Etymology
The etymology of taurobolium was in Greek ταυροβόλιον, which was made of ταύρος, the bull and βάλλειν, which means "to throw". What βάλλειν exactly means in this context still not certain, but it could be assumed as a kind of rite. The taurobolium was a kind of animal sacrifice in Roman times and as a ritual of the cult of Cybele (the Mater Magna). And the main reason why taurobolium is still remembered, even as a part of the study of ancient religions, is the description of taurobolium by the Christian poet, Prudentius, during Late Antiquity (4th-5th century A.D.). Although the plausibility of his description of the ritual is open to discussion, it thus leaves us with the question: for what reason Christian authors at that time would like to describe a ritual of the cult of Cybele? Perhaps behind their description of the taurobolium is the rivalry between Christianity and the cult of Cybele at that time.
To clarify this relationship, the development and changes of taurobolium should be traced. The history of taurobolium can be roughly divided into three phases. In the first phase, taurobolium was simply a ritual associated with the bull chase, hunting, and sacrifice in Asia Minor in Greek times. Taurobolium could be ascribed in a religious context, but there is no evidence that the ritual was associated with a particular deity. As the people spread and cultures intermingled, taurobolium was introduced from the Greek region to Italy and the second phase of its development can be observed. At this time taurobolium was incorporated as part of the cult of Mater Magna and became a public ritual (while being a private ritual in some places) that circulated in Italy and beyond. In its final phase, as the competition between Christianity and paganism intensified, the taurobolium, which was part of the traditional cult of Mater Magna, eventually became a “tool” of the competition and disappeared with the failure of the pagan revival in the fourth century. Therefore, the meaning of taurobolium has always been changing. Underlying these changes is how the taurobolium as a foreign ritual adapted to Roman religious concepts and integrated into the Roman cultural milieu.
Testimonies
Origin in Hellenistic Asia Minor
The first phase of taurobolium development history dates from ca. 135 B.C. to 159 A.D. Taurobolium certainly originated in Asia Minor. The early taurobolium is testified in eight inscriptions and one literary source (RUTTER 1968, 227). There are three inscriptions in this phase valuable for the analysis of the original performance of taurobolium.
The first inscription comes from Ilion of the first century B.C. It documented a man called Agathes who paid twice for the ταυροβόλιον involving more than forty bulls – once for the sake of the excellence of the festival Panathenaea and once for good service towards the goddess, who is presumed Athena. The second inscription comprises three fragments from Pergamon and is dated in 105 A.D. Although it is hard to recognize what was documented in these fragments, from the different names of people and expenses in it, it can be assumed that this is a list of contributors to taurobolium. In addition, Pergamon's inscription records the killing of bulls by stoning (IGRR IV 494 ταυροβόλιον λιθαστέντων). The last inscription from Pednelissos describes various structures for the performance of the ταυροβόλιον and the most convincing interpretation is that the ταυροβόλιον was some sort of bull chase.
As can see from the first phase of development, the ταυροβόλιον was not associated with any specific cult in Hellenistic times and early Imperial period and did not take the form of blood baptism. According to the available sources, ταυροβόλιον as bull chase was performed in a public context.
Development in the western part of the Imperium Romanum
In the 2nd century A.D., with migration, some cultural, social and religious activities from Asia Minor gradually flowed into Italy, which in turn spread in the western part of the Roman Empire, in areas such as Gallic, Spain and Germany. Taurobolium entered the Roman Empire as one of the rituals, and this was the second phase of its development (middle of the 2nd cent. A.D. - end of the 3rd cent. A.D.). As Rutter says (RUTTER 1968, 231), the taurobolium underwent some fundamental changes at this phase. But these changes did not happen suddenly either.
As evidence of the transition between the two phases, it is clear from a very short inscription in Latin found at Puteoli , a city in the Italian region of Campania, that the taurobolium which first entered the Roman world, was still in much the same form as it was in the Asia Minor period.
CIL 10.1596 ➚ Inscription from Puteoli, 134 A.D. L. [Iulio Ur]so Serviano // Co(n)s(ule) III non(is) oct(obribus) / ecitium taurobolium / Veneris Caelestae et panteliu(m) / Herennia Fortunata imperio deae / per Ti. Claudium Felicem sacerd(otem) / iterate est.
The woman in the text acted as a dedicant, offering sacrifices to goddess Venus Caelestis by way of taurobolium and the taurobolium was still a private ritual. The inscription, however, does not indicate the purpose or motive of this woman's sacrifice to the goddess.
By 159 A.D., a fundamental could be observed. For in this year the emperor Antoninus Pius issued the decree making the taurobolium a Roman public rite and incorporating it into the cult of Mater Magna, who was worshipped originally as Cybele in Asia Minor, imported in the 3th. century B.C. to Rome, where she was given the name Mater Deum Magna Idaea. In this way, a ritual from Asia Minor was linked to a goddess originating from Asia Minor, but who had been romanised and integrated into the Roman pantheon. Thus, the taurobolium was associated now with specific deity.
Antoninus Pius was a Roman emperor from 138 to 161 and an avid observer of rites of religion and of formal celebrations, both Roman and foreign. The following fragment of decree is a regulation of Antoninus, as a part of his reform. Because of his reform the taurobolium became a public ritual (public taurobolium) in common, and the private taurobolium was also allowed.
Fragmenta Vaticana 148 ➚ Decree by emperor Antoninus Pius, 159 A.D. Is qui in Portu pro salute imperatoris sacrum facit ex vaticinatione archigalli a tutelis excusatur. He who sacrifices in the harbour for the well-being of the Emperor on the basis of foretelling by the high-priest of Cybele receives an exemption from the guardianship.
The imperator is Antoninus Pius and the sacrum is meant to the public taurobolium for the well-being of the emperor. It is also significant that this decree mentioned the priest, the archigallus, who was responsible for the activities of the Mater Magna. After the taurobolium became a rite of Mater Magna, these galli were likewise responsible for it. In addition to this, Rutter noticed that Attis had also first appeared on a Roman coin in this year (RUTTER 1968, 234). Attis was the male companion and consort of Mater Magna and was regarded as a very significant figure in the cult of Mater Magna.
The association is clear now that Antoninus’ decree had bound the taurobolium to the cult of Mater Magna and taurobolium became therefore part of the public activity sacrifice of the time in Italy.
With Antoninus’ reform, the celebration of taurobolium gradually spread throughout the Empire. The following year, a Gallic city, Lugdunum, celebrated the taurobolium. A related inscription recorded this ritual. This inscription is the best preserved and is the best proof available for today's study of Antoninus’ reform. This inscription was a dedication to Mater Magna, which was inscribed on a taurobolium altar. Three sides of this altar showing bucrania ➚and a sacrificial knife. ➚
CIL 13.1751 Inscription from Lugdunum, 160 A.D. Taurobolio Matris d(eum) m(agnae) Id(aeae) / quod factum est ex imperio Matris [d(eum)] / pro salute imperatoris [C]aes(aris) T(i(i) Aeli / Hadriani Antonini Aug(usti) Pii p(atris) p(atriae) / liberorumque eius / et status coloniae [L]ugudun(ensium) / L(ucius) Aemilius Carpus IIIIIIvir Aug(ustalis) item / dendrophorus / vires excepti et a Vaticano trans/tulit ara(m) et bucranium / suo inpendio consacravit / sacerdote / Q(uinto) Sammio Secundo ab XV viris / occabo et corona exornato / cui sanctissimus ordo Lugudunens(ium) Perpetuitatem sacerdoti(i) decrevit / App(io) Annio Atilio Bradua T(ito) Clod(io) Vibio / Varo co(n)s(ulibus) / L(ocus) d(atus) d(ecreto) d(ecurionum)
Compared with the taurobolium in early times, we could find three new features. First of all, this taurobolium was undertaken at the command of the Mater Magna, which means it was certainly a part of the Mater Magna cult. Secondly, this taurobolium was performed for the well-being of the emperor and a public taurobolium for enlisting the benevolence of Mater Magna, which was the aim of the taurobolium. Finally, this inscription did not mention anything about the sort of bull chase but the vires (probably bull testicles) and bucranium of the bull that was consecrated by the dedicant. Thus, we can assume that the taurobolium at that time meant the sacrifice of a bull and the dedication of certain parts of it.
As a complement, Duthoy Robert analyses most of the Latin inscriptions related to taurobolium and examines the rite from an etymological point of view, dividing them into three categories (DUTHOY 1969, 109-117): taurobolium facere ➚ (160-250 A.D.), accipere ➚/tradere ➚ (228-319 A.D.) and percipere ➚/tauroboliati (305-390 A.D.). The different categories correspond to the different stages of the taurobolium ritual process. From this we can see that the terms modifying taurobolium are increasingly nuanced and opening for the public. Combined with the context of Antoninus' reform described above, it is not difficult to understand the reason of it.
However, due to the influence of the Christian-pagan tensions at the end of the 4th. century., this may have been intended as a counterstatement to the fact that Christian authors such as Prudentius had a taurobolium's vilification, which will be discussed in the next part.
Taurobolium in Late Antiquity
In the third stage of tauroboliums’ development in the late Antiquity, the taurobolium was hampered by the competition between Christianity and the Cybele cult. It ceased to be a public ritual and became a completely private celebration. The following short inscription from Subura (a vast and neighborhood in Rome) recorded the intention of the private taurobolium.
CIL 6.510 Inscription from Rome, Subura, 376 A.D. …taurobolio criobolioq(ue) in aeternum renatus aram sacravit…
It is clear from this inscription that the taurobolium returned to the way it was first celebrated when it first entered Rome - a person or a group praying for itself. No mention of the cult of Mater Magna appeared, nor did it describe the whole process in detail. But we can assume that taurobolium was performed by the non-Christian aristocracy. After all, the emperor was a Christian and that is why the taurobolium could not be performed for the emperors.
As a supplement, there is an inscription that stated by Vermaseren to have been set up in the gardens of the Villa Mattei (Villa Celimontana) on the Caelian hill in Rome in 387 A.D.
CIL 6.1778 ➚ Inscription from Rome, 387 A.D. Agorii / Vettio Agorio Praetextato v(iro) c(larissimo) // pontifici Vestae / pontifici Soli(s) / quindecemviro / auguri / tauroboliato / curiali / neocoro / hierofantae / patri sacrorum // quaestori / candidato / praetori urbano / correctori Tus/ciae et Umbriae / consulari / Lusitaniae / proconsuli / Achaiae / praefecto urbi / prae(ecto) praet(orio) II / Italiae et Illyrici / consuli / designato // Dedicata Kal(endis) Febr(uariis) / d(omino) n(ostro) Fl(avio) Valentiniano Aug(usto) III / et Eutropio conss(ulibus)
By this example, it is confirmed that the taurobolium was infused with the meaning of personal renewal and rebirth (
in aeternum renatus
). And sometimes the criobolium, substituting a ram for the bull, was also practiced, sometimes together with the taurobolium. Thus, the taurobolium at this point became a private ritual in both form and intention.From the Christian side, several Christian authors showed us the polemics of Christianity and paganism, such as Tertullian and Minucius Felix, who had already condemned the cult of Jupiter Latiaris, and their very bloody and exaggerated depiction of pagan rituals.
The Magna Mater cult, also a traditional cult, was not immune to this competition. As Lennon says (LENNON 2010, 382), the taurobolium also became a focal point of Christian polemic. The most well-known and the most vivid description of taurobolium came from Prudentius in Peristephanon. Prudentiuswas a fervent Christian poet of the late 4th. century. As he was born and educated in a Christian family, his poetry is influenced by Christian belief and places great emphasis on a redemptive power of God. He also saw pagans as adversaries, including their rituals - one of which was the taurobolium. That is the reason, why this poem was full of exaggerated descriptions - especially of the priest’s acceptance and handling of blood - and reveals an element of simplicity but violence and barbarism.
Prud. perist. 10,1011–1050 ➚ Summus sacerdos nempe sub terram scrobe
acta in profundum consecrandus mergitur,
mire infulatus festa vittis tempora
nectens, corona tum repexus aurea,
1015 cinctu Gabino sericam fultus togam.
Tabulis superne strata texunt pulpita
rimosa rari pegmatis conpagibus,
scindunt subinde vel terebrant aream
crebroque lignum perforant acumine,
1020 pateat minutis ut frequens hiatibus.
Huc taurus ingens fronte torva et hispida
sertis revinctus aut per armos floreis
aut inpeditis cornibus deducitur,
nec non et auro frons coruscat hostiae
1025 saetasque fulgor brattealis inficit.
Hic ut statuta est inmolanda belva,
pectus sacrato dividunt venabulo;
eructat amplum vulnus undam sanguinis
ferventis inque texta pontis subditi
1030 fundit vaporum flumen et late aestuat.
Tum per frequentes mille rimarum vias
inlapsus imber tabidum rorem pluit,
defossus intus quem sacerdos excipit
guttas ad omnes turpe subiectans caput
1035 et veste et omni putrefactus corpore.
Quin os supinat, obvias offert genas,
supponit aures, labra, nares obicit,
oculos et ipsos perluit liquoribus,
nec iam palato parcit et linguam rigat,
1040 donec cruorem totus atrum conbibat.
Postquam cadaver sanguine egesto rigens
conpege ab illa flamines retraxerint,
procedit inde pontifex visu horridus,
ostentat udum verticem, barbam gravem,
1045 vittas madentes atque amictus ebrios.
Hunc inquinatum talibus contagiis,
tabo recentis sordidam piaculi,
omnes salutant atque adorant eminus,
vilis quod illum sanguis et bos mortuus
1050 foedis latentem sub cavernis laverint.
Although Prudentius did not mention the term taurobolium in this poem, his reference like consecrandus at the beginning and the imageries that appears in the poem such as taurus, illum sanguis et bos mortuus, etc., could reasonably link his description to the sacrifice of a bull, i.e. taurobolium. On the one hand, the taurobolium by Prudentius’ description is a kind of bloody baptism, which is quite different from the taurobolium before. On the other hand, we have also no archaeological evidence to proof what Prudentius wrote. Therefore, some of today’s studies do not take Prudentius(MCLYNN 1996, 320).
But it does not follow that Prudentius could be dismissed entirely, and it is only appropriate to speculate that the taurobolium may for some reason have undergone a major change towards the end of the 4th. century. In the context of the competition between Christianity and paganism at that time, Prudentius may have deliberately and exaggeratedly distorted the process of the taurobolium to achieve a confrontational effect and highlight the elegant, holy side of the Christian rituals. For example, although sacrifices are also required in Christian liturgy, they are often sacred and systematic, with clerics taking on different roles and following a prescribed process to complete such as Holy Baptism. In contrast, the process of taurobolium is much more barbaric from the Christian authors’ side. Prudentius used some pejorative descriptions for this pagans’ ritual like eructat amplum vulnus undam sanguinis ➚, omni putrefactus corpore etc. Thus, for Christian authors the taurobolium became a symbol of the pagan superstition and a sign that pagans were demoniac.
The taurobolium eventually disappeared as a result of the failure of the pagan revival in the West at the end of the 4th. century.
Inscriptions
CIL 6.1778
CIL 6.510
CIL 10.1596
CIL 13.1751
Fragmenta Vaticana 148
Literary source
Prud. perist. 10,1011–1050