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Human sacrifice

Yes, the Inca's did engage in human sacrifice, but like the Az-tecs and Mayans they used kni-ves. They never burned people and as always, it has some reli-gious signifi-cance. But as it's usually people of European de-

No mention of any human sacrifice in the Asterix adventures

scend who like to point out how "blood-thirsty" and "savage" the human sacrifice of the Aztecs was and how they themsel-ves took on this "holy mission" of "civili-zing the natives", let's have a good look

There is also enough evidence for the human sacrifices by the Druids (Celtic priests)

at their own human sacrifices. The ancient Romans had professional fighters called gladiators, who were forced to fight each other to the death as they entered the arena saying "Those who

Aztec ritual knife

are about to die salute you!" It was not up to the gladiator to spare his opponent, but up to the opinions of the audience where they'd either put their thumbs up or down. Anyone begging for their life was considered a coward in Roman society. And of any gladiator who survived a fight it was believed that the gods were with him. And if a gladiator who was down didn't want to die, there was a masked man with a huge hammer sent in to finish him off. The bodies of dead gladiators were then dragged out of the arena with hooks on ropes behind a chariot. We can still see this in the way a dead bull is dragged of the arena today in many his-

The Roman version of human sacrifice

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