
Roman Sacrifice, Inside and Out (2016) - diodorus
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/roman-sacrifice-inside-and-out/24585106EF99A77C65EFB622E34DC22A/core-reader
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thaumasiotes
> the word _immolatio_ itself derives from the Indo-European root _melh2− (‘to
> crush, to grind’):_ immolatio* is cognate with English ‘mill’. From this
> same root also derives the name for the mixture sprinkled on the animal
> before it was killed, _mola salsa_. The Romans were aware of the link, as is
> made clear by Paul. ex. Fest. 97L: ‘Immolare est mola, id est farre molito
> et sale, hostiam perspersam sacrare’ (‘To immolate is to make sacred a
> victim sprinkled with _mola_ , that is, with ground spelt and salt’), a
> passage which also suggests that the link between _immolatio_ and _mola
> salsa_ was active in the minds of Romans in the early imperial period

This is a very strange way to make this argument. You don't need to link
_immolatio_ all the way back to an Indo-European root. And you certainly don't
need a citation for the obvious, obvious claim that the link between the words
_mola_ and _immolatio_ was known to the Romans -- of course it was known to
the Romans, because that link exists entirely within the Latin language.
_Immolare_ is transparently nothing more than _in_ + _mola_ +[verb endings],
and _immolatio_ is the noun derived from _immolare_. Arguing that _immolatio_
and _mola_ are related because they both derive from the same root that
existed thousands of years in the past is obtuse -- _immolatio_ derives
directly from _mola_. Even if the words were actually unrelated, the form of
the word _immolatio_ _guarantees_ that the Romans would perceive it as
deriving from _mola_.

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romaaeterna
I'm afraid that anyone qualified to read this article was not informed by it.
And anyone informed by it was not qualified to read it.

> Modern theorizations of sacrifice focus on animal victims, treating the
> sacrifice of vegetal substances, if they are considered at all, as an
> afterthought or simply setting vegetal offerings as a second, lesser ritual,
> ‘a substitution or a pale imitation’.

This is a silly claim.

~~~
thaumasiotes
I was confused by the assumption that modern conceptions of sacrifice view it
in one of two ways: as an exercise of violence for its own sake (??), or as a
communal meal.

My _first_ association with the concept of sacrifice is an offering or a
trade: You give something to a spirit or god, and the spirit or god hopefully
gives something back to you.

~~~
ncmncm
That is a very modern reinterpretation. Trade was a practice of more-or-less
equals. One doesn't trade with gods, much as one doesn't trade with parents.
One hopes to attract their favorable attention, and fears their ire or
neglect.

~~~
thaumasiotes
Or, in older words:

 _" Holy Athena," she cried, "protectress of our city, mighty goddess, break
the spear of Diomedes and lay him low before the Scaean gates. Do this, and we
will sacrifice twelve heifers that have never yet known the goad, in your
temple, if you will have pity upon the town, and on the wives and little ones
of the Trojans." Thus she prayed, but Pallas Athena granted not her prayer._

(Iliad 6.305-311)

Direct offers to trade with the gods are common in classical mythology. (And,
um, everywhere else, ancient or modern day, fiction or reality.) And I
specified that a sacrifice was often just an offering. Trading is normal, but
not required.

> much as one doesn't trade with parents

I mean, I guess I can agree with this. I take it you don't have kids?

~~~
romaaeterna
It was Socrates' atheistic critique of contemporary definitions of piety to
call this "trade" or "ἐμπορικὴ" in Euthyphro 14e.

And for an historical example, according to Xenophon [Xen. Anab. 3.2.10] the
Athenians promised to sacrifice a goat to Artemis for every Persian killed at
Marathon. This turned out to be 6,400 [Hdt. 6.117] and since they could not
find enough goats, they instituted a yearly sacrifice of 500.

Although only a wag like Socrates would call this a direct trade with the
goddess.

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corey_moncure
Why doesn't page up / page down work on some sites anymore? Surely academic
readers haven't all transitioned to consume-only touchscreen devices?

~~~
emmelaich
Works for me, using the Mac option+down to mean pagedown.

