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| Keywords: Roman - Attendant of Mithras with Signs of the Zodiac - Walters 23238.jpg Mithras was a Persian creation god as well as the god of light Mithraism the mystery religion associated with him spread throughout the Roman Empire Initiation into Mithraism was restricted to men and was especially popular with soldiers in Rome and on the northern frontier during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD According to the Persian myth the sun god sent his messenger the raven to Mithras and ordered him to sacrifice the primeval white bull At the moment of its death the bull became the moon and Mithras's cloak became the sky stars and planets From the bull also came the first ears of grain and all the other creatures on earth This scene of sacrifice central to Mithraism is called the Tauroctony and is represented as taking place in a cave observed by Luna the moon god and Sol the invincible Sun god with whom he became associated in Roman times Mithras is generally depicted flanked by his two attendants Cautes and Cautopates and accompanied by a dog raven snake and scorpion This is a fragment of a relief that depicted Mithras standing between his two attendants and surrounded by a circular band that included the twelve signs of the zodiac Partial images of Capricorn Sagittarius and Scorpio are preserved here as well as Mithras's torch-bearing attendant Cautopates Astrology was central to the Mithraic religion century 1 2 Pentelic marble cm 50 4 28 1 13 5 accession number 23 238 33798 Max Falk New York Walters Art Museum Gift of Mr Max Falk 1984 place of origin Rome Italy Walters Art Museum license Ancient Roman sculptures in the Walters Art Museum Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Mithraism Zodiac in ancient Roman art | ||||
