Scenes of Sacrifice on the Hagia Triadha Sarcophagus

As evidence for sacrifice ritual in the world before Homer is limited, our understanding of these rites must be somewhat incomplete. No pre-Homeric texts detail sacrificial procedures, but images of sacrifices from pre-Homeric art can help shed some light on the subject.
Currently, the most complete image of a sacrificial ritual in the pre-Homeric world is the Hagia Triadha sarcophagus. This sarcophagus, found on Crete in the LMIII period of the Late Bronze Age (ca 1200 BCE) depicts a ritual scene wherein sacrifices and other offerings are brought to the shrine of the deity. Aspects of the sacrificial ritual are painted on both long sides of the sacrophagus. On this sarcophagus, we see several similarities to the sacrifice rituals of the historical period.

Begin the ritual.

© 2001 Andrea Koinski and Barbara Olsen. All rights reserved.