Bothros

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A pit dug into the ground in ancient Greece for offerings, libations, or sacrifices to the dead and underworld deities
2. An ancient Greek ritual hole in the earth, used to receive libations and offerings meant for the dead or chthonic gods
3. In ancient Greek religion, a hollow cut into the soil to hold sacrificial offerings and liquids poured for the underworld

Etymology: Before it named a pit dug into the earth for offerings, the Greek "bothros" was simply a trench or hole. The word appears in ancient Greek religious contexts where a shallow or deep pit in the ground received libations, sacrificial remains, or other gifts meant for the dead, the underworld, or chthonic deities. In English, the term is a learned borrowing used by archaeologists and classicists to describe these features at Greek sanctuaries and sites, so it carries the original sense of an excavated pit rather than any later meaning.

Synonyms: pit