Women and Sacrifice in Classical Greece

Abstract

There is no doubt that a person's gender could make a difference to their role in Greek sacrifices. But did it normally make a difference in Greece? And why did it make a difference? Two inscriptions from the island of Thasos neatly illustrate the problem. First, one dated to around 440 and found in the sanctuary of Herakles: [Ἡρα]κλεῖ Θασῖωι [αἶγ]α οὐ θμισ, οὐ– [δ] χοῖρον οὐδ γ– [υ]ναικ; θμισ οὐ– [δ]' νατεεται οὐ– δ γρα τμνετα– ι οὐσ' θλ ται 1