Mithras Slaying the Bull

Hundreds of shrines to the mysterious god Mithras have been found in the Roman Empire. Scholars debate the symbolic meaning of the bull slaying that is prominent in art connected to Mithras’s cult, as in this wall painting of about 200 C.E. from the shrine at Marino, south of Rome. Here, a snake and a dog lick the sacrificial animal’s blood, while a scorpion pinches its testicles as it dies in agony. The ancient sources do not clarify the scene’s meaning. What do you think could be the explanation for this type of sacrifice? (Mitreo, Marino, Italy / Scala / Art Resource, NY.)