Abstract
As Greek ritual norms attest, the choice of animal for an official, public sacrifice is not left to chance. Indeed, this type of inscription regularly contains prescriptions - sometimes very precise - concerning the species, sex, age, color and condition of the animal to be sacrificed. Analysis of these different criteria, along with other factors such as the identity of the divine recipient, the state of the city's finances, the price of the animals and the characteristics of the livestock, enables us to establish relationships of affinity between the sacrificial animal and the divinity. The aim of this paper is to present a few trends in the relationship between gods and animals, based on a systematic study of the criteria of species, sex, age and color in Greek ritual norms.
