Abstract
Sacrifice usually involves violence and is thus morally problematic. On the other hand, something new and presumably good comes into being through this violence. This paradox has been at the core of many interpretations since the logic of ritual violence exists since the beginning of times as an ordinary feature of our being. Sacrifice is commonly known as the practice of offering food, objects, or the lives of animals or people to the Gods as an act of propitiation or worship. The violence linked with sacrifice is thus a symbolic process because it triggers off a sort of communion with gods, or Supreme Being. In a way, it was what we would call today "creative destruction". Even if this theme is present in Ancient Greek myths or in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the slaughters of the XXth century and more recently, the September 11th tragedy and the daily suicide bombers in Iraq have underscored the importance of understanding the meaning of sacrifice.
