More Bull on TR

[Mark Kohut]

Great, great stuff....thanks....


From: Erik T. Burns <eburns at gmail.com>
To: edmoorester at gmail.com; pynchon-l at waste.org; Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2011 6:30 PM
Subject: Re: More Bull on TR

while he's doubtless continuing his abuse of that Big Unshaven Man,
Gaddis' use of the bull icon is no more (or less!) than the result of
his appropriation of Mithraism as the religious centerpiece of TR:

from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries)

The bull-slaying scene
See also: Tauroctony

Tauroctony in Kunsthistorisches Museum

In every Mithraeum the centrepiece was a representation of Mithras
killing a sacred bull; the so-called tauroctony.[30]

The image may be a relief, or free-standing, and side details may be
present or omitted. The centre-piece is Mithras clothed in Anatolian
costume and wearing a Phrygian cap; who is kneeling on the
exhausted[31] bull, holding it by the nostrils[31] with his left hand,
and stabbing it with his right. As he does so, he looks over his
shoulder towards the figure of Sol. A dog and a snake reach up towards
the blood. A scorpion seizes the bull's genitals. A raven is flying
around or is sitting on the bull. Three corns of wheat are seen coming
out from the bull's tail, sometimes from the wound. The bull was often
white.The god is sitting on the bull in an unnatural way with his
right leg constraining the bull's hoof and the left leg is bent and
resting on the bull's back or flank.[32] The two torch-bearers are on
either side, dressed like Mithras, Cautes with his torch pointing up
and Cautopates with his torch pointing down.[33][34] Sometimes Cautes
and Cautopates carry shepherds' crooks instead of torches.[35]

The event takes place in a cavern, into which Mithras has carried the
bull, after having hunted it, ridden it and overwhelmed its
strength.[36] Sometimes the cavern is surrounded by a circle, on which
the twelve signs of the zodiac appear. Outside the cavern, top left,
is Sol the sun, with his flaming crown, often driving a quadriga. A
ray of light often reaches down to touch Mithras. Top right is Luna,
with her crescent moon, who may be depicted driving a biga.[37]

In some depictions, the central tauroctony is framed by a series of
subsidiary scenes to the left, top and right, illustrating events in
the Mithras narrative; Mithras being born from the rock, the water
miracle, the hunting and riding of the bull, meeting Sol who kneels to
him, shaking hands with Sol and sharing a meal of bull-parts with him,
and ascending to the heavens in a chariot.[37] In some instances, as
is the case in the stucco icon at Santa Prisca mithraeum, the god is
shown heroically nude.[38] Some of these reliefs were constructed so
that they could be turned on an axis. On the back side was another,
more elaborate feasting scene. This indicates that the bull killing
scene was used in the first part of the celebration, then the relief
was turned, and the second scene was used in the second part of the
celebration.[39] Besides the main cult icon, a number of mithraeums
had several secondary tauroctonies, and some small, portable versions,
probably meant for private devotion have also been found.[40]


On Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 5:56 PM,  <edmoorester at gmail.com> wrote:
> RE: More Bull on TR
>
> Maybe the animal sacrifice can be equated with
> golden bough-ish jesus sacrifice?
>
> Then the Eucharist stuff that I pick up in this text
> from time to time would fit in better
>
> I might pick thru the "Golden Bough" today
> on king's son sacrifice and animal sacrifices
>
> ed
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