a kind of hood or veil covering the head (cinctus Gabinus; see Dubourdieu 1986).
In the “Greek” ritual, the sacrificer was bare-headed and often wore a laurel wreath.
The animal victims, always domestic animals (cattle, sheep, swine, more rarely
goats), were washed, dressed with ribbons and bands of wool in either white or
scarlet, their horns gilded and sometimes decorated with a disc (in the case of
cattle), while the backs of pigs and cattle were covered with a fringed coverlet
(dorsuale; see Krause 1931: fig. 12.4).
In the Roman ritual, the male gods received castrated male animals (with the excep-
tion of Mars, Neptune, Janus, and the Genius), and the goddesses received female
victims (see Krause 1931). The age of the victim varied according to the social status
of those making the sacrifice and the hierarchy among the divinities. In principle,
adult victims were more suitable for public worship. The gods above received white
victims, those below or connected with the night received victims with dark hides,
while Vulcan and Robigo received red. In certain sacrifices to Tellus or Ceres, preg-
nant cows were offered. Sows were generally used in cases of expiation or funerary
rituals. Other animals were used for special rites, like the horse in the October equus
(October 15), the dog in the Robigo sacrifice (April 25), or the white cockerel in
the cult of Aesculapius. Remains found on altars in Pompeii and some scholarly records
tell us that birds and fish were equally likely. In the domestic context, other kinds
of victims could be used according to family custom. Finally, for sacrifices associated
with ritual spells, the ingredients varied according to the aim and the particulars of
the rite, in which exoticism always played a part.
Fruit, grain, or dairy offerings were carried by assistants in baskets, liquid offer-
ings in jugs, and incense in boxes. We do not know how the offerings of produce
were selected and prepared. They could include, for example, spelt (far), barley-meal
porridge (polenta), leavened bread, dry figs, cheeses, spelt porridge (alica), sesame,
and oil. A salted flour called mola salsa, which was used in most public sacrifices,
was prepared by the Vestal Virgins for the Lupercalia (February 15), the Vestalia
(June 9) and the Ides of September (September 13; see C. Koch 1932). We do not
know if the molaprepared by the Vestals was used in all sacrifices, or just in the
public sacrifices in Rome. We know almost nothing about the particulars of public
sacrifice in the colonies and municipia, since texts on this topic, describing the pre-
cise manner of the rites, are few. Therefore, the presumption that the ritual there
was the same as that in Rome is pure conjecture. The gradual elucidation of this
question now rests with archaeological study.
Once the preparations were in order, a procession made its way toward the altar
of the divinity to be honored. Surrounded by his assistants, the sacrificer approached
the altar. The sacrifice began with the sound of a flute, sometimes also a lyre. It
started with the offering of incense and wine in the fire of a circular, portable hearth
(fig. 19.1). The hearth used to transmit the offering to the deity represented, to
some extent, the identity of the person performing the sacrifice, and so too the
community involved. We do not know what the rituals were for lighting the altar
fires. On the whole, the sources do not specify which divinities were honored in this
opening ritual (the verb used is praefari). In the sacrificial instructions of Cato, the
preliminary libation is addressed to Jupiter, Janus, and Vesta while in other cases,
264 John Scheid