ABSTRACT
Since antiquity, blood has had a special significance to humankind. For exam
ple, blood oaths between blood brothers represented the most earnest commit
ment to work together to achieve a particular goal. Blood feuds struck at the
hearts of both sides of a family or clan and were all too frequently disputes
ending in mass deaths. Finally, a blood offering (of animal blood or perhaps,
more sadly, of human blood) was the highest honor one could pay to a visiting
dignitary or a religious deity.
