Sacrifice in the Ancient World

Catalog description

Sacrifice is one of the most prevalent yet troubling aspects of religious practice. Its destruction and violence is often at odds with other rituals and core understandings within a given religion, so why is it done and what good does it do? The study of sacrifice, thus, poses questions concerning the reasons for its performance and its intended functions. For instance, one may ask whether religious sacrifices represent gifts to the deity or deities, acts of personal or collective renunciation, an intended exchange in expectation of a divine reward, a surrogate tendered as a replacement for a foreseeable punishment, or perhaps something else altogether. CAMS 160H will examine some competing definitions, approaches, and theories of sacrifice, as well as its manifestations throughout the cultures and religious traditions of the ancient Mediterranean world (in particular Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, the Phoenician world, Greece, and Rome). Comparative material from Mesoamerica (Maya, Aztec) and Northern Europe (bog bodies) will be also discussed, in order to articulate a more complete picture of this widespread but puzzling phenomenon. While this course covers much of the same material as CAMS 160 , this is an honors course. Students will be asked to do additional readings and to complete a research project at its conclusion. In addition, it fulfills both the GH and IL requirements.