) 7. The Early Christian Displacement of Animal Sacrifice (c. 50–​c. 150 CE) 8. Theorizing Animal Sacrifice II: From Apollonius to Iamblichus (c. 100–​c. 300 CE) Epilogue Part III. Transformations of Animal Sacrifice in Late Antiquity Prologue: The Decree of Decius (SB I.443) 9. The Obligations of Empire: Decius to the Tetrarchs (250–​313 CE) 10. From Roman to Pagan: Constantine to Theodosius I (313–​395 CE) Epilogue 11. The End of Animal Sacrifice? References Index