symbolic of the Sun fertilizing the gross Earth by plunging
his rays into it and so drawing forth its blood for the
sustenance of all creatures; while from another more astronomical
aspect it symbolizes the conquest of the Sun over winter
in the moment of "passing over" the sign of the Bull, and the
depletion of the generative power of the Bull by the Scorpion
--which of course is the autumnal sign of the Zodiac and
herald of winter. One such Mithraic group was found at
Ostia, where there was a large subterranean Temple "to the
invincible god Mithras."

In the worship of Attis there were (as I have already indicated)
many points of resemblance to the Christian
cult. On the 22nd March (the Vernal Equinox) a pinetree
was cut in the woods and brought into the Temple of
Cybele. It was treated almost as a divinity, was decked
with violets, and the effigy of a young man tied to the stem
(cf. the Crucifixion). The 24th was called the "Day of
Blood"; the High Priest first drew blood from his own
arms; and then the others gashed and slashed themselves,
and spattered the altar and the sacred tree with blood; while
novices made themselves eunuchs "for the kingdom of
heaven's sake." The effigy was afterwards laid in a tomb.
But when night fell, says Dr. Frazer,[1] sorrow was turned to
joy. A light was brought, and the tomb was found to
be empty. The next day, the 25th, was the festival of
the Resurrection; and ended in carnival and license (the
Hilaria). Further, says Dr. Frazer, these mysteries "seem
to have included a sacramental meal and a baptism of
blood."