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Warning ! This clause contains SPOILERS for Frank Herbert ’s Dune novels .
Summary
TheDunefranchise is filled with metaphors , allegory , and symbolical imagery , but one of its most important was n’t blot out at all : the Taurus ’s head teacher that House Atreides proudly display . There are several importantgroups and faction in the world ofDune , but none are as prominent as House Atreides . They ’re the key figures of the serial publication , and as such , the time to come of the dealership will focus on House Atreides ; their future will be explored inDune : Part Three , while their history will be explored inDune : Prophecy . That chronicle was already hint at by the franchise ’s most significant symbolic representation : the bull .
Denis Villeneuve’sDunemovie featured the bull motif conspicuously throughout its runtime , hinting at its genuine importance . From the beginning of the celluloid , when Paul looks at a statue of a matador , to when Leto looks up at its head as he takes his net breath , the bullshit was present for every part of House Atreides ' portrayal in the movie . While it may seem like a childlike callback to the Atreides ' history , the crap motif also holds deeply important symbolism , and it emphasize many of the biggest plot points and themes ofDune .
As proven by Dune : Part Two ’s twists and turns , the Atreides and Harkonnen family Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is complicated , but infer the descent is essential .

Leto’s Bull’s Head Is A Reminder Of His Father’s Death
Leto’s Father Was Killed While Fighting A Bull
Early on inDune , Leto and Paul spoke about Leto ’s father , and how he was kill while fighting a bull . Since his father ’s death , Leto had filled the Atreides ' keep places with imagery of Taurus , both on Caladan , and after they go to Arrakis . Those bull symbolic representation dish out as a constant admonisher to Leto of his father and how he died , and they served a practical determination as well . They were meant to help show Leto and Paul that take risks and front fear is necessary , but that there is also a perpetual hypothesis of demise inherent in them .
Atreides Family Tree
Cause of Death

Leto ’s Father ( Old Duke )
Bullfighting
Leto

character assassination
Paul
It ’s also interesting to note that , despite what the bull symbol are meant to convey , neither Leto nor Paul actually heeded their advice . Leto ’s Father of the Church may have been killed by a real bull , but Leto ’s cop , the lawsuit of his death , was Arrakis . He knew very early on that it was a snare , yet he accept the challenge anyway , and found himself trampled by it . Paul , too , found his copper in the manakin of the Fremen . Despite how much major power he gained from them in the first novel , the Fremen would inadvertently be the cause of Paul ’s death inChildren of Dune .

Custom image by Sam MacLennan
The Bull Also Symbolizes The Harkonnens And The Emperor
The Bull’s Horns Are Dipped In Blood, With Each One Representing A Threat To The Atreides'
A noted part of the design of the Taurus ’s promontory is its two horns that have both been blackened by rip . This , too , connect to the bull ’s symbolization , as each horn represents one of the major powerfulness that threaten to gore House Atreides : House Harkonnen and the Emperor . The Harkonnens pose the most open threat , as the Baron hatch the genuine architectural plan to destroy House Atreides , and they were openly antagonistic towards them . The Emperor presented a more elusive , but no less deadly , scourge from a systematic angle , as he manufactured the scenario that allowed the Harkonnens to strike and ward off the political backlash that should have entailed .
The Baron Harkonnen is one of Dune ’s most compelling figure , and there ’s a lot about his personality that only book reader will understand .
The idea that the Harkonnens and the Emperor are represent by the bull ’s horns work on a genuine tier , as House Atreides really did face two deadly threat at the same time , but it also work on a more symbolic level as well . A bull ’s trumpet are hard to duck : avoid one horn could position the matador direct in the path of the other . The only way to really stay safe from the Taurus ’s horn is to ward off the bull entirely , a deterrent example Leto never get wind . The same applies to the Harkonnens and the Emperor : the only way Leto could have pull through was by avoid Arrakis solely .

The Bull Is A Reminder Of The Minotaur Myth
The Landsraad Is A Massive Political Maze With A Deadly Threat At Its Center
bull are also often used symbolically in the real world , and they ’re a major influence in one ancient Hellenic myth : the Minotaur . The Minotaur was a fabulous creature with the head of a bull and the eubstance of a man , and he was gaol in the labyrinth , a massive , near insolvable maze . As punishment for kill a local king ’s Logos , Grecian child were sacrificed to the Minotaur . finally , the Greek hero Theseus entered the inner ear and slew the Minotaur with the help of a golden train of thought that allowed him to exit the maze .
Like Theseus , the Atreides ' had to pilot the Landsraad , Dune ’s political system , which was a bewilderingly complex and grievous game in itself .
The myth of the Minotaur has some surprising parallels toDune , and it ’s possible that the Atreides ' pig ’s straits is a character reference to it . Like Theseus , the Atreides ' had to navigate the Landsraad , Dune ’s political system , which was a bewilderingly complex and serious secret plan in itself . Since there were so many threats in the Landsraad , like the Bene Gesserit and the Harkonnens , one ill-timed tour could guide to certain death , and at its center was the great threat of all : the Emperor , just like the Minotaur . In that sensory faculty , it was Paul who dissemble as Theseus , as he was capable to navigate the maze of the Landsraad .

Dunethe big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey,Dunetells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
The Atreides' Bull Is A Many-Layered Symbol For Death And Danger
Scenes With Imagery Of Bulls Indicate Death Is Drawing Near In Dune
The cop also typify demise more mostly for House Atreides . The scenes where imagination of bulls are included bespeak death is describe nearer . Paul first picture the bull statue whileJessica groom his gift with the Voice , a putz he would later expend to dish out destruction both in the ornithopter and in his command of the Fremen . The bull was then prominently display when the Atreides ' first arrived on Arrakis , and it even afford Jessica an uneasy and dreadful feeling when she unboxed it in the novel . Finally , the horseshit ’s head loom over Leto ’s dead body , watch him take his final breath .
The bull ’s symbolic connection to death all stems from the same place : Leto ’s father . Bullfighters dance around the bull , basically perform acrobatics to escape death , which is exactly what House Atreides had done since its origin . From the Landsraad to the other factions and houses , the Atreides ' were constantly in peril from every side , and they had to always trip the light fantastic to avoid them . It was only a thing of clip until the crap finally win .
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Dunethe big - screen door adjustment of Frank Herbert ’s germinal bestseller of the same name . A mythic and emotionally charged hero ’s journey , Dunetells the story of Paul Atreides , a brilliant and gifted unseasoned human beings turn out into a great fate beyond his discernment , who must move around to the most dangerous satellite in the macrocosm to ensure the future of his family and his people . As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the satellite ’s exclusive supplying of the most valued resource in existence — a commodity equal to of unlocking humanity ’s greatest potential drop — only those who can conquer their fright will outlast .
Dune : Part Two continues the epic saga of Paul Atreides as he allies with Chani and the Fremen . Pursuing retribution for his kinsfolk ’s devastation , Paul grapples with a significant decision impacting his personal desire and the universe ’s future , undertake to avert a dire destiny that only he anticipates .
The cop motif also go beyond House Atreides inDune : Part Two . The blackness - garb soldiers at the edge of the Harkonnen field on Geidi Prime were meant to resemble bulls with their horn oral sex . That could be considered a way the Harkonnens were mocking the Atreides ' but it also symbolise how they distribute dying to their prisoners , and how the Harkonnens were drawing nearer to their demise at Paul ’s hired hand . Throughout every version of the story in theDunefranchise , bull have been an incredibly important , and incredibly ill , symbolization .

Dune is a sci - fi franchise created by Frank Herbert with the 1965 novel of the same name . In 1984 , the first live - action adaptation was released from director David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan . About 20 years later , a TV mini - serial publication was released , keep an eye on by a novel adaptation starring Timothée Chalamet .


Dune: Part Two continues the epic saga of Paul Atreides as he allies with Chani and the Fremen. Pursuing retribution for his family’s devastation, Paul grapples with a significant decision impacting his personal desires and the universe’s future, attempting to avert a dire destiny that only he anticipates.



Dune is a sci-fi franchise created by Frank Herbert with the 1965 novel of the same name. In 1984, the first live-action adaptation was released from director David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan. About 20 years later, a TV mini-series was released, followed by a new adaptation starring Timothée Chalamet.