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SAC

Volume 16 · 65 words · 1797 Edition

SACÆA, a feast which the ancient Babylonians and other orientals held annually in honour of the deity Anaitis. The Sacæa were in the East what the Saturnalia were at Rome, viz. a feast for the slaves. One of the ceremonies was to choose a prisoner condemned to death, and allow him all the pleasures and gratifications he would wish, before he were carried to execution.