The Iconographic Background of Bull Killer Goddess Victory at the Imperial Forums

Abstract

The study examines taurochtony frieses of imperial forums and analyzes the meaning of the bull symbol, presents the sacred manifestations of tauromachia and tauroctonia. It is accompanied by how the astral, fertility and royal symbol became one of the elements of Augustan ideology, how the taurobolium became an official signal of power during Trajan and Hadrian, and under Antonius Pius a symbol of apotheosis in the emperor’s cult.