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HomeCultus

This started as Zoe and Mr. Alex looking into aspects of home worship, it may turn into Zoe's running notes.
 

Classical Archaeology

 By Susan E. Alcock, Robin Osborne
(portions are not visible with the google preview, I will have to get this from the library)
While the opening paragraphs of this essay started off well, I was concerned when they used the term "sacrifice" and focued on animals.  Being archologists it's no wonder bones are FAR more interesting than "drink offerings".  Sure enough, by page 29 they have worked themselves into the corner of "sometimes there are rituals with no sacrifice, just drink offerings".  Wouldn't it have been intellectuatlly cleaner to have a large umbrella called "making OFFERINGS" was the primary cult act, and BBQ is just a subset?
 
Sacrifices were often accompanied by drink offerings or libations, usually of wine but on some occasions required to be "wineless", but libations were alo made on many occasions when no animal was killed.   Libations were not though of simply as lesser forms of sacrifice, but as different in kind from sacrifice; on painted pottery gods receive but do not make sacrifices, but they are quite frequently show making libations (Lissarrague 1995).  A sacrifice is an offering to the gods, and gods do not make offerings to themselves.  A libation is different, less an offering than a gesture that indicates a recognition of the sacredness of the place or momment.

How about we just say a libation is a honor, and gods can honor other gods?

And better yet, let's stop using the word "sacrifice" for thusia, and just use the word "offering"?  Offerings can include portions of home meals, drinks, honey, flowers, etc.  (or perhaps Nymph offerings aren't interesting because they don't leave much of an archaeological record?