Greek Sacrifice

Vernant ( The Cuisine of Sacrifice among the Greeks ) writes of Greek sacrifice, “Because it is directed towards the gods and claims to include them with the group of guests in the solemnity and joy of the celebration, it evokes the memory of the ancient commensality when, seated together, men and gods made merry day after day at shared meals. However, if in its intent sacrifice hearkens back to these far-off times of the golden age when, sharing the same food, men still lived ‘like gods,’ far from all evils, work, disease, old age, and women, it is no less true that sacrifice is a reminder that these blessed times when men and gods sat down together to feast are forever ended. The ritual sets the incorruptible bones aside for the gods and sends them, consumed by the flames, on high in the form of fragrant smoke and gives men the meat of an already lifeless animal, a piece of dead flesh, so that they may satisfy for a moment their constantly awakening hunger . . . . The alimentary rite that brings men into contact with the divine underscores the distance that separates them. Communication is established by a religious procedure that in reminding men of the Promethean fault emphasizes the insurmountable distance between men and gods.”

Not unlike Israel, whose repeated sacrifices are a constant reminder that the blood of bulls and goats does not take away sin, a constant reminder that only animals transformed into smoke are capable of crossing the barriers into the presence of Yahweh. Yahweh did not leave the Greeks without a witness.