Victimarius

In the depictions on Trajan’s column and the sarcophagus of Mantua, popae are clearly visible standing with an axe held above their heads ready to stun the animal.

[6] This is a large task for a single person to handle, but it was crucial to the victimarius because failing could lead to bad omens and possible action against them from their masters.

The larger animals were typically stunned with hammer, which is more common in depictions because bulls where the main sacrifice in public ritual imagery.

[2] The victimarius was an important figure in religious animal sacrifice whose actions dictated the success and failure of the rituals.

[7][3] An example of the practices used by elites and emperors to reenforce these hierarchical ideas are in the reliefs of animal sacrifice on the Ara Pacis Augustae.

[8][9][10] On one side of the Ara Pacis the relief depicts Aeneas with his slave attendants leading a sow to the altar.