Asvaas met stierenkoppen 1778

This etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi depicts a vase adorned with bull heads, symbols deeply rooted in ancient mythologies. In classical antiquity, the bull was often associated with power, fertility, and divinity, notably linked to deities such as Zeus in his bull form. The vase’s stierenkoppen, or bull heads, echo motifs found in Minoan Crete, where bull-leaping was a central ritual. We see similar veneration in the Mithraic mysteries, where the tauroctony—the slaying of the bull—represents sacrifice and renewal. This act carries intense emotional weight, symbolizing the transformation of life through death. The bull’s image resurfaces time and again, shifting from sacred to secular, from symbol of power to emblem of sacrifice. Its enduring presence in art reflects our collective, subconscious fascination with its primeval force.