What is Taurobolium?
[[File:Taurobolium.jpg|thumb|200px|''Taurobolium, or Consecration of the Priests of Cybele under Antoninus Pius''. Engraving by Bernhard Rode c.1780]]{{Complex|date=October 2024}} During the [[Roman Empire]], the '''taurobolium''' referred to practices involving the sacrifice of a [[bull]], which after mid-2nd century AD became connected with the worship of the [[Cybele|Great Mother of the Gods]]; though not previously limited to her cult, after 159 AD, all private inscriptions mention ''Magna Mater'' (the Roman name for the goddess [[Cybele]]). Originating in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], its earliest attested performance in [[Italy]] occurred in 134 AD. ==Ritual== At the taurobolium [[ritual]], the [[galli|high-priest]] would stand inside a pit made specifically for the purpose of the ritual, a bull would be led above the pit and sacrificed above him, the blood of the bull would pour down onto the priest, showering him in the blood. After this, the bull's meats are ritually butchered and cooked and eaten and offered and given as a sacrifice to [[Cybele]] and the bull's remaining testicles were removed and taken to the [[sanctuary]] as an offering to her. This ritual was done as a replacement for the castration of high-priests, this was because [[castration]] of male Roman [[Citizenship|citizens]] was forbidden in [[Rome]]. ==Related pages== {{commonscat|Taurobolium}} * [[Animal sacrifice]], the ritual sacrifice of an animal {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Religion in ancient Rome]] [[Category:Paganism]]