MINOAN / Translated by Google / After table M129, which has definitely found its place in the Middle Kingdom, here is a second version of the famous jumping the bull, which I recall the principles known about this gym Cretan initiatory dating back over 3000 years ? Often it is explained as a representation of a ritual in connection with the worship of the bull. This ritual is a freestyle aerobatics over the bull, when the acrobat takes the bull's horns give it a blow up jumper to give the necessary speed to execute his turn somersaults and other acrobatic. The bull has been central in the religion of the Minoan civilization during the Bronze Age in Crete. As often in civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea, the bull in Greek mythology was a subject of veneration. The representation of the bull at the Palace of Knossos is widely used as decoration. Another interpretation of the iconography of acrobatics with bulls is to see them as astrological symbols including the hero Theseus jumping the constellation Taurus. Most often, however one interprets the iconography as a representation of a ritual sport and these are human athletes that perform ceremonial acrobatics with bulls. Today one can still see the acrobatics with bulls in the South West of France where this tradition is known as Race Landes (though this dangerous sport is now done with young cows instead of bulls). Mont-de-Marsan, and Castelnau-d'Auzan, Nogaro in the Gers are well known for their jumping and retractors. A similar tradition, but far more dangerous''jump over the bull's nonviolent'' is practiced in some regions of Spain. The performers are known as “Recortadores”, athletes compete and jump to dodge bulls without the use of the cloak or sword. There are “Recortadores'' using a long pole and literally jump the animal pole during the attack. These bulls are much larger than the type of bulls used in Race Landes and more animals are not restricted by guide ropes or similar safety devices. Before 1995, the acrobatics with bulls were classified as follows: Type I: the acrobat approach the bull from the front, grabbed the horns and made a backward somersault. Type II: the jumper approaches the bull from the front, and jump over without touching the horns and draws with both hands on the bull's back to do a back somersault. Type III: the acrobat is represented in the air above the bull's back. Type III is frequently found in works of art Minoan (14th in the thirteenth century BC). Frescoes at Tell el-Dab'a dating from the 18th dynasty (sixteenth century in the fourteenth century BC) show similar images in this way, for this reason they are awarded to Egyptian workers who received their training Crete (rather than directly to the Minoans). Other examples of vaulting with a bull were found in Syria, in the form of a seal found at Alalakh VII (Babylonian period nineteenth century or the eighteenth century BC) showing two acrobats doing a tense became inverted a bull, with the sign of the ankh in between, another seal that belonged to one serving of Shamsi-Adad I (more or less 1800 BC), this along with other examples Syrians. In addition Hittite vase dating from the eighteenth century to the fifteenth century BC was discovered in 1997 Hüseyindede with the same hopping pattern of the bull! Yet before you start reading this, were you not convinced that this practice was rare! Amazing isn’t ?