Dying for the gods: human sacrifice in Iron Age & Roman Europe. (Europe).

Dying for the gods: human sacrifice in Iron Age & Roman Europe. (Europe). MIRANDA ALDHOUSE GREEN. Dying for the gods: human sacrifice human sacrificeOffering of the life of a human being to a god. In some ancient cultures, the killing of a human being, or the substitution of an animal for a person, was an attempt to commune with the god and to participate in the divine life. in IronAge & Roman Europe. 224 pages, 76 figures, 30 colour plates. 2001.Stroud & Charleston (SC): Tempus; 0-7524-1940-4 hardback 25 [poundssterling] & $37.50. After introductions on methodology and a review of Classical andbiblical literature and other sources, Dying for the gods considers itsevidence under a series of themes -- fire, blood, beheading, andsuffocation suffocation:see asphyxia. . There follow cogently conceived chapters on selection ofvictims, motives for `ritual murder', and `the sacrificers'.It is exceedingly difficult to pull off the comparative study of ritualmeanings, but there is not enough attention, here, to variations ofsociological and historical context. Yet the bibliography is long andProf. ALDHOUSE GREEN has kept up to date with empirical research Noun 1. empirical research - an empirical search for knowledgeinquiry, research, enquiry - a search for knowledge; "their pottery deserves more research than it has received" ; and,on the whole, she maintains a critical balance of assessment. CompareRitual sacrifice in `Americas', below.