Sacrificial Bull
animal · 6 works · 6 mentions · 10 anchored passages
the bull · a bull · a huge bull · beasts of mighty strength · bull · bulls with gilded horns · great bulls · the fat bodies of bulls
spoken of as
2 expressionsSacrificial bulls3 mentions
Barlaam and Josaphat (Greek) · Alcibiades 2 (Greek) · On Providence (Latin)
bringing as many great bulls as possible to be slaughtered;
The Sacrificial Bull“cosmic bull”1 mention
Atharvaveda (Paippalāda) (Sanskrit)
This bull of a thousand, rich in milk, bearing all forms upon his flanks, teaching welfare to the giver and the sacrificer — he, son of Bṛhaspati, has stretched the thread of the dawn-cows.
in the texts
Atharvaveda (Paippalāda)
A cosmic sacrificial bull, identified with Indra, Soma and the sacrifice itself, whose body is ritually divided among the gods and whose gift to a Brāhmaṇa is praised as bringing prosperity.
This bull of a thousand, rich in milk, bearing all forms upon his flanks, teaching welfare to the giver and the sacrificer — he, son of Bṛhaspati, has stretched the thread of the dawn-cows.
He who moves among the gods like Indra, lowing loudly among the kine — let Brahmā praise with a blessing the limbs of that bull.
A thousand at a single bestowal does he give who sacrifices a bull to a brahmin.
Helen
A bull given by Theoklymenos as a funeral blood-offering, which Menelaos sacrifices aboard ship as the ambush against the crew begins.
and, standing over the bull to slay it, with no mention of any dead man, he cut its throat and prayed:
but the bull did not want to go forward along the plank, but kept bellowing loudly, rolling his eyes around;
Among barbarians it is customary to sacrifice a horse or a bull.
Barlaam and Josaphat
Bulls slaughtered as part of the pagan festival celebrating Josaphat's birth.
bringing as many great bulls as possible to be slaughtered;
Alcibiades 2
Bulls adorned with gilded horns, cited as a typical costly offering in Greek sacrifice.
For the Greeks in general either lead up bulls with gilded horns, or else present the gods with votive emblems, and pray for any odd thing, whether it be good or bad:
On Providence
Sacrificial bulls whose great bulk collapses at a small wound to the neck, cited as an image teaching how easily life can be ended.
The fat bodies of bulls fall at a tiny wound, and a stroke of the human hand fells beasts of mighty strength;
Aeneid
The bull Laocoon was about to sacrifice to Neptune when the serpents attacked.
Laocoon, that day by cast of lot priest unto Neptune, was in act to slay a huge bull at the god's appointed fane.
he, all the while, his holy fillet fouled with venomous blood, tore at his fetters with a desperate hand, and lifted up such agonizing voice, as when a bull, death-wounded, seeks to flee the sacrificial altar, and thrusts back from his doomed head the ill-aimed, glancing blade.