I watched a couple of episodes of "Rome" the other night on HBO. Not sure what I think of the series yet. I think its saved from complete cliche by all the Brit actors. Then again, perhaps Brit actors doing Romans is cliche.
One of the lead characters makes a blood sacrifice to the goddess Venus for her helping him save his marriage. I realized that if this was really a common occurrence this plea to the gods would have been pretty damn dangerous. Any wound back then could have been dangerous and would, I think, have been avoided if possible. To willingly do such a thing was a serious gesture.
If it was done - perhaps they just killed a chicken or goat as an offering.
Posted by artandscience at September 13, 2005 10:53 PM