a place upon which sacrifices were anciently offered to some deity.

The heathens at first made their altars only of turf; afterwards they were made of stone, of marble, of wood, and even of horn, as that of Apollo in Delos.

Altars differed in figure as well as in materials. Some were round, others square, and others oval. All of them were turned towards the east, and stood lower than the statues of the gods; and were generally adorned with sculpture, inscriptions, and the leaves and flowers of the particular tree consecrated to the deity. Thus, the altars of Jupiter were decked with oak, those of Apollo with laurel, those of Venus with myrtle, and those of Minerva with olive.

The height of altars also differed according to the different gods to whom they sacrificed. Those of the celestial gods were raised to a great height above the ground; those appointed for the terrestrial, were almost on a level with the surface of the earth. On the contrary, they dug a hole for the altars of the infernal gods.

Before temples were in use, altars were erected sometimes in groves, sometimes in the highways, and sometimes on the tops of mountains; and it was a custom to engrave upon them the name, ensign, or character, of the deity to whom they were consecrated.

In the great temples of ancient Rome, there were ordinarily three altars: the first was placed in the sanctuary, at the foot of the statue of the divinity, upon which incense was burnt and libations offered; the second was before the gate of the temple, and upon it they sacrificed the victims; and the third was a portable altar, upon which were placed the offering and the sacred vessels.

Besides these uses of altars, the ancients swore upon them, and swore by them, in making alliances, confirming treaties of peace, and other solemn occasions. Altars also served as places of refuge to all those who fled to them, whatever crime they had committed.

Among the Jews, altars in the patriarchal times were very rude. The altar which Jacob set up at Beth-el was nothing but a stone, which served him instead of a bolster; that of Gideon, a stone before his house; and the first which God commanded Moses to erect was probably of earth, or unpolished stones, without any iron; for if any use was made of that metal, the altar was declared impure.

The principal altars of the Jews were, The altar of incense; that of burnt-offering; and the altar, or table, for the show-bread.

The altar of incense was a small table of shittimwood, covered with plates of gold, of one cubit in length, another in width, and two in height. At the four corners were four kinds of horns, and all round a little border or crown over it. This was the altar hidden by Jeremiah before the captivity; and upon it the officiating priest offered, every morning and evening, incense of a particular composition. See Plate X. fig. 3.

The altar of burnt-offerings was made of shittimwood, and carried upon the shoulders of the priests by slaves of the same wood overlaid with brass. In the time of Moses, this altar was five cubits square, and three high; but in Solomon's temple it was much larger, being twenty cubits square, and ten in height. It was covered with brafs; and at each corner was a horn or spire, wrought out of the same wood with the altar to which the sacrifices were tied. Within the hollow was a grate of brafs, on which the fire was made; through it fell the ashes, and were received in a pan below. At the four corners of the grate were four rings and four chains, which kept it up at the horns. This altar was placed in the open air, that the smoke of the burnt-offerings might not fully the inside of the tabernacle. See Plate X. fig. 2.

The altar, or table, for the show-bread, was likewise of shittim-wood, covered with plates of gold, having a little border round it, adorned with sculpture. It was two cubits long, one wide, and one and an half in height. Upon this table, which stood in the holy of holies, were put, every sabbath-day, twelve loaves, with salt and incense.

The Jewish altars, after their return from the captivity, and the building of the second temple, were in some respects different from those described above. That of burnt-offerings was a large pile, built of unhewn stone, thirty-two cubits square at the bottom, and twenty-four square at the top. The ascent was by a gentle rising, thirty-two cubits in length, and sixteen in breadth.

Altar, is also used among Christians for the communion-table.

Altar-thane, or Altarist, in old law-books, an appellation given to the priest or parson of a parish, to whom the altarage belonged. See Altarage.