The whole concept of a sacrificial ritual is one that is not new in modern time. Sacrifices have been around for thousands of years in both religious and magical contexts. There are many examples of an individual or group putting together a sacrifice either for the purpose of religion or magic. The only question here is if there is any difference between the two, and in fact, there is. A main theme in sacrifices is that when it is done in a religious context, it is completed in a way to please some sort of deity or God and to show their devotion to them. While sacrifices in magic may be done for more personal reasons. However, there is a grey area where in order to get something from performing a sacrifice, you must ask someone in power to help, with your sacrifice being an offering to them. It is an interesting yet difficult discussion and can be of help to anyone who wishes to dig deeper into …show more content…
In some cases where one performs a sacrifice and wants to gain some benefit, they ask for it from a god, providing a sacrifice to make it even. Showing that these sacrifices do involve gods and deities because in order to get what they want they need a powerful being to give it to them, buttering them up by giving up a sacrifice. An example of this merging can be seen in the story of Iphigenia that took place during the Trojan war. While the Greek army was preparing to set sail for Troy, Agamemnon killed a deer which enraged the goddess Artemins. Because she was so angry at Agamemnon, she stopped all winds to keep the Greek army from going on about their mission. So, in order to make amends and allow for their army to take off, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess. This just being one of many stories that show a need to appease a god or goddess just to get something out of them, using a sacrifice as a way to gain their
The Aztec gods and goddesses, not only wanted blood, they wanted living human hearts. Living hearts were considered to nourish the gods and goddesses. All hearts were good, but the bravest captives were to be best nourishing to the gods; as a result, widespread warring took place. The Aztec people sought to bring captives back to the Aztec temples for sacrifice. They would sacrifice people in the name of the gods.
This is one of the more controversial parts of the Santeria faith, but we want to demystify the practice for those who may not understand its function. Within Santeria blood sacrifice is only done with the kinds of animals you’d find on a farm: chickens, roosters, goats, sheep, pigeons, etc. It is a required part of any initiation (Elekes, Warriors, Orisha Addimú, Kariocha) and without blood sacrifice you do not have the presence of the orishas in that ritual, and you do not have a legitimate consecration. This is an ancient and traditional practice upheld by the culture bearers of our religion and is not something that can be excluded in said
Human sacrifice is one of the oldest practices of the Mesoamerican culture. The Aztecs, the last empire of the Mesoamericans, performed human sacrifices in their festivals as a means to show political power and to maintain the order of the universe. The Mexica Empire also considered war and sacrifice to be essential in the gaining of their vast territories. It is believed that hundreds, or even thousands, of victims were sacrificed each year at the Aztec religious sites. However, in addition to the religious ritual, sacrifices had the effect of intimidation for outside visitors/ enemies and the population in general.
It is revealed that the goddess of wild animals, Artemis, is angry, and the sacrifice of Iphigenia and the massacre of Troy are mentioned. Agamemnon was well aware of what he was getting into and began his worried oscillation between the love of his daughter and the love of his power, prestige, and country. His weakness of character is becoming more apparent, his ethics appear arbitrary.
20) In the Greek belief system, sacrifice played a huge role because it was an important ritual done in Greek religion. It showed dedication and respect to the gods they performed for at alters. They also gave gifts to their gods, hoping that they would receive favor and protection from the gods.
... She was powerless to act otherwise. She was not a respected military leader like her husband. She couldn't bring him to court or change destiny in any other way. So, as a mother, she did what she felt she had to do. She acted for the justice of her child and her sex. When Agamemnon ordered the soldiers to put the bit in Iphigeneia's mouth before her sacrifice, it was because he didn't want to hear the cries of his daughter dying. Clytemnestra, however, forced her husband and the rest of Greece to hear the cries, the cries of the pained women and deal with the situation he did nothing to mend. For this she would be condemned, but because of her powerlessness, for this she was justified.
Sacrifice within the social context can be transgressed into two aspects, one relating to the offender, and the other being the offended one, God. “If individuals entered a state incongruent with good relations with God, they had to undergo rites to restore them to a normative status” (Davies, 1985;155). Thus the sacrifice encompassed this social dimension. The part played by God in the social ...
The Greek gods were not only intimately involved in the action of the Trojan War, they were also the impetus for the war. Although the overt cause of the war was Paris' abduction of Helen, this act was the result of quarrelling goddesses. The Trojan prince Paris was forced to choose the fairest amongst the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. Each goddess attempted to sway Paris with offerings, and Aphrodite's temptation was Helen; this leads to the war and the immortal alliances that overshadow its mortal activities. The story that the poem implicitly addresses is of the Achaen king Agamemnon and his daughter Iphigenia. The Achaen forces have gathered at Aulis before mounting their attack on Troy when one of Artemis' stags is killed; this, coupled with Agamemnon's boasting of the act, is why "Artemis is offended" (51). In retaliation, the goddess imprisons the troops at Aulis by preventing the wind from powering their fleet. In order to appease the goddess and begin the war, Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia as "the child" who will become "the victim of Aulis." Although Artemis intervenes and makes Iphigenia one of her priestesses, only the goddess knows that Iphigenia escaped death.
To understand the practice of human sacrifice one must look at the reasons why the culture did such practices. There are three main ways of examining a cultural practice from an anthropological perspective.
The characters' religious dedication is evident through their sacrifice, prayer, and rituals: "King Agamemnon sacrificed. . . a fat bull of five years" and prayed to Zeus for success in battle against the Trojans. Meanwhile, the Achian soldiers "pray[ed] to be spared [from] death in the maul of war." Later, when Patroclos', an Achian soldier, body is recovered, twelve noble sons of Troy are sacrificed in his funeral pyre. Sacrifices are performed to honor the gods or obtain their favor.
Agamemnon is the husband of Clytemnestra, father of three and the leading General in the Trojan War. The Prophet Calchas approach Agamemnon and tells him that the sacrifice of a virgin will send wind to allow his troop’s ships to get off to battle. Agamemnon decides to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to get the wind needed to go to battle. Iphigenia does not realize what is happening to her until it is too late. Although she tries to escape her fate, she still is given to Calchas as the virgin sacrifice.
A person can give up a variety of things when making a sacrifice. Some typical things that people give up are time, money, or comfort. A person would sacrifice their time by spending time doing what someone else designates instead of what they would prefer to be doing, such as playing with a sibling or doing a task for someone. A person would sacrifice their money when they donate to a cause or they purchase something for someone else. A person would sacrifice comfort when they give up something that makes them comfortable, but is not necessary to life, such as giving the coat they are wearing to someone who does not have one.
The Agamemnon picks up with Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons to Atreus, who joined together in the war of Troy after Paris, son of Priam, seduced Helen, wife to Menelaus. Angered by his ruthless man-sacrifices in the war, Artemis required that Agamemnon take the life of his daughter Iphigeneia in order to save the army and fleet o...
Sun and Sacrifice The sacrificial ceremony of North America's Great Plains Indians, which is performed in veneration of the sun, previously included secondary rites that differed significantly between tribes based on the varying visionary elements that entered into its composition, and even to the extent in certain cases as to make the sun's role practically fade from being the central consideration. However, these intricacies—common in a fractured and permutating world such as that of the American Indians—are not of a nature to nullify the fundamental content of the ritual cycle in consideration. This content has survived all the religiously and politically-driven persecution that the Natives have had to suffer for more than a century.
Agamemnon kills his daughter, Iphigenia, for power and respect. This power is more important to him than his daughter, thus he sacrifices Iphigenia instead of stepping back and letting someone else lead the armies to battle. The Chorus emphasizes this when they recall his words before he sacrifices Iphigenia “However he did not shrink from slaying a victim daughter in aid of war raged” (Aeschylus 20). He is more worried about losing respect than his own daughter. His lust after power and respect made him insensitive to fair judgement. He tries to justify himself by saying there is no other way but to sacrifice her. He does anything to fulfill the public’s desires to gain him their praise, up to and