Keiner der zahlreichen heidnischen Kulte und keine antike Religion hat das Christentum in einer Weise herausgefordert und geprägt, wie der römische Mysterienkult des Sonnen- und Erlösergottes Mithras.
Beautiful and unexpected piece, Pattie. Thanks for sharing. Do you have any more information about it besides the brief description on the British Museum page? CIMRM maybe?
Dear Joachim: To my knowledge, perhaps not the dative lionis, but the word leo is often found in the Mithraic context, as you may know. If this is of interest to you, I think the best way to find it in this database is to look for people who have been identified as leo because of an inscription. Here is the link: https://www.mithraeum.eu/persons.php?gra=4. Hope it helps!
Why did the Romans worship a Persian god? This book presents a new reading of the Mithraic iconography taking into account that the cult had a prophecy.
In this 4th-century Roman altar, a certain Rufius Caecinius Sabinus defines himself as Pater of the sacred rites of the unconquered Mithras, having undergone the taurobolium.