Taurokathapsia

Taurokathapsia

Taurokathapsia, (Ancient Greek: ταυροκαθάψια), commonly known as bull-leaping, is thought to have been a key ritual in the religion of the Minoan civilization in Bronze Age Crete, in Greece.

Taurokathapsia refers to the ritual sport and/or performance in which human athletes—both male and female, literally vaulted over bulls as part of a ceremonial rite.

This ritual is hypothesized to have consisted of an acrobatic leap over a bull, such that when the leaper grasped the bull’s horns, the bull would violently jerk its neck upwards, giving the leaper the momentum necessary to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks or stunts.

The figure of the bull was a highly felt cultural element and its representation at the palace of Knossos is a widespread symbol in the art and decoration of this archaeological site.

The most famous depiction of the ritual is certainly the one preserved at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Crete.

Contrary to modern bull fights there was no need to actually kill the bull- the objective was merely to demonstrate the athletes’ courage and the flexibility of their bodies.