Interpreting the Ponza Zodiac

The most noteworthy feature of the Mithraeum on the island of Ponza, which M. J. Fohet investigated, is the zodiac circle, not only elegantly executed but also highly unusual, indeed unique, in its content and composition. But, for Vermaseren, what gives it its greatest significance is that its composition, orientation, and positioning in relation to the other features of the Mithraeum (i.e., the tauroctony, Sol, Luna, Cautes, and Cautopates) appear to exemplify certain tenets of Mithraic doctrine. Its design is thus the work of a veritable ’sacerdos dei Solis invicti Mithrae, studiosus astrologiae, who was at the same time devoted to the heavens and the stars’ (p. 9; see also p. 26), and whom Vermaseren unhesitatingly equates with the pater of the community.