taurobolium

American  

[tawr-uh-boh-lee-uhm] / ˌtɔr əˈboʊ li əm /

noun

taurobolia plural

1. the sacrifice of a bull, followed by the baptism of neophytes in the blood, as practiced in the ancient rites of Mithras or Cybele.

2. Fine Arts. a representation of the killing of a bull, as in Mithraic art.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• taurobolia
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taurobolium

1690–1700; < Late Latin < Greek taurobólion, equivalent to tauroból ( os ) bull sacrifice ( taûro ( s ) bull + bólos a cast, throw, akin to bolḗ a wound, bállein to throw) + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

The greatest and most impressive rite in the worship of Cybele was the taurobolium.

From Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius by Dill, Samuel

It was maintained that the sanguinary purification imparted by the taurobolium was more efficacious than baptism.

From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz

Prudentius, description of the taurobolium by, 558 Public works, mismanagement of, in Bithynia, 220 sq.; curator of, ib.; undertaken by private persons, evidence of inscriptions on, 225 sq.

From Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius by Dill, Samuel

That Salvation was not from within, was the testimony of every man who underwent the taurobolium.

From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)

The introduction of the taurobolium in the ritual of the Magna Mater, where it appeared after the middle of the first century, was probably connected with this transformation.

From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz