Continued from previous posts…. Towards the front of the site at Elefsina, before you even get to what’s left of the Great Propylaia there is what looks like a large, brick barbecue. And that is precisely what it is. Except it is unlikely that any living soul got to taste the meat that was cooked on it. It is an eschara, a sacrificial altar. “But wait,” you say, “didn’t the Greeks get to eat most of the meat from their sacrifices?” They did. According to Hesiod*, the Greeks had Prometheus to thank not only for fire, but also for the privilege of reserving the best cuts of the sacrificial animal for themselves. The story begins back in the mists of time, back before Prometheus had stolen the divine fire and given it to mortals, back when the gods still came down from Olympus to dine with humans. Prometheus was having his first meal with Zeus and took it upon himself to portion out the sacrificial… Read More »