f Meat in ancient Greece : sacrificial, sacred or secular ?

Based on osteological evidence from Greek sanctuaries, this article explores the notion that all meat eaten by the ancient Greeks came from sacrificed animals. Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs made up the bulk of the meat eaten but wild animals, dogs and horses were also consumed, though rarely sacrificed at the altar. Most meat eaten at ritual meals seems to have been boiled, a cooking method eliminating distinctions in origin and status between the animals and transforming all their meat into sacred meat. Different degrees of sacred meat can be distinguished and all animals killed and eaten in sanctuaries are not to be considered as sacrificial victims.