Bull-leaping (also taurokathapsia, from Greek ta????a????a[1]) is a motif of Middle Bronze Age figurative art, notably of Minoan Crete, but also found in Hittite Anatolia, the Levant, Bactria and the Indus Valley.[2] It is often interpreted as a depiction of a ritual performed in connection with bull worship. This ritual consists of an acrobatic leap over a bull; when the leaper grasps the bull's horns, the bull will violently jerk his head upwards giving the leaper the momentum necessary to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks or stunts.
Younger (1995) classifies bull-leaping depictions as follows:
Type I: the acrobat approaches the bull from the front, grabs the horns, and somersaults backwardsType II: the acrobat approaches the bull from the front, dives over the horns without touching them and pushes himself with his hands from the bull's back into a backward somersaultType III: the acrobat is depicted in mid-air over the bull's back, facing the same way as the animalThe Type III depictions are often found in Late Minoan IIIB artwork (14th to 13th c. BC). Frescos in Tell el Dab'a dating to the 18th dynasty (16th to 14th c. BC) show similar designs besides genuinely Egyptian motives, for which reason they have usually been ascribed to Minoan-taught Egyptian craftsmen (rather than to Minoan ones directly).
Other examples of bull-leaping scenes have been found in Syria, such as a cylinder seal impression found in level VII at Alalakh (Old Babylonian period, 19th or 18th c. BC) showing two acrobats performing handstands on the back of a bull, with an ankh sign placed between them, another seal belonging to a servant of Shamshi-Adad I (ca. 1800 BC), besides other Syrian examples. Furthermore a vase was discovered in Hüseyindede in 1997, dating to the Hittite Old Kingdom (18th to 15th c. BC).
Thought to have been a key ritual in the religion of the Minoan civilization on Bronze Age Crete. As in the case of other Mediterranean civilizations, the bull was the subject of veneration and worship. Representation of the Bull at the palace of Knossos is a widespread symbol in the art and decoration of this archaeological site.[3]
Another interpretation of the bull-leaper iconography is that it may symbolically represent an astrological pattern, specifically that of the mythological hero Theseus in the act of leaping over the constellation of Taurus. However, the more popular assumption, widely debated by scholars, is that the iconography represents a ritual sport and/or performance in which human athletes literally vaulted over bulls as part of a ceremonial rite.
Bull-leaping is still practised in the south west of France, where it is traditionally known as the Course Landaise (allthough young cows are used instead of bulls). The town of Mont-de-Marsan in Gascony is renowned for its fine sauteurs or "leapers" and écarteurs ("dodgers") dressed in brocaded waistcoats. They compete in teams, attempting to use their wide repertoire of skillful evasions and acrobatic leaps to avoid the cow's charges.
The cow is typically guided by the use of a long rope attached to its horns, so that it runs directly at the performers and is restrained from trampling or goring them should they miss a trick. Although there is little to no risk to the cow in this form of contest, it is a highly dangerous sport for the human participants; a prominent Montois, Jean-Pierre Rachou, was killed in 2001 when he fell on his head after being hit by a cow.
In France the courses Landaises are held from March to October at the occasion of festivals in many cities and villages, among which:
Nogaro, Mont-de-Marsan, Dax, Castelnau-d’Auzan and many other places. Of course there are also national championships.
A similar but even more dangerous tradition of non-violent bull-leaping is practiced in some parts of Spain. Known as the Recortadores, athletes compete at dodging and leaping over bulls without the use of the cape or sword. Some Recortadores use a long pole to literally pole-vault over the charging animal, which is both larger than the type used in the French sport, and unrestrained by any guiding rope or similar safety device.
^ the name of a ritual bull-fight held on occasion of a festival in Thessaly (scholion to Pindar, Pythian Odes 2.78), at Smyrna (CIG 3212) and at Sinope (CIG 4157).^ one argument for the association of Minoan Crete with the Bornze Age culture of the Indus Valley by H. Mode (Indische Frühkulturen und ihre Beziehungen zum Westen, Basel, 1944); since the 1940s, further bull-leaping motives have been discovered in 2nd millennium BC contexts in Bactria and northern Anatolia.^ C. Michael Hogan (2007) Knossos Fieldnotes, The Modern Antiquarian [1]Collon, D., Bull-Leaping in Syria, Egypt and the Levant: International Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines 4 (1996): 81-88.Marinatos, Nanno, The Export Significance of Minoan Bull-Leaping Scenes, Egypt and the Levant: International Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines 4 (1996): 89-93.Marinatos, Nanno, Minoan Religion: Ritual, Image, and Symbo, Studies in Comparative Religion. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1993.Shaw, Maria C., The bull-leaping fresco from below the Ramp House at Mycenae: a study in iconography and artistic transmission, ABSA 91 (1996).Sipahi, Tunç, New Evidence From Anatolia Regarding Bull Leaping Scenes in the Art of the Aegean and the Near East, Anatolica 27 (2001), 107-125.Younger, J., Bronze Age Representations of Aegean Bull-Games, III, Aegaeum 12 (1995): 507-46.KnossosKnossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek ???s?? pronounced
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Crete transliteration Krete, modern transliteration Kriti) is one of the thirteen peripheries of Greece. It is also the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in
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Ivory is formed from dentine and constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth and narwhal.
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For the indie band, see Figurine (band)
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word figure) is a statuette that represents a human, deity, or animal.
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Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek ???s?? pronounced
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The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. The Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC; afterwards, Mycenaean Greek culture became dominant on Crete.
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The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU
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See also: Names of the Levant
The Levant (IPA: /l?'vænt/
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The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (or BMAC, also known as the Oxus civilization) is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia, dated to ca.
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The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3000–1500 BCE, Mature period 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated IVC, was an ancient civilization that flourished in the Indus river valleys primarily in the Sindh and Punjab
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A ritual is a set of actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those
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The worship of the Sacred Bull was widespread in the ancient world. It is perhaps most familiar to the Western world in the Biblical episode wherein an idol of the Golden Calf is made by Aaron and worshipped by the Hebrews in the
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Acrobat may refer to: someone who practices acrobaticsAdobe Acrobat, the trade name of several computer programs for making or reading PDF files (sometimes mistakenly called 'Acrobat files').
..... Click the link for more information. Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
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A cylinder seal is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story', used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay.
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Coordinates: 36.237677° N 36.
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Old Babylonian may refer to: the period of the First Babylonian Dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)the historical stage of the Akkadian language of that time
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Ancient Mesopotamia
Euphrates • Tigris
Cities / Empires
Sumer: Eridu • Kish • Uruk • Ur • Lagash • Nippur • Ngirsu
Elam: Susa
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Coordinates: 40.13° N 34.
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Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (Hittite URU
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The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. The Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC; afterwards, Mycenaean Greek culture became dominant on Crete.
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Crete transliteration Krete, modern transliteration Kriti) is one of the thirteen peripheries of Greece. It is also the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in
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The Mediterranean is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia.
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Cattle
A Swiss Braunvieh cow wearing a cowbell
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
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The worship of the Sacred Bull was widespread in the ancient world. It is perhaps most familiar to the Western world in the Biblical episode wherein an idol of the Golden Calf is made by Aaron and worshipped by the Hebrews in the
..... Click the link for more information.
Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek ???s?? pronounced
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Theseus (Greek: T?se??) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night.
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Taurus
Click for larger image
List of stars in Taurus
Abbreviation: Tau
Genitive: Tauri
Symbology: the Bull
Right ascension: 4 h
Declination: 2°
Area: sq. deg.
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