Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)

Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:

  • Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
  • Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
  • Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.

Displaying results from 1321 to 1340 of 1985


Nugteren, A.; Duyndam, J. Korte A.-M.- Poorthuis, M. (Eds.)

Through Fire : Creative Aspects of Sacrificial Rituals in the Vedic-Hindu Continuum

in: Sacrifice in Modernity : Community, Ritual, Identity : from Nationalism and Nonviolence to Health Care and Harry Potter, pp. 109-131

Leiden: Brill, 2017.

Obbink, D.; Fortenbaugh, W. W. - Sharples, R. W. (Eds.)

The Origin of Greek Sacrifice: Theophrastus on Religion and Cultural History

in: Theophrastean Studies on Natural Science, Physics and Metaphysics, Ethics, Religion, and Rhetoric, pp. 272-295

New Brunswick, NJ - Oxford: Transaction, 1988.

Ocaña-Servína, H. L. - Tlatoa-Ramíreza, , H.M. - Jaimes-Garcíac, J. - Karam-Calderónc, M.A. - García-Rillob, A. - Arceo-Guzmanb, M.E. - Pimentel-Ramírez, M.L.

Los sacrificios humanos entre los aztecas. Un contexto de poder, mito y religión

in: Revista de Medicina e Investigación, v. 4 (2016), issue 1: pp.42-45.

Olivier, G.; Olivier, G. (Ed.)

Las tres muertes del nuevo tlatoani: una nueva interpretación de los ritos de entronización mexica

in: Símbolos de poder en Mesoamérica, pp. 263-291

México: instituto de Investigaciones Históricas/Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2008.

Onida, P. P.; Sini, F.- Onida, P. P. (Eds.)

Il divieto dei sacrifici di animali nella legislazione di Costantino : una interpretazione sistematica

in: Poteri religiosi e istituzioni : il culto di san Costantino imperatore tra Oriente e Occidente, pp. 73-169

Torino: G. Giappichelli, 2003.

Outram, William

in: “De sacrificiis: libri Duo ; quorum altero explicantur Omnia, Judaeorum nonnulla gentium profanarum Sacrificia: Altero Sacrificium Christi ; utroque Ecclesiae catholicae his de rebus Sententia contra Faustum Socinum, ejusque Sectatores defenditur”

Amsterdam: Someren, 1688.


Displaying results from 1321 to 1340 of 1985