blowing,
for the human breath would have desecrated the fire by merely passing
over it; death was the punishment for any one who voluntarily committed
such a heinous sacrilege. The recognised offering consisted of flowers,
bread, fruit, and perfumes, but these were often accompanied, as in all
ancient religions, by a bloody sacrifice; the sacrifice of a horse was
considered the most efficacious, but an ox, a cow, a sheep, a camel,
an ass, or a stag was frequently offered: in certain circumstances,
especially when it was desired to conciliate the favour of the god of
the underworld, a human victim, probably as a survival of very ancient
rites was preferred.**

* Pausanias, who witnessed the cult as practised at
Hierocaesarsea, remarked the curious colour of the ashes
heaped upon the altar.

* Most modern writers deny the authenticity of Herodotus'
account, because a sacrifice of this kind is opposed to the
spirit of the Magian religion, which is undoubtedly the
case, as far as the latest form of the religion is
concerned; but the testimony of Herodotus is so plain that
the fact itself must be considered as indisputable. We may
note that the passage refers to the foundation of a city;
and if we remember how persistent was the custom of human
sacrifice among ancient races at the foundation of
buildings, we shall be led to the conclusion that the
ceremony described by the Greek historian was a survival of
a very ancient usage, which had not yet fallen entirely into
desuetude at the Achaemenian epoch.

[Illustration: 033.jpg THE SACRED FIRE BURNING ON THE ALTAR]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the impression of a Persian
intaglio.

The king, whose royal position made him the representative of
Ahura-mazda on earth, was, in fact, a high priest, and was himself
able to officiate at the altar, but no one else could dispense with the
mediation of the Magi. The worshippers proceeded in solemn procession
to the spot where the ceremony was to take place, and there the priest,
wearing the tiara on his head, recited an invocation in a slow and
mysterious voice, and implored the blessings of heaven on the king
and nation. He then slaughtered the victim by a blow on the head, and
divided it into portions, which he gave back to the offerer without
reserving any of them, for Ahura-mazda required nothing but the soul;
in certain cases, the vict