Bullfighting has a very glorified public image - it is presented as a contest between the brave matador, who risks his life to tackle a mad and ferocious beast. The matador is always dressed in a traditional costume of brilliant colors: many as the mysterious ritual between man and beast, which is an integral part of Spanish culture and custom, see the bullfight. For this reason, many tourists who visit Spain feel that seeing a bullfight is a necessary part of their holiday, just as tourists visiting Britain go to see the Tower of London. Bullfighting traces its roots to prehistoric bull worship and sacrifice in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean region. The first recorded bull fight may be the Epic of Gilgamesh, which describes a scene in which Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought and killed the Bull of Heaven ("The Bull seemed indestructible, for hours they fought, till Gilgamesh dancing in front of the Bull, lured it with his tunic and bright weapons, and Enkidu thrust his sword, deep into the Bull's neck, and killed it").[6] Bull leaping was portrayed in Crete, and myths related to bulls throughout Greece. The killing of the sacred bull (tauroctony) is the essential central iconic act of Mithras, which was commemorated in themithraeum wherever Roman soldiers were stationed. The oldest representation of what seems to be a man facing a bull is on theCeltiberian tombstone from Clunia and the cave painting El toro de machos', both found in Spain.[7][8] Bullfighting is often linked to Rome, where many human-versus-animal events were held as competition and entertainment, the Venations. These hunting games were spread in Africa, Europe and Asia during the Roman times. There are also theories that it was introduced into Hispania by the Emperor Claudius, as a substitute for gladiators, when he instituted a short-lived ban on gladiatorial combat. The latter theory was supported by Robert Graves (picadors are related to