Mithraeum
A Mithraeum (Latin pl. Mithraea), sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion (
The Mithraeum was either an adapted natural cave or cavern, or a building imitating a cave. Where possible, the Mithraeum was constructed within or below an existing building, such as the Mithraeum found beneath the
From the structure of the Mithraea it is possible to surmise that worshippers would have gathered for a common meal seated on the benches lining the walls.
Finally, the ubiquity of the Mithraeums’ distinctive banqueting benches implies the ubiquity of the cult meal as the liturgie ordinaire.[1]
The Mithraeum primarily functioned as an area for
Similarly, the Persians call the place a cave where they introduce an initiate to the Mysteries, revealing to him the path by which souls descend and go back again. For Eubulus tells us that
Notable mithraea
Belgium
Bosnia
Egypt
- Alexandria, Memphis, Oxyrhenchus (papyri evidence) , Hermopolis, and other cities[2]
France
- Angers
- Biesheim
- Mackwiller
- Mariana
- Sarrebourg
- Strasbourg (district of Koenigshoffen)
Germany
- Cologne
- Dieburg/Darmstadt
- Frankfurt-Heddernheim
- Freiburg im Breisgau, mithraeum relics from Riegel displayed in Freiburg museum
- Gimmeldingen, Mithras-Heiligtum Gimmeldingen Sehenswertes (German language)
- Güglingen
- Hanau
- Heidelberg, Kurpfälzisches Museum
- Königsbrunn (near Augsburg)
- Mogontiacum
- Neuss (Legionslager Castra Novaesia)
- Osterburken
- Riegel am Kaiserstuhl[1] (near Freiburg im Breisgau)
- Saalburg
- Saarbrücken
- Schwarzerden
- Wiesloch
Greece
Hungary
- Aquincum Mithraeum (of Victorinus). Remains open within Aquincum Archaeological Park.
- Savaria Mithraeum
- Fertorakos Mithraeum
Israel
- Caesarea Maritima
- Possibly in Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, near the Second Station, where two vases with specific iconography were excavated
Italy
- In the city of Rome:
- Mithraeum of the Circus Maximus. Remains open by appointment.
- BarberiniMithraeum. Remains open by appointment.
- Mithraeum of San Clemente, under the basilica of San Clemente. Remains visible in the archaeological museum.
- Mithraeum of the Baths of Caracalla. Remains open by appointment.
- Castra Peregrinorum mithraeum, under the church of Santo Stefano Rotondo. Remains open by appointment.
- Mithraeum under the Santa Priscabasilica. Remains open by appointment.
- Mithraeum of the Seven Spheres, in Ostia Antica
- In Campania:
- Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere
- Mithraeum of Naples
- In Lazio:
Lebanon
Romania
- A reconstructed Mithraeum in the Brukenthal Museum's Lapidarium, with some of the items unearthed at Apulum (Alba Iulia).
- Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa.
Spain
- Roman Ville of Fuente Álamo's Mithraeum (Puente Genil).
- Archaeological site at Emerita Augusta.
- University Museum A Domus do Mitreo (The Domus of the Mithraeum) next to the Roman walls of Lugo, in Galicia.
Switzerland
- Martigny (ancient Octodurus) - a reconstructed Mithraeum [2]
Syria
- Duro-Europos - Transported to and rebuilt at Yale University's Gallery of Fine Arts.
- Hawarte[6]
United Kingdom
- Caernarfon Mithraeum, Wales.
- Carrawburgh, Hadrian's Wall, England. Remains open.
- London Mithraeum, England. Remains open.
- Rudchester Mithraeum, England.
References
- ^ a b Roger Beck, "Ritual, Myth, Doctrine, and Initiation in the Mysteries of Mithras: New Evidence from a Cult Vessel", The Journal of Roman Studies, 90 (2000), pp. 145-180
- ^ https://www.mithraeum.eu/quaere.php?cou=eg
- ^ "Archaeological Site of Eleusis-Mithraeum". efada.gr. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "E. Kolia, The Cult of Mithras in Aigion, L' Acaia e l' Italia Meridionale. Contatti, scambi e relazioni dall' Antichità ai nostri Giorni, Atti del Convegno, Eghio, 6-9 Luglio 2006, 208-221 | Erofili - Iris Kolia" (PDF). Academia.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "Ministry of Culture and Sports | Relief of Mithras Tauroctonos (Mithras the Bull-slayer) at Thermes". odysseus.culture.gr. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "Hawarte". pcma.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
External links
- List of mithraea from Mithraeum.eu
- Capua's Mithraeum (Santa Maria Capua Vetere)