Theophagy

Theophagy is a word of Ancient Greek origin that means "the feeding on a god" or "eating/devouring god", from θεός (Theós, “god”) and the suffix -phagy (to feed on, to eat/devour).

In fertility rituals, the harvested grain may itself be the reborn god of vegetation. This practice has origins in ancient religions: Dionysus and many examples are documented in The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941)

See also

• life-death-rebirth deity
• descent to the underworld
• anthropophagy
• Eucharist
• human sacrifice
• Bacteriophage