Abstract
Epigraphic ritual prescriptions have long been lumped together under the category of " sacred laws ". We prefer the term " norm(s) ", both in the singular and in the plural, insofar as the notion makes it possible to account for both the broad, all-encompassing framework of unwritten traditional custom and the prescriptive character of collective decisions that groups have chosen to inscribe on durable materials, but whose status is not necessarily " legal " in the narrow sense of the term. The Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRNS) project aims to bring together these prescriptions on religious matters - , i.e. essentially ritual -in the form of a database which to date includes two hundred and twenty-two open access texts(http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be).
It is in this documentary register that most of the " motifs " that weave themselves into the fabric of Greek sacrifice are attested. In this abundant material, the case of the viscera(splanchna) is particularly enlightening, as this set of internal organs of sacrificial animals forms part of the hiera, the " sacred parts " which are taken from the sacrificial animal and open up a kind of channel of communication between men and the gods. The expression of this communication is subject to local and regional variations, which are like singular words within a language shared by all. The example of Miletus, Halicarnassus and Chios is invoked through the sale of sacerdoces, while a text by Plutarch on the gall bladder attests that the manipulation of viscera can help identify the divine recipient of the operation. Finally, viscera also fulfilled a divinatory function recognized by the Greeks.
