Daily Gazette

I think we were talking about two types of globes: you were mentioning the small spheres carried by certain figures, including Mithras himself, while I was thinking of these large globes that might represent the universe, often surrounded by two perpendicular circles. In any case, large or small, they are all labelled with the word globus. Let me know if you find any monuments that are not marked, so I can add them.

What fascinates me is the bull's mouth next to the flame of Cautes. Many bulls with their heads raised are in front of Cautès, just with the flame in front of their mouth. It is the soul that comes out and goes up to heaven with Cautès.

I did not express myself well. I think that this golbe or ball is the soul but also of Plato's Anima Mundi. It is not the horoscope but the universal soul, which is also found in every follower of Mithras

Dear Jorge, on two slabs from the Baths of Diocletian, the one from Santo Stefano Rotondo and the one from Tor Cervara , I fond the sun carried a spherical thing in his left hand, like a ball. Those two were exactly in the axis of the sun. it is possible that Cautes and Cautopates were soul carriers, so the soul could either ascend or descend. So the ascended soul joined the sun. It is no coincidence that the sphere is here near Cautes with sun (or Pater) crown: a crowned soul ?

hello @dominique.persoons This sphere with a single circle is quite unusual in Mithraic iconography, at least as far as I know. I've seen it surrounded by two circles, which some authors associate with the precession of the equinoxes and the intersection of the celestial equator with the zodiac. In this case, the resurrection of the soul could be an explanation, could you develop it?

hello, what does symbolize this huge spher with a crown over? I believe resurrection of the soul . In the relief dated around 250 AD from the Tor Cervara in Rome, (bomb site excavated in 1964) Sun god carries a globe or ball in his left hand. Idem Santo Stefano Rotondo slab. A sacred ball or spher. ?? D.P.

 

Dominique PERSOONS

Dear Jorge, on two slabs from the Baths of Diocletian, the one from Santo Stefano Rotondo and the one from Tor Cervara , I fond the sun carried a spherical thing in his left hand, like a ball. Those two were exactly in the axis of the sun. it is possible that Cautes and Cautopates were soul carriers, so the soul could either ascend or descend. So the ascended soul joined the sun. It is no coincidence that the sphere is here near Cautes with sun (or Pater) crown: a crowned soul ?

 

Dominique PERSOONS

I see the Platonic Chiasmus on this fresco from Pompei. I think Mithras and Sol Apollo have nothing to see with earth, which is the work of Atlas. They carry the Platonic Universe. The Soul of the World (big) or the individual soul (small). ??

that's where I live.... Sarrebourg

 

Dominique PERSOONS

here is the altar of Sarrebourg , picture tooken in 1890.

PhD candidate in Archaeology

Hello, I love this slab. Here, Cautes is carrying a torch with a figure on it, climbing towards the sky. This is extraordinary. The bas-relief found in the Basilica of Santo Rotondo on the Caelian Hill in Rome shows the Sun holding a small ball or round stone in his left hand which evokes a soul. This would be the image of the resurrection, the path of the soul that ascends to the Sun (Cautès). This image is found on the bas-relief of Tor Cervara in Rome, also kept in the Museum of the Baths of Diocletian. Here too, the Sun carries a round ball in his left hand. Here on your relief, it is a child. This resembles the iconography of the Middle Ages where the soul was represented as a child coming out of the mouth. In the background, the Berlin bull (Neues Museum in Berlin, 2nd century AD.) has its mouth open and is letting out a tongue which could be a soul, as mythology suggests (Gasquet, 1899). So, can we consider this child as the soul carried by Cautès, and coming out of the bull's

I live in Sarrebourg, where the famous mithraeum was found by the Germans in 1890. In the 3d century, the city was bigger than... today, with 5 massive towers .

No, I think it's not fun, but really superstition. The Romans all wore amulets, often with a phallus and a hand, even children wore them.
In the mithraeum there could be talismans

the Romans were very superstitious. they feared the 'evil eye', the jealousy of other people. We find this in Muslim countries with the hand of Fatima, the middle finger protects from the evil eye. The middle finger is the phallic finger (expression 'fuck of... this expression comes directly from the Romans). The Phallus protected from the evil eye. Also the snake, the scorpion, the raven but also the fork, the snail, the cat etc.. as we can see on the mosaic of Antioch 'KAI SU'. Of course, this a particular meaning to the dog and the snake under the bull of Mithras...

Student at the University of Edinburgh

medical doctor. Hypnotherapist. medieval art interpretation. Mithras mystery
I live in Sarrebourg (France) where a marvelous mithraeum was discovered in 1890

Je suis professeure de lettres classiques.

Professor, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Student of ancient Greece, Rome and their contemporaries. Specializing in polychromatic art and digital restoration.

Can't wait for more details

Thank you Wolf. In the end I emailed the museum and they confirmed that no advance booking was needed. Really looking forward to seeing the exhibition.

I think there is no need of booking in advance. Just come to Frankfurt an feel happy
Wolfgang Janecke