Historical Offerings for the Gods
in Ancient Greece

1) Fish: The cultic role of fish in Ancient Greece is highly debated in Classic scholarship, and I went back and forth for a while over whether to include it with the animal sacrifices or with the offerings. As far as I can tell, fish was typically prepared off-site or else eaten or burned whole if it was small enough. Certainly fish is offered, usually in or as a dish, and is even eaten in the sanctuaries, but there is not sufficient evidence to say they were sacrificed. Other primary sources say that fish is an unsuitable offering for blood sacrifices as the cold-blooded creatures don't bleed on the altars sufficiently for a sacrifice. Another primary source compliments this idea, stating that fish were considered a type of "first-fruits" and were offered as such to Poseidon, the harvest from the sea. In general, it seems, the Ancient Greeks may not have even considered fish a meat. The two notable exceptions to this rule are tuna and eel, as they apparently bleed well enough for a blood sacrifice on an altar (Warning: raw eel blood is toxic and dangerous). For these reasons I have put fish in the offerings section.

2) Substitutes for Animal Sacrifice: Animal-shaped breads, cakes, and cookies were staples of many festivals in Athens, but by Classical times Blood Sacrifice was decreasing in popularity and affordability for the average household outside of major state-sponsored festivals. Already Artemis' Elaphebolia sacrifice had changed from offering a stag to stag-shaped cake/cookies to protect the population from over hunting. In a shrine to Demeter we find a dedication from a farmer offering dough oxen in place of ones from his herd, and we see many cases of terracotta animals being offered as substitutions in temples as well. 

Wine as a substitute has shakier evidence, however the symbolism of wine as blood has always been prevalent. In both practice and myth wine is the blood of Dionysos (see the myth where he is torn apart and sacrificed on the altar by the Titans). Otherwise, wine as a blood substitute was used as an offering for the dead, where pouring out a blood/wine libation was believed to temporarily revive them so their descendants can honor or communicate with them. Despite all this, wine as an explicit substitute for blood sacrifice isn't seen until the Romans. Christian and Classics scholars alike have long since speculated over the similarities of Dionysos' cultic rites and the Catholic "Eucharist" ritual in which the blood and flesh of Jesus is consumed in the form of wine and bread, leading some to believe the early Christians may have been inspired by or the surviving successor to Dionysos' rites.

• Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Blackwell Publishing, 1987. Print.

• Mylona, Dimitra. 'Fish Eating in Greece from the fifth century B.C. to the seventh century A.D.: A story of impoverished fishermen or luxurious fish banquets?' University of Southhampton, 2007. PDF.

• Sofroniew, Alexandra. Household Gods: Private Devotion in Ancient Greece and Rome. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2015. PDF