In this readable and engaging volume, J. B. Rives explores how animal sacrifice, ‘a ritualised practice in honour of superhuman powers’, functioned to ‘shape and to maintain relationships of social power’ (10) from the age of Augustus to the death of Theodosius I. R.’s justification for a sustained focus on animal sacrifice rather than other forms of ritual practice is because of the significant expenditure involved in sacrificing animals and the generation of an appreciable quantity of high-quality meat. In addition, animal sacrifice was imbued with various social and cultural functions, including the ways in which it structured relationships among its participants.
The analytical framework (Introduction, 1–18) draws on Michael Mann’s definition of social power. R. thus distinguishes authoritative from diffused power; considers immanent and transcendent ideologies; and demonstrates the importance of practice and discourse as complementary modes of communication. He largely eschews modern concerns with notions of ‘belief’, ‘cult’, or ‘religion’ (although the latter is briefly discussed), to explore how animal sacrifice, as a social practice, communicated, constructed and reinforced hierarchical relationships. R. deploys a deft hand: the introduction is at once lucid and accessible, without sacrificing theoretical sophistication.
Part I, ‘The Practice of Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire’ (19–150), focuses on animal sacrifice in Graeco-Roman polytheism. The prologue — Nestor’s sacrifices in the Odyssey — offers a paradigm for the connection between wealth, status and the construction of sociopolitical hierarchies. R. then surveys animal husbandry within the context of the environment and climate of the ancient Mediterranean. Although much of this is familiar, it serves to emphasise that there was a hierarchy of sacrificial victims and that elite stock-rearing practices were intended to maintain social status. Succeeding chapters examine euergetism in the Greek East and the Latin West; the place of animal sacrifice in Graeco-Roman culture; its role in Emperor worship and the Emperor’s position as sacrificant. Case studies, such as the evidence for sacrificial practices in Gaul or the resistance of Judaeans to Emperor worship, offer insights into the adaptability and flexibility, as well as limitations, of animal sacrifice in reinforcing the expected social, cultural and political norms.
Part II, ‘Discourses of Animal Sacrifice in Graeco-Roman Culture and Early Christianity’ (151–244), turns from practice to discourse. R.’s command of difficult material is most apparent in this section. Beginning with Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, he shows how Paul offered an alternative rationale to the elite practice of sacrifice. He then surveys Greek thought from Hesiod to Plutarch. Despite the limited interest in theorising about sacrifice, R. notes Empedocles’ opposition to the killing and eating of animals and the importance of Plato’s concept of daimones. He shows how early Christians came to redefine, displace and, eventually, to reject animal sacrifice. This went hand-in-hand with new Greek philosophical discourses concerning sacrificial practice. R. explores the contrasting views of Porphyry and Iamblichus and demonstrates how the changing discourse around animal sacrifice influenced Christian thinkers such as Paul, Justin Martyr and Origen. Throughout the first to third centuries a.d., he argues, the verbal discourse surrounding sacrifice became more important than the actual practice itself, thus shifting its ideological power from civic elites to other self-appointed experts.
Set against the backdrop of the decree of Decius, Part III, ‘From Roman to Pagan: Constantine to Theodosius’ (245–331), argues for large-scale structural changes in the socio-economic and political landscape and a general weakening of the euergetic system. Given the increasing economic pressures and increasing centralisation of government, local elites were changing from municipal to imperial careers, and there was, therefore, less motivation and less funding to finance extravagant public sacrifices. In this context, the attempts by Decius and, perhaps, Valerian to enforce animal sacrifice only intensified Christian rejection of the practice, preparing the way for Constantine’s recognition of sacrifice as a signifier of paganism and Theodosius’ eventual prohibition of the practice.
A short epilogue (332–5) considers Christian adaptations and transformations of sacrifice. R. notes that some Christian communities still engaged in ritual practices involving the slaughter of animals, but that these were primarily regarded as a form of charity and a means to establish a community. Here he returns to his comments in Part II regarding the importance of the Eucharist as the only sacrifice acceptable to God. For Christians real sacrifice now constituted a virtuous life or death in imitation of Christ.
This is a skilfully constructed book. R. gathers a wide range of literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence and marshals this into a persuasive and convincing narrative. He highlights necessary discrepancies and provides new interpretations where appropriate: for example, in reevaluating the decline of sacrifice in the later Empire or the ‘spiritualisation’ of sacrificial practice. More critically, some readers will find that the book does not do enough to differentiate modes of Graeco-Roman sacrifice, including the Roman habit of welcoming foreign experts (haruspices) to conduct their ceremonies or sacrificial rites associated with foreign deities, such as Cybele. Furthermore, the focus on elite and public ritual leaves little room for the domestic or private. For example, magical rituals, which were sometimes in conflict with lawful sacrificial practices precisely because they offered alternative routes to claiming social power (311, 325–7), are barely discussed.
These reservations aside, R. has produced an excellent contribution to the study of Roman religion. This is a compelling account which charts the dynamic interactions of ritual, communication and power during the first four centuries a.d.
