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The tauroctony refers to a genre of cult reliefs which served as the central icon of the Mithraic Mysteries cult in the Roman world. They depict Mithras, wearing a distinctive phrygian cap, killing a bull by stabbing it in the neck. The name 'tauroctony' is a neologism given to the scene in modern times, probably after the Greek word ''tauroktonos'' (''ταυροκτόνος'', "slaughtering bulls"). ==Usage== Whether as a painting or as carved monument, a depiction of the tauroctony scene belonged to the standard furniture of every mithraeum. At least one depiction would be mounted on the wall at the far end of the space where ritual activity took place, often in a niche dressed to be especially cavelike. Richly furnished mithraea, such as one in Stockstadt am Main, had multiple cult reliefs. The scenes can be roughly divided into two groups. The "simple" depictions, which include just the main bull-killing scene, and the compound depictions, in which the tauroctony is the central and largest element, but which is framed by panels that portray other scenes. The oldest known representative of the tauroctony scene is ''CIMRM'' 593/594 from Rome, a dedication of a certain Alcimus, slave steward/bailiff (''servus vilicus'') of T. Claudius Livianus, who is identified with T. Iulius Aquilinus Castricius Saturninus Claudius Livianus, the praetorian prefect under Trajan. Like the other five earliest monuments of the Mithraic mysteries, it dates to around 100 CE. The tauroctony should not be confused with a "taurobolium", which was an actual bull killing cult act performed by initiates of the Mysteries of Magna Mater, and has nothing to do with the Mithraic Mysteries. "There is no evidence that (of the Mithraic mysteries ) ever performed such a rite (a real bull killing ), and ''a priori'' considerations suggest that a mithraeum – any mithraeum – would be a most impractical place to attempt it." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tauroctony」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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