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!)
This catalogue proposes, thanks to the contributions of some 75 international experts, a new synthesis for a complex and fascinating cult that reflects the remarkable advances in our knowledge in recent decades.
I’m working on this inscription, and I’m not sure if you’ve understood and translated it correctly. If you assume that the person dedicating the altar was Terentius Priscus Eucheta, son of Publius, it means that the word "curante" is not followed or preceded by any word in the ablative case. I think that Manfred Clauss’s idea (Cultores Mithrae, p. 20-21) that the altar was dedicated by Terentius Priscus "under the supervision/guidance of Eucheta" (Eucheta curante) is a better interpretation. The suggested translation then would be: "Terentius Priscus, son of Publius, dedicated (or presented as a gift according to the vow) to the god Invictus Nabarze, under the guidance of Eucheta and together with other worshipers."
Thank you for your reply. My comment was in no way meant to be critical, I found the same information on the web. Personally, I have little doubt that Bogdan Filov (a fascinating figure, a leading Bulgarian archaeologist who became Prime Minister of the Fascist government during the Second World War and was executed by the People´s Court in February 1945 and buried in a mass grave) really did discover this monument, the problem is that I cannot find any published source for this information. Triandaphyllos is silent on the subject, but this is not surprising given that the tauroctony of Thermes is located in the disputed region once controlled by Bulgaria and now belonging to Greece, and he has no detailed knowledge of Bulgarian literature on the subject. Anyway, let´s hope that the information is there and that someone will be able to find it in the future.
The most detailed publication on this monument seems to be Diamandis Triandaphyllos. „Nouveau relief rupestre de Mithra Tauroctone dans la région de Xanthi“, in: Pulpudeva. Semaines philippopolitaines de l’histoire et de la culture Thrace, (Supplementum 6), Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press 2008, pp. 159‒171. There is information about the "rediscovery" or rather reclassification of this monument (previously described as "the image of a warrior") in 1973, but no information about Bogdan Filov´s discovery. What is the source of this information?
