Etymologically bullfighting It derives from the Greek words tavros-toro, and makhe-lucha, although it is said that the word bullfighting began to be used in the XNUMXth century.
Fighting with bulls is developed in Greek mythology, such as the works of Heracles and the Cretan bull, Theseus and the Minotaur, Zeus when he took the form of a bull to seduce Europa.
In Minoan Crete there are many accounts of bullfights, bullfighting games were very popular.
The most common topics in the Minoan civilizationIt was dolphins and bullfighting, which has been thought to be related to the Minoan religion.
In the palace of Knossos, which was excavated at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, a very well preserved fresco on taurocatapsi.
Taurocatapsi is when gymnasts demonstrate their agility, on foot or on horseback, by exercising on a bull. The Minoan people were very fond of sports, hence their extraordinary athleticism.
According to this fresco you can see a scene from taurocatapsi, where two light-skinned girls and one dark-skinned girl somersaulted on a bull, as acrobats do. The one in front is holding onto the bull's horns to jump over it, the one in the middle is already jumping, and the one behind is ready to jump over the bull.
The relationship between the bull and the sea in Crete is also known.
El bull worship It was so important that embossed gold and bronze vessels have been found, with scenes where the bull is the central character.
Later in time in Thessaly, there were bullfights, performed by various horsemen, who by doing all kinds of acrobatics, tried to exhaust the forces of the bull. They never used elements of torture, but rather the skill in riding and running it.