Rome on human sacrifice. AI

Perplexity

When did the ancient Romans cease practicing human sacrifice?

Ancient Roman authorities formally abolished human sacrifice in 97 BCE by a decree of the Senate during the consulship of Publius Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus. Practice versus legal ban

The last clearly recorded human sacrifice in the Roman Republic is usually dated to 114–113 BCE, when Gauls and Greeks were buried alive at the Forum Boarium as an extraordinary expiatory rite.

By the time of the 97 BCE senatorial decree, such rites were already extremely rare and seen as un-Roman or “barbaric,” so the ban had a largely symbolic, declaratory character.

After the ban

Pliny the Elder explicitly states that from 97 BCE onward human sacrifice was not tolerated under Roman government, either in Rome itself or in communities under Roman control.

Later ritual killings (e.g., execution of criminals, burial of unchaste Vestal Virgins) were carefully framed in Roman legal and religious thought as punishments or expiations rather than “sacrifices,” which allowed Romans to maintain the claim that they no longer practiced human sacrifice.

So, in terms of a clear “ceasing point,” Romans effectively stopped performing traditional human sacrifices in the late 2nd century BCE, with the definitive legal prohibition set in 97 BCE.

About when did human sacrifice become widely disfavored among Romans? Human sacrifice became widely disfavored among Romans by the late Republic period, roughly the 2nd century BCE, when elite writers and leaders increasingly viewed it as barbaric and un-Roman. This shift aligned Romans with Greek ideals of sophistication while distinguishing them from conquered "barbarian" peoples like Gauls and Carthaginians.

Timeline of attitudes

Early Republic (5th–3rd centuries BCE): Rare but accepted in crises, such as devotio (self-sacrifice by generals) or Sibylline-mandated burials of Gauls/Greeks in 228, 216, and 114–113 BCE.

Mid-to-late 2nd century BCE: Growing horror evident; last recorded instances around 114 BCE amid vestal scandals, followed by discomfort leading to formal Senate ban in 97 BCE.

Post-97 BCE: Explicitly prohibited; Romans persecuted it among others (e.g., Druids, Bletonesii) and celebrated the ban as a civilizational achievement.

Cultural framing

Literate elites contrasted Roman "noble" self-sacrifice (e.g., devotio) with "horrific" compelled killings, using human sacrifice in literature to demonize magic, foreigners, or enemies. Ritual killings like burying unchaste Vestals were reframed as punishments, not sacrifices, to preserve this self-image.

So hellenization had a lot to do with this shift in public opinion

Yes, Hellenization significantly influenced the Roman shift away from human sacrifice, as Romans increasingly adopted Greek cultural norms that emphasized rationality and viewed such rites as barbaric.

Greek cultural impact

Greek philosophy and literature, spreading from the 3rd century BCE onward via conquests and trade, portrayed human sacrifice as primitive—think Iphigeneia myths reframed as tragic outliers rather than norms. Romans, eager to align with this "civilized" Hellenic self-image during the late Republic, began associating the practice with enemies like Carthaginians (child sacrifice) or Gauls.

Key timeline markers

Post-Punic Wars (after 146 BCE): Elite Romans contrasted their "noble" devotio (voluntary self-sacrifice) with "horrific" foreign killings, mirroring Greek distinctions.

Cicero's era (106–43 BCE): Explicit condemnation as un-Roman, tying into broader Hellenized ethics from Stoicism and Epicureanism.

This cultural pivot, more than legal bans alone, made human sacrifice socially taboo by the 2nd–1st centuries BCE.