This they
appear to have done in the Athenian sacrifice known as "the murder
of the OX" (_bouphonia_). It took place about the end of June or
beginning of July, that is, about the time when the threshing is
nearly over in Attica. According to tradition the sacrifice was
instituted to procure a cessation of drought and dearth which had
afflicted the land. The ritual was as follows. Barley mixed with
wheat, or cakes made of them, were laid upon the bronze altar of
Zeus Polieus on the Acropolis. Oxen were driven round the altar, and
the OX which went up to the altar and ate the offering on it was
sacrificed. The axe and knife with which the beast was slain had
been previously wetted with water brought by maidens called
"water-carriers." The weapons were then sharpened and handed to the
butchers, one of whom felled the OX with the axe and another cut its
throat with the knife. As soon as he had felled the OX, the former
threw the axe from him and fled; and the man who cut the beast's
throat apparently imitated his example. Meantime the OX was skinned
and all present partook of its flesh.
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