The first chapter is divided into three sections and introduces the mythology surrounding the Kings of the Wood, who were priests of the Roman goddess Diana. Their practice of succession by killing the former king is at the heart of the ancient practice of sacrificing man-gods, or divine kings. Turner’s painting The Golden Bough depicts the scene from The Aeneid in which Aeneas plucks a golden bough from the same sacred grove where the Kings of the Wood now reside. The grove is located in Nemi, Italy, and links the myths of antiquity to the present day. Moreover, the ancient practice of a challenger killing the king to usurp his position derives from an earlier Age of Magic and a “primitive” understanding of the world.

The chapter discusses the cult of Diana, which was brought to Nemi by Orestes, a murderer fleeing justice. Diana’s male consort, Virbius, reigned as king in the sanctuary for a time. Frazer suggests that Virbius was the Greek hero Hippolytus, who was murdered but brought back to life by Diana and concealed at Nemi.

The second section examines the stories of Orestes and Hippolytus. It suggests that the murder committed by Orestes implies that Diana requires a blood sacrifice.