Human sacrifice was a very common ritual in that time and area. But this is not enough to prove to the world that the answer to the mystery of the bog bodies is human sacrifice. However, I hope that the evidence I am about to show you is enough to convince you that human sacrifice is what killed the bog bodies.
It is recorded that human sacrifice was common at least 5000 years ago. Danish farmers, used to deposit their farming utensils in pots along with human sacrifices and place them in peat bogs, much like the bogs the bog bodies were found in. The earliest documentation of human sacrifice is of two teenage girls found in Copenhagen. The girls aged between 16 and 18 were killed around 3500 BC.
Some of the more famous bog bodies that have been found show signs that these people were not executed for breaking the law as they were found with objects that suggest they were of a higher status. A few of these bodies include Huldermose Woman, who was found with her bone comb which could be a symbol of social status, and Oldcroghan man, who was wearing an intricate armband. The fact that these bodies were found with objects that propose they were of a higher status assist in supporting that it was a ritual sacrifice. But this evidence co insides with Julius Caesar’s recollections in his book on the Gallic Wars De Bello Gallico. Caesar
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Archaeologist Miranda Green has said that the injuries on the bog bodies clearly display that the effort and care that has been put into the execution of these bodies supports the hypothesis that they were not executed as a disciplinary measure, but as ritualized sacrifices. Though Miranda Green was not there at the time of the killing, she has studied the wounds on the bodies which have shown a great help in determining what happened to
Chamberlain,A., Pearson,M. (2001) 'Bog Bodies', in Chamberlain,A., Pearson,M. (ed.) Earthly Remains: the history and science of preserved human bodies. London: British Museum, pp. 44-82.
Julius Caesar elected himself as the dictator of Rome. He became a favorite to many of the people of the lower classes. Unlike many leaders, Caesar valued the poor. Most people agreed with his decisions, but some of the higher classes’ did not. On March 15 44 BCE, now called the Ides of March, a few of Caesars’ closest peers decided to murder Caesar. Marcus Brutus killed Julius Caesar, on March 15.
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is the illustration of the demise of many respectable men. Typical of a tragedy, one character of high social standing experiences numerous downfalls brought on by a character flaw. This character is eventually brought to his or her knees by the misery and sorrow brought upon by these mistakes. It is at this point that the character realizes their flaws and changes their outlook. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, the tragic hero is Julius Caesar. In the play, Shakespeare molds Caesar’s character into an ambiguous personality. While Caesar is depicted as an ignorant and deserving tragedy, he is an often-overlooked hero as well. The omnipotent ruler appears to be quite respectable socially in the play’s exposition. However, as the story unravels several of his imperfections are introduced. The blemishes of Caesar’s personality soon lead to his untimely death. At his fall, Caesar realizes his faults and wrongdoings. Thus Caesar is overall an effective and sympathetic tragic hero.
Julius Caesar’s death is referred as sacrifice, as Brutus says that “let’s be sacrificers but not butchers” Cassius in Act 2.1, line 179. This is means that Brutus wants Caesar to die not because of political reasons; he wants it for the sake and the good of Rome. Brutus didn’t mean to butchery, as it refers to murder. “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar, And in the spirit of men there is no blood” (Act 2.1, lines 180–181). Brutus says that Conspirators wanted to destroy Caesar’s potential threat to Rome, and not Caesar’s itself.
Within the last few years, bodies have been found in bogs all across Ireland and Northern Europe. PBS took us through a documentary, named “The Ghost of the Murdered Kings”, in hopes to find some missing information on these peculiar bodies. Although they weren’t just skeletons, the bodies were preserved due to the highly acidic waters and peat that grows there. Grobbel Man, Old Croghan Man, Clonycavan Man, and several more have been found by everyday farmers. One in particular stood out that was discovered recently, Cashel Man, who seemed to have died over 4000 years ago. The documentary showed many different archeologists finding out solutions as to why this body seems to have gashes in it, while not having much information to go off of. Identifying callus’ on their hands, hair on their head, and determining what they found as their last meal in their stomach, they found that Cashel Man (and one other body) must have been kings that were sacrificed to the gods. This was deemed significant, as they weren’t burned like the other bodies in that time era.
Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero.
In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Caesar’s death is a butchery because it was meant to benefit conspirators, such as Brutus, Cassius, and so on, rather than benefiting Rome. Brutus creates lots of conflict throughout the play to push the idea that Caesar’s death was in fact a “sacrifice”. Brutus tries to convince himself and others that Caesar’s death will be meaningful, honorable, and will be beneficial to Rome. Brutus wishes that he could eliminate Caesar’s tyranny without actually killing him by saying “...could come by Caesar’s spirit/ And not dismember Caesar” (Act 2.1; lines 182-183).
They provided this ritual for the son god. The most gruesome ritual was, when four priests would take the offering and hold both ankles, and all angles. While they held the person another priest would slice into the mans torso, break apart his ribs, and hold his still beating up like a trophy for all the crowd to see it. It was a way to show the god they were loyal. They then took both hands, and feet from the cold dead body, and sent it down the steps for the community to consume. During that part of the practice the remaining parts were throw into a vat of slit tongue snakes to feast on. On an average 50 thousand main arteries (hearts) were given to the sun god. The priests also purchased babies for the same ritual.
In 1599, when the play was first performed, Queen Elizabeth I had sat on the throne for nearly forty years, enlarging her power at the expense of the aristocracy and the House of Commons. As she was then sixty-six years old, her reign seemed likely to end soon, yet she lacked any heirs (as did Julius Caesar). Many feared that her death would plunge England into the kind of chaos that had plagued England during the fifteenth-century Wars of the Roses. In an age when censorship would have limited direct commentary on these worries, Shakespeare could nevertheless use the story of Caesar to comment on the political situation of his day.
Phillip Pullman, a British author, once wrote, “I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are”(goodreads.com). Pullman’s quotation on the actions of man being the source of good and evil closely relate to morality, principles regarding the distinction of right and wrong or a person’s values. The question of what human morality truly is has been pondered by philosophers, common folk, and writers for thousands of years. However, sometimes a person’s ethics are unclear; he or she are not wholly good or bad but, rather, morally ambiguous. William Shakespeare, an English playwrite, heavily presses the topic moral ambiguity in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The titular character, Julius Caesar, is a morally equivocal character who serves a major purpose in the play.
Animal sacrifices were a common way of honoring the gods. Part of the animal was for the god and the rest was eaten by worshippers. In ancient Greek religion, both men and women could be priests, but only men could perform sacrifices. Women also took part in processions and wove cloth for statues.
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.
An important practice of the ancient Mesoamerican religion is the practice of sacrifice. This ancient act would involve the death of a human on top of a pyramid and then throw their corps down the stairs. Sacrifice always seems to play part in most ancient religions, it is a way of connecting to a higher life/being or even a way of keeping life going onward. this practice was so important that some people participated in auto-sacrifice in which they would volunteer to sacrifice themselves. Sacrifice in the ancient Mesomaerican religion served as a way to fuel life. In order for life and time to keep moving forward they would preform a blood sacrifice on top of these pyramids or alters.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Some cultures in the Spanish Caribbean participate in sacrificing and they also hold clergy to a different standard than those in the United States. Some of the religious practices they have also involved monotheism although polytheism is more customary. Some often look at their sacrifice as odd, disgusting and inhumane. When in reality most of us come from cultures that historically made sacrifices and were