acrifice of a bull; ceremony of initiation or consecration in which the recipient is "baptized" in the bull's blood as a symbol of renewed life.

In ancient Rome, taurobolium referred to the sacrifice of a bull, usually in connection with the worship of the Great Mother of the Gods, though not limited to this. Of oriental origin, its first known performance in Italy occurred in 134 AD, at Puteoli, in honor of Venus Caelestis.