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In the second half of the 4th century, a Mithraic temple was established within an earlier spring sanctuary at Septeuil, where the cult of the nymphs and Mithraic practices appear to have coexisted.
Near the village of Septeuil, in the Yvelines department (Île-de-France), lie the very faint remains of a Mithraic sanctuary discovered in the 19th century. The site sits directly along the modern national road linking Mantes-la-Jolie to Houdan — an unexpected location for a mithraeum, usually associated with caves, secluded areas or buildings set apart from traffic.
Today almost nothing is preserved: a slight depression in the ground, a few displaced stones, and a modern marker indicating the approximate position of the shrine. This near-complete disappearance gives the place a strangely elusive character, as if the sanctuary had slowly been absorbed by the contemporary landscape.
The photographs show what can still be seen on site. Despite the minimal remains, the location retains a quiet atmosphere, suspended between the flow of present-day traffic and the memory of a mystery cult once practiced here.
Glad to be helpful. I can share two additional photographs of the site, showing the overall layout and its unusual position along the modern road. They don’t add archaeological detail, but they may help convey the atmosphere and the spatial context of the sanctuary as it appears today.
Ernest Renan suggested that without the rise of Christianity, we might all have embraced the cult of Mithras. Nevertheless, it has had a lasting influence on secret societies, religious movements and popular culture.
I am researching the Latin inscription dedicated by Callimorphus to Mithras (EDCS-27800570 / CIL III 12135). Could you please let me know if you have any information about the current location or custody of this inscription?
I am currenty conducting a research about the widespread of Mithraism in Asia Minor and its possible influence on the society.
Do you know if there are other evidence on Callimorphus or Chresimus? Maybe other inscriptions?
Scholar specializing in the history of ancient North Africa, with a particular interest in the Oriental cults (Anatolian, Egyptian, Syrian, and Iranian) that spread throughout this region.
Wasson has aroused considerable attention by advancing and documenting the thesis that Soma was a hallucinogenic mushroom – none other than the Amanita muscaria, the fly-agaric that until recent times was the center of shamanic rites among the Siberian and Uralic tribesmen.
Actuarius and notarius, Celsianus dedicated an altar to Sol Mithras for the health of two illustrious men.
khaldi
Fabius Fabianus Vetilius Lucilianus. This character is known to be one person not two persons separated as you stated in your translation.
My translation :
To God alone / Invincible / Mithrae / for the health and / safety / of Caius Fabius Fabianus / Vetilius Lucilianus / legate of Augustus for the most p(aetore) c(larissimi) v(iri / Celsianus, attorney and notary, I make a vow with great love.
Hi Levin: It’s quite a common point of view in religious contexts to worrying about to what extent can libido distract some men and women from a supposed true purpose. It’s also probable that social factors played a part. In ancient societies (and not so ancient), sexual and gender roles were clearly defined. Just as there were no female soldiers or women had no political rights, to vote or to run for office, in ancient Rome, they also didn’t take part in many other areas of life. Roles were clearly marked and as you mention, women had some private cults where men weren’t allowed either. The cult of Mithras, in that regard, was simply a male one. I remember that not so long ago, and probably still today, there were lots of institutions and conferrees in Europe that were exclusively male, and until quite recently nobody really thought of that as discriminatory, but of course, times have changed (maybe not in essence but definitely in form!)
Today almost nothing is preserved: a slight depression in the ground, a few displaced stones, and a modern marker indicating the approximate position of the shrine. This near-complete disappearance gives the place a strangely elusive character, as if the sanctuary had slowly been absorbed by the contemporary landscape.
The photographs show what can still be seen on site. Despite the minimal remains, the location retains a quiet atmosphere, suspended between the flow of present-day traffic and the memory of a mystery cult once practiced here.