A terracotta figurine of Mithra. I-III centuries AD, from the Hoghmik sanctuary complex
"...For the solution of our problem, it is important to refer to the Hellenistic temple complex of Hoghmik, located to the north of Gyumri. Here, we shall focus on two buildings among the complex’s numerous rooms and auxiliary structures.
The first is Room No. 1 (Fig. 7), which measures approximately 13 m in length and 9 m in width. Along the southern wall runs an elongated stone mastaba, approximately 0.5 m in both height and width, constructed on a pavement about 2 m wide. A second mastaba was built along another wall, although it is interrupted in two places. In the center of the room, between the two mastabas, stood a poorly preserved altar. In the northwestern corner, archaeologists uncovered a stone box containing burnt animal remains, probably those of a goat. In front of the box, along the edge of the wall, a rectangular opening was identified, which was probably intended for an idol.
The room itself is divided into three sections by four pairs of columns. The four central columns are positioned at some distance from one another, leaving sufficient space for a garret—a feature characteristic of the main room of the traditional Armenian house. Two sanctuaries and an iwan were also erected adjacent to the building.
Our initial suggestion was that the three east-oriented sections of the room were dedicated to the supreme gods of the Armenian pantheon. These structures were built in the 2nd century BC and remained in use for approximately four centuries, until the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of
Armenia.
Approximately twenty meters north of these structures, another room was uncovered containing evidence of numerous animal sacrifices, as well as mastabas, altars, and idols. Between these buildings, in one of the rooms, archaeologists discovered a clay figurine identified as Mihr-Mithra (Fig. 7c)."
Source:
Hayk Hakobyan - ON THE ORIGIN OF ROMAN MITHREUMS
https://fundamentalarmenology.am/datas/pdfs/624.pdf
![A terracotta figurine of Mithra. I-III centuries AD, from the Hoghmik sanctuary complex
"...For the solution of our problem, it is important to refer to the Hellenistic temple complex of Hoghmik, located to the north of Gyumri. Here, we shall focus on two buildings among the complex’s numerous rooms and auxiliary structures.
The first is Room No. 1 (Fig. 7), which measures approximately 13 m in length and 9 m in width. Along the southern wall runs an elongated stone mastaba, approximately 0.5 m in both height and width, constructed on a pavement about 2 m wide. A second mastaba was built along another wall, although it is interrupted in two places. In the center of the room, between the two mastabas, stood a poorly preserved altar. In the northwestern corner, archaeologists uncovered a stone box containing burnt animal remains, probably those of a goat. In front of the box, along the edge of the wall, a rectangular opening was identified, which was probably intended for an idol.
The room itself is divided into three sections by four pairs of columns. The four central columns are positioned at some distance from one another, leaving sufficient space for a garret—a feature characteristic of the main room of the traditional Armenian house. Two sanctuaries and an iwan were also erected adjacent to the building.
Our initial suggestion was that the three east-oriented sections of the room were dedicated to the supreme gods of the Armenian pantheon. These structures were built in the 2nd century BC and remained in use for approximately four centuries, until the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Armenia.
Approximately twenty meters north of these structures, another room was uncovered containing evidence of numerous animal sacrifices, as well as mastabas, altars, and idols. Between these buildings, in one of the rooms, archaeologists discovered a clay figurine identified as Mihr-Mithra (Fig. 7c)."
Source:
Hayk Hakobyan - ON THE ORIGIN OF ROMAN MITHREUMS [ref:6aa3afffde57d]](https://www.mithraeum.eu/album/post/ca17d863e2a3b0b1.png)
![Roman(?) Altar from Dvin (Armenia) with Mithraistic symbols, II c. AD(?)
Sun from the south, Raven from the north, Bull from the west, Cancer from the east.
Source:
Hayk Hakobyan - ON THE ORIGIN OF ROMAN MITHREUMS [ref:6aa3afffde57d]](https://www.mithraeum.eu/album/post/bcda5a575e27f334.png)
![Supposed fragments of Tauroctony from Artashat(Artaxata)
"During excavations at Artashat in 1971, at the same site not far from a previously mentioned statue, another fragment of a marble statuette was found, representing the torso of a youth with a small animal skin and a child’s leg with a dangling heel, indicating the dynamism of the depicted figure (Plate XVIII2). Another marble fragment was discovered near the remains of a sanctuary dedicated to the sun god. It is assumed that this fragment depicts the hoof of a bull. Does this not suggest that the sanctuary once contained a statue of Mithra slaughtering a sacrificial bull?" (p. 23) https://arar.sci.am/publication/410263я
S. Obukhov cites this part from the text and comments on this find: "...Thus, G.A. Koshelenko sees in the tauroctony a reinterpretation of the late Babylonian rite of Kalu. In his opinion, the New Year’s rite, when a white bull was sacrificed - the personification of the generative forces of nature—was even more important (citing F. Thureau-Dangin and G. Widengren). It is known that the rite of taurobolium was celebrated in the mithraeum at Uruk-Varka, as evidenced by the discovery of a clay stamp depicting a tauroctony scene. Sculptural remains of a tauroctony scene were also discovered in layers dating from the first centuries AD in the ancient Armenian city of Artashat. This rite, apparently in a reinterpreted form, is described in the Armenian folk epic about David of Sassoun."
Sources:
1: Аракелян, Б. Н. - Очерки по истории искусства Древней Армении ([ref:6a9f1ba5e8702])
1: Խաչատրյան, Ժ. Դ. - Արտաշատ II ([ref:6a9d9eb8b7f4c])
2: Обухов, С. В. - Пантеон и царский культ в Коммагене. Эпоха Митридата I Каллиника и Антиоха I Теоса: историко-археологическое исследование](https://www.mithraeum.eu/album/post/bb5a228be876916a.jpg)
arar.sci.amОчерки по истории искусства Древней АрменииA survey of the art of ancient Armenia from the sixth century BCE to the third century CE, bringing together archaeological evidence for sculpture, architecture…
![Temple of Khaldi in Ardini-Musasir
Bas-relief from room XIII of the royal palace of Khorsabad: the sack of the temple of the god Haldi at Musasir by the Assyrian troops, scene from the eighth campaign of Sargon II, 714 BC.
What is Interesting in the framework of Mithraic studies is that the city of Ardini-Musasir is described as “the city of Raven".
Apart from that, when Assyrians looted the temple, apart from the statue of Khaldi, they also took the bull of Astartes: "[...............] with horns šêlalâte, aštartu of its doors, which were cast of pure gold weighing 2 talents..."
Sources:
1. [ref:6a9e8af85b44f]
2. [ref:6a9e8af8baad2]
3. [ref:6a9e8af6b7bea]](https://www.mithraeum.eu/album/post/4f716d1180350824.jpg)
archive.orgHaldi and Mithra/Mher : Armen Petrosyan : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchiveHaldi and Mithra/Mher, by Armen Petrosyan, from Aramazd: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1(2006), pp. 222-238, in 19 searchable pdf pages. Internet...
![The Bull’s Head from Garni
Now for something more interesting: a relatively new and rarely mentioned artifact - the marble bull’s head from Garni, about which very little information is available. I will refer to the official channel of the Historical Monuments Preservation Service:
[One of the exceptional artifacts held in the collections of the State National Cultural Organization “Service for the Protection of the Historical Environment and Historical-Cultural Museums and Reserves” is a marble bull’s head discovered several years ago in the Garni Gorge.
After Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in Armenia in 301, although the fortresses and defensive complexes remained intact, pagan places of worship were razed to the ground. Only in a few places were some temples adapted to the new religion and rebuilt as Christian sanctuaries.
The Garni Temple is an exception, as it has been preserved in its original form and was used as a secular building. According to the account of Movses Khorenatsi, the “father of Armenian historiography” (presumably born around 410—died in 490), the Garni Temple was converted into the summer residence of Khosrovadukht, the sister of King Trdat III.
Followers of the new religion smashed to pieces and threw into the gorge the marble statue of Mithra, the sun god and bull-fighter, which had been installed in the apse.
Centuries later, during excavations near the temple, a bull’s hoof carved from white marble was discovered, which, according to experts, was part of this sculptural group. Two other fragments—a marble bull’s head and a fragment of the sculptural group’s pedestal—were discovered by chance in 2011 on a steep slope of the gorge.]
Source: [ref:6a9da5cce342f]](https://www.mithraeum.eu/album/post/b52d0a7b17185ac6.jpg)
facebook.com«Գառնի» պատմամշակութային արգելոց-թանգարան / Garni Templehttps://www.facebook.com/149391158512910/posts/3017610305024300/
Remarkable work, indeed! I have two modest reflexions to suggest:
The Greeks of the 4th century BC celebrated the liberation of slaves by wearing a Phrygian cap. This came from the peoples of the Black Sea who did not practice slavery. So, the Phrygian cap predates the cult of Mithras.
Does the god Arimanius have a connection with Armenia, which came under Roman control in 74-63 BC? This is the region of the cult of Mithras, as shown by the bas-relief of Antiochus of Nemrut Dagi. However, Jesus Christ spoke "Aramaic," one of the languages spoken in this region. If we accept that the Gospels are texts of Mystery, would this allude to the cult of Arimanius from which Jesus would have originated?
I did a modest research on the migration of the soul in the cult of Mithras:
The catacomb of St. Marcellinus and Peter in Rome: Orpheus, Mithras or Jesus
Best regards
Dr D.Persoons