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.
Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. Fundamental Institutions. First Series
New York: Meridian Library, 1956 [1889].
The Early Christians and Human Sacrifice
in: The Strange World of Human Sacrifice, pp. 81-102
Leuven - Paris - Dudley: Peeters, 2007.
Early Ashkenazic Poems about the Binding of Isaac
in: Naharaim, v. 10 (2016), issue 2: pp.175-194.
The Sacrifice of Polyxena (17th Century)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Last Blood Libel in Prague During the Maharal’s Lifetime
in: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague
Yale: Yale University Press, 2008.
Le régime des offrandes dans la société sumérienne: d'après les textes présargoniques de Lagaš
Paris: Éditions E. De Boccard, 1960.
Pansebeia, or, A view of all religions in the world with the severall church-governments from the creation, to these times : also, a discovery of all known heresies in all ages and places, and choice observations and reflections throughout the whole
London: John Saywell , 1644.
Scene of Animal Sacrifice (1668)
from: Der gantzen Welt Religionen oder Beschreibung aller Gottes- und Götzendienste wie auch Ketzereyen in Asia, Africa, America und Europa, Amsterdam, Joach. Nosch, 1668
Scene of idolatrous sacrifice (1668)
from: Der gantzen Welt Religionen oder Beschreibung aller Gottes- und Götzendienste wie auch Ketzereyen in Asia, Africa, America und Europa, Amsterdam, Joach. Nosch, 1668




