we know that it holds the sacrificial knife as well as barley corn; later it can be used to
hold the organs of the animal. With his right hand the youth holds out a metal vessel
with concave sides (chernips) which holds water in which a bearded priest washes his
hands at the beginning of the ritual. Behind the priest a youth steadies the goat; the
priest will turn and sprinkle its head with water from thechernipsso that it will, by
nodding, give its assent to the sacrifice. To the far left a youth accompanies the ritual
with the sound of his double pipes (aulos). All of the figures, including the god, wear
himatiadraped over the left shoulder.
A red-figurestamnosof about the same date found in a tomb at Etruscan Cervetri
in central Italy illustrates well the aftermath of the killing (Figure 26.9). Four
wreathed males stand at an altar as a Nike hovers above. Damage to the surface
obscures what she holds, but it was probably a pitcher from which she poured a
libation into the cup held by the bearded priest. The altar, which is streaked with
blood from the sacrifice, has wood carefully stacked on it and a fire burning. On top
of the wood is the tail of the sacrificed animal attached to part of the sacrum (osphus).
The curling of the tail in the fire was considered an indication that the sacrifice was
well received (Van Straten 1995:118–30; cf. Chapter 9). Two nude youths hold spits
with meat attached. These are thesplanchna, the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and
kidneys of the sacrificed animal. They are roasted over the fire and then consumed
warm by those participating in the sacrifice. To the far right a youth plays his aulos to
Figure 26.8 Preparation for the sacrifice of a goat in the presence of Apollo on an Attic red-
figure krater from Agrigento ca. 430 BC. Agrigento 4688. Photograph: Museo Archeologico
Regionale
Greek Religion and Art 411