asdjkl: Money serves an archetypal role in human ritual and religion in direct service of transcending death. Thousands of years ago, money originated in religious rituals as consecrated tokens with immortal connotations. The sacred value of the exchange was its primary purpose. In ancient Greece, families held communal feasts in honor of their heroic ancestors. The families believed that ancestors had the character and power of immortal gods and could thus provide protection, advice, and direction for their living progeny. So the living relatives sacrificed bulls (the word “capital” comes from “cattle”) and roasted them on spits. Then they distributed the pieces of meat to everyone in attendance, withholding only the “surplus,” a piece left on the spit to be “consumed” by the fire as an offering to the heroic ancestors. The “surplus” meat on the spit was called the obelos, or “coin” (related to the word “obligation”). Obeloi were also made from pieces of metal, bearing images of individual ancestors. Outsiders could use these coins to join the feasts. People would eagerly trade goods in order to obtain these highly valued coins. Because they attributed magical qualities to the coins, people began to worship them. Carried as amulets, the coins derived their power from “basking in reflected glory” of the heroic ancestors depicted on them. In this way, the coins used in the communal feast kept the ancestors’ sacred power circulating. Sacrificing the bulls and giving the surplus to the dead ancestors showed reverence for the past. Sharing one’s food with ancestors imbued the living with supernatural attributes to ensure prosperity in the future.

Money serves an archetypal role in human ritual and religion in direct service of transcending death. Thousands of years ago, money originated in religious rituals as consecrated tokens with immortal connotations. The sacred value of the exchange was its primary purpose. In ancient Greece, families held communal feasts in honor of their heroic ancestors. The families believed that ancestors had the character and power of immortal gods and could thus provide protection, advice, and direction for their living progeny. So the living relatives sacrificed bulls (the word “capital” comes from “cattle”) and roasted them on spits. Then they distributed the pieces of meat to everyone in attendance, withholding only the “surplus,” a piece left on the spit to be “consumed” by the fire as an offering to the heroic ancestors. The “surplus” meat on the spit was called the obelos, or “coin” (related to the word “obligation”). Obeloi were also made from pieces of metal, bearing images of individual ancestors. Outsiders could use these coins to join the feasts. People would eagerly trade goods in order to obtain these highly valued coins. Because they attributed magical qualities to the coins, people began to worship them. Carried as amulets, the coins derived their power from “basking in reflected glory” of the heroic ancestors depicted on them. In this way, the coins used in the communal feast kept the ancestors’ sacred power circulating. Sacrificing the bulls and giving the surplus to the dead ancestors showed reverence for the past. Sharing one’s food with ancestors imbued the living with supernatural attributes to ensure prosperity in the future.

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The Worm at the Core Tom Pyszczynski

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