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[German version] (Lat. virgo Vestalis 'Vestal virgin'). Vesta's cult was taken care of by six virgines (or sacerdotes 'priestesses') Vestales, who lived in the atrium Vestae , near the aedes Vestae on the Forum Romanum (Rome III E, 2nd map, nr. 44). The group was headed by the virgo Vestalis maxima (honorary inscriptions esp. of the 3rd cent. AD with statues on the forum: CIL VI 32415 ff.; [2]) and stood under the jurisdiction of the pontifex maximus . The vestal was 'taken' ( capere) as a six- to ten-years-old child by the pontifex maximus. This act had civil-law consequences: (a) w…

[German version] 1. Definition of the term Analogous to allegory ( Allegory) as a ‘figurative’, metaphorical manner of speech, allegoresis may be defined as metaphorical exegesis. In both cases two different systems of symbols are connected to each other with the help of specific rules: (basic) text and reference text, or wording (literal sense) and ‘deeper’ (‘real’) meaning. Allegory is a technique used in producing texts, allegoresis (or allegorical exegesis) is a technique used in responding to texts; it plays an important role in the  exegesis of holy scripture. The definition …

I. History of the Concept and its Subsequent Influence [German version] A. Concept Human sacrifice (HS) is a form of killing considered lawful, similar to killing in pursuit of war, capital punishment, or a blood feud. It is, however, limited to the performance of offering rites that (a) are universally accepted in the respective religion and culture and (b) are conducted in a fashion similar to the sacrificial killing of other creatures. Killing in the context of other lawful rituals, such as the cult of the dead ( Gladiator) or the   devotio in battle, does …

I. Terminology and philosophy [German version] A. Modern concept The general modern meaning of the word 'tolerance' is the readiness of individuals, groups or states to permit the opinions, ways of life and philosophical and religious convictions of others to 'have validity' alongside their own. Today, the meaning of the word ranges from 'sufferance' (e.g. in the sense of constitutional law: the sufferance of immigrants, diverse confessions, religions) to the emphatic affirmation of the 'different' pheno…