Sacrifice: Did you mean...?

The Sacrifice of Gideon, oil on canvas painting by Hendrik Heerschop, 1653. Museum of John Paul II Collection, Warsaw.

Artist's impression of an animal sacrifice. In most cultures around the ancient Mediterranean, including Greece and Rome, animals were frequently sacrificed as an offering to the gods. The gods were believed to feast upon the smells of the...

A relief panel from the south ballcourt of El Tajin, Veracruz showing two players holding down and extracting the heart of a third player. A skeletal figure rises from a pot on the left side. 700-900 CE.

The Mayan religious text, the Popol Vuh (known by many names, among them, The Light That Came From Beside The Sea) is the Quiche Maya story of creation translated into Spanish in the early 18th century CE by the missionary Francisco Ximenez...

A scene depicting a bird sacrifice, a common practice in the Phoenician religion from the sarcophagus of Ahiram, king of Byblos, 10th century BCE. Beirut National Museum.

Andromeda being tied for sacrifice. Apulian red-figure vase, attributed to the Sisyphus Group, c. 430-420 BCE. National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio, 1603 CE Uffizi, Florence

This is the frontal bas-relief of a Parthian king offering sacrifice to the god Heracles-Verethragna, patron god of royal dynasties, presently housed in room 310 of the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. 2nd-3rd century CE.

Tests on three mummies found in Argentina have shed new light on the Inca practice of child sacrifice. Scientists have revealed that drugs and alcohol played a key part in the months and weeks leading up to the children's deaths.

This first episode in this BBC series examines the religious, political, economic and social lives of the Celts.