3-037-174 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Statuette of Mithras, mid-2nd century A.D. Additional Info: The Roman cult of Mithras was a mystery religion, meaning its practices and beliefs were kept secret from non-initiates. Persian in origin, the cult flourished during the Roman Empire, particularly among the military. The central rite of Mithraism appears to have been the tauroctony, a symbolic or ritual slaying of a bull, represented in the iconography of Mithras Tauroctonos. In this representation, situated atop a profiled plinth, the youthful Mithras is shown plunging a dagger into the neck of a bull in a cave-like setting. Only the lower part of Mithras's body is preserved, and his right lower leg is missing. He's dressed in a Persian-style outfit, which includes a cloak and loose-fitting pants. He is shown reaching for the neck of a bull, whose head is now missing, as are parts of its front and hind legs. The bull's blood was considered to have life-giving power. Below the surviving fragment of the dagger, individual drops of blood are faintly incised.