The role of human sacrifice in the ancient Mediterranean world and itsimplications continue to be topics that fire the popular imagination andengender scholarly discussion and controversy. This volume aims to advance thediscussion by providing balanced and judicious treatments of the various facetsof these topics from a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. It providesnuanced examinations of ancient ritual, exploring the various meanings thathuman sacrifice held for antiquity, and examines itsvariedrepercussions up into the modern world. The book exploresevidence to shed new light on the origins of the rite, to whom these sacrificeswere offered, and by whom they were performed. It presents fresh insights intothe social and religious meanings of this practice in its varied biblicallandscape and ancient contexts, and demonstrates how human sacrifice hascaptured the imagination of later writers who have employed it in diversecultural and theological discourses to convey their own views and ideologies. Itprovides valuable perspectives for understanding key cultural, theological andideological dimensions, such as the sacrifice of Christ, scapegoating,self-sacrifice and martyrdom in post-biblical and modern times.
