Tauroctony

The bull slaying image

Every Mithraic meeting place featured a tauroctony, either carved as a relief or painted on the wall, often inside an alcove styled like a cave. Mithras is shown kneeling over a fallen bull, pinning it with his legs and pulling its head back by the muzzle. With his other hand, he plunges a knife or short sword into its shoulder while turning his head away, often looking back toward the sun god Sol. Mithras usually wears a tunic, trousers, boots, a Phrygian cap, and a flying cloak. Occasionally, the bull's tail or its wound ends in ears of wheat or grape clusters.

Accompanying figures and cosmos

The central scene is surrounded by regular companion figures. A dog and a serpent reach toward the wound, a scorpion grasps the genitals of the dying bull, and a raven perches nearby. Two torchbearing figures named Cautes and Cautopates flank the scene, holding torches pointing upward and downward. Above, the sun god Sol and the moon goddess Luna appear in the upper corners, sometimes driving horse or oxen chariots. Constellations, zodiac signs, and the seven planetary deities frequently frame the relief, forming a direct map of the late first-century summer night sky.

Meaning of the sacrifice

The bull often wears a Roman sacrificial band known as a dorsuale, marking the act as a formal religious offering. Because the Mithraic mysteries admitted only sworn initiates and left no surviving texts, the exact narrative remains unknown. Early scholars linked the image to Persian myths of a cosmic bull, but Iranian scripture portrays Mithra as a protector of livestock rather than a bull slayer. Because tauroctony monuments frequently depict a sacred meal on the reverse side, historians suggest the slaughter and banquet together represented a saving act for the faithful.

How Tauroctony is kept

Initiates gathered in cavelike ritual halls where the tauroctony was mounted prominently on the far wall. The image served as the visual centrepiece of their meetings, often paired with depictions of ritual banquets. While the artwork shows a bull sacrifice, there is no physical evidence that members slaughtered live bulls during meetings. Instead, members contemplated the symbolic scene, which wove together celestial deities, constellations, and the mythic deed of Mithras.

When and where

The earliest known surviving tauroctony monuments date to around 100 CE during the Roman Empire. Ritual assemblies took place inside mithraea throughout the cult's active centuries.

Tauroctony reliefs and frescoes stood in mithraea throughout the Roman Empire. Examples have been uncovered in Rome, frontier settlements along the Rhine and Danube in modern Germany and Croatia, and sites across the Mediterranean.

What Tauroctony means

The scene represents a sacrificial offering, indicated by the traditional Roman dorsuale band on the bull. The presence of Sol, Luna, zodiac constellations, and animal figures points to an astrological narrative. The sacrifice, depicted alongside banquet scenes, likely represented a transformative, saving deed for the cult's initiates.

Questions people ask about Tauroctony

See also

Good FridayA solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Feast of Corpus ChristiA Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistCandlemasA Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonCamino de SantiagoA Christian walking pilgrimage across Europe to the shrine of Saint James in Spain

Good reading and sources

• Tauroctony on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-06.