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| Keywords: Roman - Fragment of a Mosaic with Mithras - Walters 437.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 central medallion from a floor mosaic depicts the birth of Mithras Emerging from a rock he is flanked by his two attendants Cautes and Cautopates Above him flies the raven associated with the creation myth and with the first level of initiation into his cult century 1 Roman stone glass tesserae cm 60 6 diam ; framed cm 78 3 78 2 6 7 accession number 43 7 18964 P Philip et divers amateurs Sale Paris Hôtel Drouot 1905 no 583 Henry Walters city Baltimore Walters Art Museum Henry Walters Acquired by Henry Walters 1921 place of origin Delta in Egypt Walters Art Museum license 2D Ancient Roman art in the Walters Art Museum Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Petra genetrix Caves in Egypt Persians in Egypt | ||||
