Sacrifice

The Sacrifice to Priapus, by Francisco de Goya

A sacrifice is giving something up. In many religions, it usually is about giving something to God or gods. Many Pagan peoples made human sacrifices and animal sacrifices.^[1] The Greek play Iphigenia by Euripides contains an example of this. In the Old Testament, Jewish people followed the laws about animal sacrifices in the book of Leviticus. Cows and pigeons were killed to make atonement with God. In the New Testament, Christ's death on the cross is seen as substitutionary atonement for sin.

Sacrifice Media

Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome.
The sacrificial cairn in Janakkala, Finland
Animal sacrifice offered together with libation in Ancient Greece. Attic red-figure oinochoe, c. 430–425 BC (Louvre).
Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Mendoza, 16th century (Bodleian Library, Oxford).
A sacrificed pig during Ghost Festival
Artwork depicting the Sacrifice of Jesus: Christ on the Cross by Carl Heinrich Bloch
A page from the Waldburg Prayer Book illustrating the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Earth before the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary in Heaven