Editing Human sacrifice (section)

===Ancient Near East===
{{Further|Religions of the ancient Near East|Minoan religion#Possibility of human sacrifice|Binding of Isaac|Jephthah#Sacrifice controversy| Iphigenia|Moloch}}

Successful agricultural cities had already emerged in the Near East by the [[Neolithic]], some protected behind stone walls. [[Jericho]] is the best known of these cities but other similar settlements existed along the coast of the [[Levant]] extending north into [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] and west to the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers. Most of the land was arid and the religious culture of the entire region centered on fertility and rain. Many of the religious rituals, including human sacrifice, had an agricultural focus. Blood was mixed with soil to improve its fertility.<ref>{{cite book |last=Glassman |first=Ronald M. |title=The Origins of Democracy in Tribes, City-States and Nation-States. |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNgoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA419 |page=421|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-51695-0 }}</ref>

====Ancient Egypt====
{{Further|Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifices}}

There may be evidence of retainer sacrifice in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|early dynastic period]] at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], when on the death of a King he would be accompanied by servants, and possibly high officials, who would continue to serve him in eternal life. The skeletons that were found had no obvious signs of trauma, leading to speculation that the giving up of life to serve the King may have been a voluntary act, possibly carried out in a drug-induced state. At about 2800&nbsp;BCE, any possible evidence of such practices disappeared, though echoes are perhaps to be seen in the burial of statues of servants in [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] tombs.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jacques |last=Kinnaer |title=Human sacrifice |website=Ancient-egypt.org |url=http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html <!-- retrieved 12 May 2007 --> |access-date=25 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Abydos – life and death at the dawning of Egyptian civilization |magazine=National Geographic |date=April 2005 |url=http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0504/feature7/ |access-date=12 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509215457/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0504/feature7/ |archive-date=9 May 2007}}</ref>

Servants of both royalty and high court officials were slain to accompany their masters into the next world.<ref>Spencer, A.J. ''Death In Ancient Egypt''. 1st. Great Britain: Penguin Books Ltd, 1982. 68:139. Print.</ref> The number of retainers buried surrounding the king's tomb was much greater than those of high court officials, however, again suggesting the greater importance of the pharaoh.<ref>Trigger, B.G., B.J. Kemp, D. O'Connor, and A.B. Lloyd. ''Ancient Egypt: A Social History''. 1st. Great Britain: University Press, Cambridge, 1983. 52–56. Print.</ref> For example, [[Djer|King Djer]] had 318 retainer sacrifices buried in his tomb, and 269 retainer sacrifices buried in enclosures surrounding his tomb.<ref>Morris, Ellen F. "Sacrifice for the State: First Dynasty Royal Funerals and the Rites at Macramallah's Rectangle." 15–37. Print.</ref>

====Biblical accounts====
{{Further|Binding of Isaac|Herem (war or property)|Gehenna}}

References in the [[Bible]] point to an awareness of and disdain of human sacrifice in the history of [[ancient Near East]]ern practice. During a battle with the [[Israelites]], the King of [[Moab]] gives his firstborn son and heir as a whole [[Burnt offering (Judaism)|burnt offering]] (''olah'', as used of the Temple sacrifice) ([[2 Kings]] 3:27).<ref>{{cite book |first1=N.C. |last1=Asthana |first2=Anjali |last2=Nirmal |year=2009 |title=Urban Terrorism: Myths and realities |publisher=Pointer Publishers |isbn=978-81-7132-598-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC}}</ref> The Bible then recounts that, following the King's sacrifice, "There was great indignation [or wrath] against Israel" and that the Israelites had to raise their siege of the Moabite capital and go away. This verse had perplexed many later Jewish and Christian commentators, who tried to explain what the impact of the Moabite King's sacrifice was, to make those under siege emboldened while disheartening the Israelites, make God angry at the Israelites or the Israelites fear his anger, make [[Chemosh]] (the Moabite god) angry, or otherwise.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commentaries on 2&nbsp;Kings 3:27 |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_kings/3-27.htm |website=Bible Hub |access-date=2 June 2020}}</ref>{{npsn|date=July 2024}} Whatever the explanation, evidently at the time of writing, such an act of sacrificing the firstborn son and heir, while prohibited by Israelites ([[Deuteronomy]] 12:31; Deut. 18:9–12; Leviticus 18,22-23, about [[Moloch]]<ref name="Manzini">[[Vincenzo Manzini]] (1 January 1988), ''Sacrifici umani e omicidi rituali nell'antichità'', Fratelli Melita Editori, pp. 64-65. {{ISBN|978-8840391281}} (reprinted by Gherardo Casini editore, Series "Esoterismo e magia", 2022, {{ISBN|9788864101262}}).</ref>), was considered as an emergency measure in the Ancient Near East, to be performed in exceptional cases where divine favor was desperately needed.{{npsn|date=July 2024}}

{{bibleref2|Leviticus|27,29|NKJV}} prohibits redeeming those destined for sacrifice (''Non redimatur, sed morte moriatur''). This concerned offenders condemned to death by penal ''[[Herem (censure) |Herem]]'', an [[anathema]] pronounced solemnly by God or authority, akin to the Roman ''[[sacratio]]''.[17] [[Canaanites]] and [[Amorites]] were punished by God without possibility of redemption (Exodus 22; Deuteronomy 13; Judges 21).<ref name ="Manzini" />

The [[binding of Isaac]] appears in the [[Book of Genesis]] (22), where God tests [[Abraham]] by asking him to present his son as a sacrifice on [[Moriah]]. Abraham agrees to this command without arguing. The story ends with an [[angel]] stopping Abraham at the last minute and providing a ram, caught in some nearby bushes, to be sacrificed instead. Many Bible scholars have suggested this story's origin was a remembrance of an era when human sacrifice was abolished in favour of animal sacrifice.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Susan |last=Ackerman |author-link=Susan Ackerman (biblical scholar) |date=June 1993 |title=Child Sacrifice: Returning God's Gift |journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]] |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=20–29, 56 |url=http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBR&Volume=9&Issue=3&ArticleID=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1= Lawrence E. |last1=Stager |first2=Samuel R. |last2=Wolff |date= Jan–Feb 1984 |title=Child sacrifice at Carthage – religious rite or population control? |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=30–51 |url=http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=10&Issue=1&ArticleID=2}}</ref>

Another probable instance of human sacrifice mentioned in the Bible is [[Jephthah]]'s sacrifice of [[Jephthah's daughter|his daughter]] in Judges 11. Jephthah vows to sacrifice to God whatever comes to greet him at the door when he returns home if he is victorious in his war against the [[Ammon]]ites. The vow is stated in the [[Book of Judges]] 11:31: "Then whoever comes of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord's, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering ([[New Revised Standard Version|NRSV]])." When he returns from battle, his virgin daughter runs out to greet him, and Jephthah laments to her that he cannot take back his vow. She begs for, and is granted, "two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I", after which "[Jephthah] did with her according to the vow he had made."<ref>(excerpted from Judges 11:34–39, [[New Revised Standard Version|NRSV]])</ref> Jewish rabbis, [[Saint Jerome]] and Saint [[Augustine of Hippo]] state that the daughter of Jephthah was sacrificed, but not according to the will of the Judeo-Christian God, but in a cruel and arbitrary manner.<ref name ="Manzini" />

Two kings of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Ahaz]] and [[Manasseh of Judah|Manassah]], sacrificed their sons. Ahaz, in 2&nbsp;Kings 16:3, sacrificed his son. "...&nbsp;He even made his son pass through fire, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel (NRSV)." King Manasseh sacrificed his sons in [[2 Chronicles]]&nbsp;33:6. "He made his son pass through fire in the [[Valley of Hinnom|valley of the son of Hinnom]]&nbsp;... He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger (NRSV)." The valley symbolized hell in later religions, such as [[Christianity]], as a result.{{npsn|date=July 2024}}

{{bibleref2|1 Corinthians|10,20}} affirms that [[Gentiles]] do sacrifices to [[demon|demons]] and not to God.

====Phoenicia====
[[File:Moloch the god.gif|thumb|upright| 18th&nbsp;century depiction of the Moloch idol (''Der Götze Moloch mit 7 Räumen oder Capellen.'' "The idol Moloch with seven chambers or chapels"), from [[Johann Lund]]'s ''Die Alten Jüdischen Heiligthümer'' (1711, 1738)]]
According to Roman and Greek sources, [[Phoenicia]]ns and [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] sacrificed infants to their gods. The bones of numerous infants have been found in Carthaginian archaeological sites in modern times, but their cause of death remain controversial.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Higgins |date=26 May 2005 |title=Carthage tries to live down image as site of infanticide |publisher=[[Post Gazette]] |access-date=25 May 2010 |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05146/510878.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918085258/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05146/510878.stm |archive-date=18 September 2009}}</ref> In a single child cemetery called the "Tophet" by archaeologists, an estimated 20,000&nbsp;urns were deposited.<ref>{{cite news |title=Relics of Carthage show brutality amid the good life |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 September 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/01/science/relics-of-carthage-show-brutality-amid-the-good-life.html?pagewanted=all}}</ref>

[[Plutarch]] ({{circa|46|120&nbsp;CE}}) mentions the practice, as do [[Tertullian]], [[Orosius]], [[Diodorus Siculus]] and [[Philo]]. [[Livy]] and [[Polybius]] do not. The Bible asserts that children were sacrificed at a place called the [[tophet]] ("roasting place") to the god [[Moloch]]. According to Diodorus Siculus's ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'', "There was in their city a bronze image of [[Cronus]] extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire."<ref name=Salisbury-1997-Perpetua>{{cite book |last=Salisbury |first=Joyce E. |author-link=Joyce E. Salisbury |year=1997 |title=Perpetua's Passion: The death and memory of a young Roman woman |publisher= Routledge |page=228}}</ref>

Plutarch, however, claims that the children were already dead at the time, having been killed by their parents, whose consent – as well as that of the children – was required. Tertullian explains the acquiescence of the children as a product of their youthful trustfulness.<ref name=Salisbury-1997-Perpetua/>

The accuracy of such stories is disputed by some modern historians and archaeologists.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fantar |first=M'Hamed Hassine |title=Were living Children Sacrificed to the Gods? No |url=https://www.baslibrary.org/archaeology-odyssey/3/6/11 |magazine=Archaeology Odyssey |date=Nov–Dec 2000 |pages=28–31 |access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref>

==== Mesopotamia ====
Retainer sacrifice was practised within the royal tombs of ancient [[Mesopotamia]]. Courtiers, guards, musicians, handmaidens, and grooms were presumed to have committed ritual suicide by taking poison.<ref>
{{cite news |last=Parker-Pearson |first=Mike |date=19 August 2002 |title=The Practice of Human Sacrifice |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/human_sacrifice_03.shtml}}
</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bowe |first=Bruce |date=8 July 2008 |title=Acrobats Last Tumble |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/32999/title/Acrobats_last_tumble |website=Science News |volume=174 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629213949/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/32999/title/Acrobats_last_tumble |archive-date=29 June 2011 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref>
A 2009 examination of skulls from the royal cemetery at [[Ur]], discovered in Iraq in the 1920s by a team led by [[Leonard Woolley|C. Leonard Woolley]], appears to support a more grisly interpretation of human sacrifices associated with elite burials in ancient Mesopotamia than had previously been recognized. Palace attendants, as part of royal mortuary ritual, were not dosed with poison to meet death serenely. Instead, they were put to death by having a sharp instrument, such as a pike, driven into their heads.<ref>
{{cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=26 October 2009 |title=Ritual Deaths at Ur were anything but serene |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/science/27ur.html?_r=4}}
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{{cite magazine |date=27 October 2009 |title=Iraq's ancient past: Rediscovering Ur's royal cemetery |url=https://almanac.upenn.edu/archive/volumes/v56/n09/ur.html |magazine=Almanac |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania]] |volume=56 |access-date=17 July 2020 |via=almanac.upenn.edu |number=9 |place=Philadelphia}}
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