of the victim. In the “Greek” variant of the ritual, the sacrificer sprinkled water over
the victim, cut a hair from its brow, and scattered the animal with cereal grains (ritus
Graecus; Scheid 1995, 2005c: 87–122). With these exchanges complete, the sacrificer
gave the order to a ritual executioner to “act” (agere). In the case of cattle, this
meant stunning the animal then bleeding it. Smaller animals simply had their throats
cut. In theory, the victim was required to show its consent, usually by nodding its
head, and it was often attached to a halter running through a ring at the base of
the altar, so its head could make, with the aid of the sacrificer, the gesture of acqui-
escence. All signs of fear and panic by the victim, as well as any disturbance, were
not allowed during the ceremony, since they were regarded as unfavorable omina.
With their throats cut, the animals were turned onto their backs and opened up.
With the help of his assistants, especially the haruspex, the sacrificer confirmed that
the offering had been accepted by the divinity (see Bouché-Leclercq 1882: 862, 893ff.).
The god’s approval (litatio) was signified by the normal appearance of the exta, which,
at the end of the republican period, were seen as comprised of five internal organs:
the liver, the lungs, the gall-bladder, the peritoneum, and the heart. If the sacrifice
was approved, the rites continued. If the extacontained any abnormalities, the sacrifice
was annulled and the rites had to start over again with other victims (instaurare),
and possibly repeated until approval was obtained (usque ad litationem). In certain
types of sacrifice, the extawere inspected, following the Etruscan practice, in order
to make predictions of the future (haruspicatio).
The Offering and the Banquet
Once this stage was completed, the victim was divided up. The parts due to the
divinity (the exta, the vital organs) were set aside to cook in a pot (in the case of
cattle victims) or roasted on a spit (sheep and pigs). It was for this reason that the
temples always contained a kitchen area. After cooking, the sacrificer turned out the
divine portion, duly sprinkled with mola salsaand wine, onto the sacrificial fire which
burned on the altar. Offerings to aquatic deities were plunged in water. Those for
chthonic deities (for example, the Lares) or those connected with the Underworld,
were thrown onto the ground, where they were cooked on the earth or in a ditch.
All of these gestures were accompanied by prayers which explicitly stated who was
making the offering, who was receiving it, and who would reap the reward for the
ritual; thus, in public sacrifices, the prayer always contained the formula “for the Roman
people” (Paul. Fest.59 L).
Sacrificial rites were often much more complicated than these basic gestures.
The offering could include other parts of the victim; and some of the offering
could be cooked in a more elaborate way and laid out on a table inside the temple.
These additional elements should be seen in relation to the ritual of lectisternium
(Nouilhan 1989). In this ritual, the statues of the gods or of their attributes were
placed on dining couches in order to “consume” the ritual offerings on the table be-
fore them, while the goddesses “dined” seated in chairs (sellisternium; see Schnegg-
Köhler 2002: 34 – 42 and commentaries). This method of celebration became more
266 John Scheid