Taurobolic Altar (Lyon)

The Taurobolic Altar is an inscribed ancient Roman

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

found in 1704 in a vineyard belonging to a certain Bourgeat on the

Fourvière Fourvière () is a district of Lyon, France, a hill immediately west of the old part of the town, rising from the river Saône. It is the site of the original Roman settlement of Lugdunum in 43 BC. The district contains many religious buildings i ...

hill in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It dates to the year 160 and refers to a ''

taurobolium In the Roman Empire of the second to fourth centuries, ''taurobolium'' referred to practices involving the sacrifice of a bull, which after mid-second century became connected with the worship of the Great Mother of the Gods; though not previo ...

'' carried out in

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...

for the restoration of the emperor

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...

's health. It is now held at the

Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon Lugdunum, formerly known as the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon-Fourvière, is a museum of Gallo-Roman civilisation in Lyon (Roman Lugdunum). Previously presented at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon and the Antiquarium, the municipal Gallo-Roman collec ...

. {{Coord, 45.7604, 4.8199, display=title Roman Lyon * Roman altars Archaeological artifacts Religion in the Roman Empire 5th arrondissement of Lyon Buildings and structures in Lyon Religion in Lyon