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Lot Essay
For a full discussion on sheep in Roman life cf. J. M. C. Toynbee, Animals in Roman Life and Art, London, 1973, pp. 163-164.
As well as being bred for their wool, milk and cheese, sheep, along with cattle and pigs, were bred for sacrifice. Toynbee, p. 164, "A sheep was, of course, part of the great Suovetaurilia offering; and both sheep and lambs were sacrificed to many deities, major and minor, such as Jupiter, Juno, Janus, Mars, Terminus, Faunus, Silvanus and so forth. In the Imperial cult male lambs were offered to Divi, female ones to Divae. In the mysteries of Attis the worshipper was drenched with the blood of a ram (kriobolion)."
For all State sacrifices, including the Suovetaurilia, the animals used were domesticated, to be calm and easy to lead to sacrifice. On reliefs where these festivals are dipicted the bulls, pigs and rams can be seen walking in line and waiting patiently by the altar. Cf. Toynbee, pl. 57, for a relief in the Louvre, Paris, showing a bull, sheep and ram being led for sacrifice at the Suovetaurilia.
Myths featuring sheep include the story of Odysseus and his men who cling to sheep's underbellies to escape from the Cyclops Polythemus. Odysseus himself clings to the largest ram in the flock. Cf. M. Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, New York, 1967, p. 100, pls 401 and 402 for two statues of rams with Odysseus.
Surviving freestanding life-sized animals are rare. This ram perhaps was once part of a larger scene of either a festival sacrifice, pastoral idyll or myth.
As well as being bred for their wool, milk and cheese, sheep, along with cattle and pigs, were bred for sacrifice. Toynbee, p. 164, "A sheep was, of course, part of the great Suovetaurilia offering; and both sheep and lambs were sacrificed to many deities, major and minor, such as Jupiter, Juno, Janus, Mars, Terminus, Faunus, Silvanus and so forth. In the Imperial cult male lambs were offered to Divi, female ones to Divae. In the mysteries of Attis the worshipper was drenched with the blood of a ram (kriobolion)."
For all State sacrifices, including the Suovetaurilia, the animals used were domesticated, to be calm and easy to lead to sacrifice. On reliefs where these festivals are dipicted the bulls, pigs and rams can be seen walking in line and waiting patiently by the altar. Cf. Toynbee, pl. 57, for a relief in the Louvre, Paris, showing a bull, sheep and ram being led for sacrifice at the Suovetaurilia.
Myths featuring sheep include the story of Odysseus and his men who cling to sheep's underbellies to escape from the Cyclops Polythemus. Odysseus himself clings to the largest ram in the flock. Cf. M. Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, New York, 1967, p. 100, pls 401 and 402 for two statues of rams with Odysseus.
Surviving freestanding life-sized animals are rare. This ram perhaps was once part of a larger scene of either a festival sacrifice, pastoral idyll or myth.