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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4802803, member: 99554&quot;]In Latin, the word <i>sacrificium</i> means the performance of an act that renders something <i>sacer</i>, sacred. Ancient Romans demonstrated their respect and reverence for the gods in their prayers, offerings, and festivals. The invocations were addressed to the gods for the purpose of obtaining favors, and were often accompanied by vows. The religious <b>sacrifices</b> consisted either of the fruits of the earth, such as flowers, wine, milk, and honey; or the offerings of domestic animals, such as oxen, sheep, and swine. The Roman religion was very peculiar: it had almost a &quot;commercial&quot; aspect. You give a present to the gods and in return they give you something back...and if you are in their good grace, they should listen to your prayers and requests. Romans held <b>sacrifices</b> in which a bull, a sheep and a pig were offered. There was even a word to describe it ( <i>suovetaurilia</i>) which was made by combining the Roman words for the three animals. Oxen were also sacrificed. The philosopher Titus Flavius Clemens wrote : “Sacrifices were devised by men, I do think, as a pretext for eating meals of meat.&quot; (Miscellanies Book 2, xiii). Most of the evidence for <b>sacrifices</b> in the Roman world come to us from inscriptions on altars which were themselves considered sacrifices.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Snip20180117_1.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>A bull ready for sacrifice, with the tibiae player !</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166391[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>For ordinary Roman families, religion was a part of daily life. Each home had a household shrine at which prayers and libations to the family&#039;s domestic deities were offered. Neighborhood shrines and sacred places such as springs and groves dotted the city. According to history, It does not appear to have been usual for the average Roman citizen to perform an animal sacrifice. It was more the case that the person who wanted to make the sacrifice made arrangements for the ceremony with the <i>aedituus</i> of a particular temple who hired a victimarius to perform the actual slaughter. Sometimes there might also have been music provided by a flute player, or tibiae, in order to please the god but also to cover up any sounds of ill-omen from the victim.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Snip20180117_9.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Relief of Marcus Aurelius performing a sacrifice</p><p><br /></p><p>Hadrian. Pietas raising both hands in prayer before altar</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166395[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Ancient Rome also incorporated the practice of libation, both as an offering to the gods and as a means to honor the dead. In fact, Roman tombs were sometimes designed as sarcophagi lidded massive stone sculptures of what looked like reclining, dining figures.&nbsp; In one particular tomb design, the mourner could actually pour a wine libation into the stone cup in the statue’s hand, and a hole in the bottom of the cup would ensure that wine made it to the actual human remains.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://factsanddetails.com/archives/003/201811/5c01058bbc2a2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Scene of a Libation</p><p><br /></p><p>Diocletian. Genius of the Roman people pouring Libation from patera (you can see the liquid flows)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166396[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m pretty sure you all have examples in your collections of Roman <b>sacrifices</b>.</p><p>Please show us <b>your favorite coins </b>related to this subject ![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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