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

Noun Inflected Forms

• 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

See Examples For:

taurobolium taurobolia

But the pair were united in the sacrament of the taurobolium.

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

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

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

Her baptism of blood in the taurobolium was a rite of such strange enthralling influence that it needed all the force of the Christian Empire to abolish it.

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

On the very spot on which the last taurobolia took place at the end of the fourth century, in the Phrygianum, stands to-day the basilica of the Vatican.

From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz