Divination & Sacrifice

in Ancient Rome

Kelsey Gabris

The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural mean.

The Romans “Convinced as they were that the gods had powers to influence human destiny, the Romans spent much effort working out what their will might

be.”

There were several types of Divination such as…

What is Divination?

Sought divine guidance by taking by taking the auspices

before important decisions were made. The process

usually involved scanning the sky for omens in the form

of flights of birds – their species, numbers and all would

be significant.

Augurs…

Used “… the Etruscan science usually it involved

examining the entrails of sacrificial animal, most often

sheep or oxen; the shape, size, condition and markings

of the liver and gall bladder were considered particularly

significant.”

Another big part Romans took note of were omens in the

form of monstrous growths or births, such as two-

headed calves.

Haruspices…

The Fegato di Placenza…

Is a Etruscan bronze representation of a sliced sheep’s

liver, unearthed in Piacenza, Italy, in 1877 and dating from the

1st Century BC.

The liver is inscribed with the names of Etruscan deities and is

thought to have been used by haruspices, or soothsayers,

to foretell the future.

The term sacrifice derives from the Latin sacrificium, which is a combination of the words sacer, meaning something set apart from the secular or profane for the use of supernatural powers, and facere, meaning “to make.”

Sacrifice, is essentially a religious rite or celebration of life in which an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore a right relationship of a

human being to the sacred order.

What is Sacrifice?

A wide variety of animals have served as sacrificial offerings. In ancient Greece, oblations included a

number of important domestic animals, such as the goat, ram, ox, and horse. Moreover, in Greek religion all

edible birds, wild animals of the hunt, and fish were used.

An especially prominent sacrificial animal was the bull which, as the representation and embodiment of the

powers of fertility, was sacrificed to numerous fertility gods.

Although all sacrifice involves the giving of something, there are some sacrificial rites in which the oblation is regarded as a gift made to a deity either in expectation of a return gift or as the result of a promise upon the fulfillment of a requested divine favor.

In Ancient Greek religion the major type of

offering was the burnt or fire offering.

In many cults, sacrifices are distinguished by frequency of performance into two types, regular and special.

Regular sacrifices may be daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonal (as at planting, harvest, and New Year). Also often included are sacrifices made at specific times in each man’s life—birth, puberty, marriage, and death.

Offerings made on special occasions were sacrifices in times of danger, sickness, or crop failure and those performed at the construction of a building, for success in battle, or in thanksgiving for a divine favour.

Time & Place for Sacrifice

I. Did Romans have only one type of divination?

II. What is the Fegato di Placenza?

III. What is sacrifice essentially?

IV. What was the major type of offering in Greek religion?

V. Give two examples of when sacrifice would take place:

Questions…

• Grant, Michael, Expert. "Britannica School." Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/110629>.

• Allan, Tony. "Divination And Oracles." Life, Myth, and Art. London: Duncan Baird, 2005. 128. Print.

• Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://school.eb.co.uk/levels/advanced/article/109492>.

• "Sacrifices." Sacrifices. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://www.romanarmy.net/sacrifices.shtml>.

Sources