Holocaust (victim)

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Holocaust ( ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστος 'completely burned' ) refers to the complete burning of the sacrificial animal in the Greek sacrificial system. It was carried out for gods, heroes and "common" dead. The sacrifice was performed both as a separate ritual and as a “sacred act” within a Thysia . Holocaust was a rare victim and has been around since the 5th century BC. Proven.

Other names

In addition to the Greek adjective holokautos ( ancient Greek ὁλόκαυτος "completely burnt") and the verb holokautein ( ancient Greek ὁλοκαυτεῖν "completely burn") accepted the following terms as an indication of Holokauste: kautos ( ancient Greek καυτος "burned"), karpoein ( ancient Greek καρπώειν ) kaiein ( ancient Greek καίειν "to set fire"), katakaiein ( ancient Greek κατακαίειν "burn up") and katagizein ( ancient Greek καταγίξειν "completely destroy"). The enagism is also counted among the holocausts.

definition

Holocaust was a sacrifice that involved the complete burning of the sacrificial animal. It was a rare sacrifice compared to Thysia.

A holocaust was carried out in two different ways. In the first category, it was an autonomous victim such as an enagism. In the second category it was part of a thysia and became a "sacred act" aimed at exerting a direct and effective influence on divine powers and forces of nature. The earliest literary mention of a Holocaust listing a sacrifice for Zeus Meilichios can probably be interpreted as a "sacred act", of which there were many different in the Greek sacrificial system:

“Furthermore, normal sacrifice could be modified and colored in the direction of these" powerful actions ", depending on the purpose and context of the rite. These divergent elements might include the unusual character of the victim, the holocaust of a victim, the special treatment of the parts of the victim, the special nature of the offerings preceding or accompanying the sacrifice itself (such as the libation), the special treatment of the flesh from the victim, etc. "

“Furthermore, depending on the purpose and context of the rite, normal sacrifices could be modified and painted in the direction of these“ powerful acts ”. These deviating elements [from a common thysia] can include the unusual character of the victim, the holocaust of a victim, the special treatment of the parts of the victim, the special kind of offerings that precede or accompany the victim himself (such as the Libations), which include special treatment of the flesh of the sacrifice, etc. "

ritual

There are no direct descriptions of the rituals of a Holocaust. Holocausts were performed on graves (see Enagisma), on mounds and altars and in sanctuaries.

Offerings

The few traditions that give more precise information about the rituals show that smaller and cheaper animals such as pigs or lambs were usually selected for holocausts. Large and expensive sacrificial animals were the exception.

receiver

The recipients of a Holocaust included gods, heroes, and “ordinary” dead.

intention

Holocausts were performed when one was faced with a problem or faced a crisis. The ritual also served to purify or appease the recipient. Some holocausts were more closely related to aspects of the recipient, especially their proximity to the realm of the dead, which the Greeks viewed as impure.

Other cultures

In the Greek culture the burning of whole animals as sacrifice was rare, just as in the eastern Mediterranean. In Mesopotamia and Anatolia it was practically absent. It was more common with the Hurrites , Phoenicians and Ugarites . At first glance, the most related sacrifices can be found among the Israelites , for whom the partial or complete burning of animals was the dominant sacrificial ritual. For science, therefore, the question has arisen as to who influenced whom or whether the rituals were completely separate and independent. The prevailing opinion of science in the 80s of the 20th century that sacrificial rituals with animals had been carried from the Levant into the Greek cultural area has been refuted by osteological finds. The finds have shown that animal sacrifices, completely or partially burned, took place on Greek soil as early as the late Bronze Age . The question of the origin of animal sacrifices is still unresolved.

The sacrificial rituals of Israelites and the Greek cultural area, which at first glance appear to be related, turn out to be very different on closer inspection. While the sacrifices described in the Hebrew Bible are similar to the Greek ones, the Holocaust equivalent, olah , is a basic sacrifice in the Bible involving large animals such as bulls and rams. The complete burning of the victim served as a "selfless dedication" ( "selfless devotion" ) and was to secure the presence of the Lord interpreted in the sanctuary. In the Greek cultural area, however, the Holocaust was a rare victim with small animals, in particular pigs. Likewise, the goals of the victims of the two cultures are completely different.

The difference between the two victims was already discussed in ancient times. Porphyrios refers to Theophrastus and remarks that if the Greeks had been forced to sacrifice like the Jews and Syrians, they would have omitted it completely, since they burned the animals completely and did not eat any of them.

Sources

Apart from the sources for Enagisma, which is also counted among the Holocausts, the term Holocaust was used between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. Proven seven times. Two of them come from literary and five from epigraphic sources. In two additional inscriptions, the reference to Holocausts was derived from other terms. Of the nine traditions, two were holocausts and seven were "ordinances," one holocaust associated with a thysia. In most cases, Zeus and Heracles were the recipients of the sacrifice.

literature

  • Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326. ( online )
  • Jean Rudhardt : Notions fondamentales de la pensée religieuse et actes constitutifs du culte dans la Grèce classique . Droz, Genève 1958 (thèse de doctorat), new edition Picard, Paris 1992. pp. 286–287.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 311 ( online ).
  2. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 311 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Arthur Darby Nock : The Cult of Heroes . In: William Scott Ferguson , Arthur Darby Nock: The Attic Orgeones and the Cult of Heroes (= Harvard Theological Review, Volume 37, Issue 2, 1944, pp. 141f.), Here p. 158; Gunnel Ekroth : The Sacrificial Rituals of Greek Hero-Cults in the Archaic to the Early Hellenistic Period (= Kernos . Supplement volume 12). Center International d'Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique, Liège 2002. ISBN 2-87456-003-0 , ISBN 2-8218-2900-0 ( openedition.org ), p. 309 (Chapter 4, Paragraph 19).
  4. ↑ "ἐθύετο καὶ ὡλοκαύτει χοίρους τῷ πατρίῳ νόμῳ." Xenophon , anabasis 7,8,5.
  5. ↑ Michael H. Jameson : Notes on the Sacrificial Calendar from Erchia . In: Bulletin de correspondance hellénique . 1965 pp. 154-172. Online , here p. 163.
  6. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 312 ( online ).
  7. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here pp. 311–313 ( online ).
  8. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 314 ( online ).
  9. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here pp. 310–311 ( online ).
  10. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 313 ( online ).
  11. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here pp. 315–317 ( online ).
  12. ^ Gunnel Ekroth: Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 317 ( online ).
  13. ↑ Porphyrios, de abstinentia 2,26,1-2; Theophrastus fr. 13. "Porphyry, referring to Theophrastus, states that if the Greeks were to be ordered to sacrifice like the Jews and the Syrians did, they would stop doing so altogether since these people do not eat the animals but burn them completely." Gunnel Ekroth : Holocaustic sacrifices in ancient Greek religion and the ritual relations to the Levant. In: Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Marek Węcowski (Ed.): Change, Continuity, and Connectivity: North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (= Philippika. Altertumswwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. Contributions to the Study of Ancient World Cultures. Volume 118). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 308–326, here p. 318 ( online ).
  14. ^ Gunnel Ekroth : The Sacrificial Rituals of Greek Hero-Cults in the Archaic to the Early Hellenistic Period (= Kernos. Supplement volume 12). Center International d'Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique, Liège 2002. ISBN 2-87456-003-0 , ISBN 2-8218-2900-0 ( openedition.org ). Pp. 218–224 (Chapter 3, Paragraphs 8–24).