ˌtȯrəˈbōlēəm noun
also tau·rob·o·ly tȯˈräbəlē
( plural taurobolia -ˈbōlēə ; also taurobolies )
Etymology: Late Latin taurobolium, from Greek taurobolion, from tauros bull + -bolion (from ballein to throw) — more at steer , devil
: a ceremony in the cult of certain Mediterranean deities (as Cybele and Mithras) in which worshipers were baptized with the blood of a sacrificed bull — compare criobolium