CATEGORIES OF SUBSTITUTE VICTIMS IN ANCIENT GEORGIA

Abstract

Categories of substitute sacrifices in ancient Georgia The article is a step to research the selection criteria of the substitute sacrificial categories in ancient Georgia, their distinguishing features, and the moral-ethical foundations of the substitute mechanisms. The observation of the sacrificial practice in Ancient Georgia showed us that the substitute categories in human sacrifice were representatives of low social classes and members of marginal groups, including children. Furthermore, we often find substitute animal sacrifices, the practice of sacrificing items of various material value, statues, and food, which also had a reciprocal purpose. It is difficult to define a chronological framework for these substitutionary practices as long as the substitutionary sacrificial process is often both synchronic and diachronic. In the previous article, we tried to establish certain cause-and-effect relationships and logical order between these practices and outline the moral-ethical foundations of the process.

Keywords: Sacrifice; substitute sacrifice; ritual; voluntary sacrifice; aggression; animal sacrifice;