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Dominique PERSOONS

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

dominique.persoons
SARREBOURG, France
Joined April 2023
 
 
October 2023
NewScriptum

Mithras Dualism. What are the Philosophical Consequences?

Summary of Mithraic philosophy on a drawing of an ornate temple. It is possible to draw the organisation of a Mithraeum, and also his philosophical consequences. For example, the two columns were probably very different: the south column was 'human'. the winter column. Reincarnated souls appeared there, And further, pure and philosophical souls left through the gate of Capricorn. The northern column was summer time. Pure souls entered the world of the gods, and imperfect souls were rejected by the Moon and passed through the door of Cancer to be reincarnated (metempsychosis), after a six-month journey that became darker and darker.

 
October 2023
Comentum

One hypothesis is that the mythology of the Roman secret society of Mithras was transformed into an esoteric society, still secret, using the Bible as a screen. Let's take an example: a secret password for today's Masonic lodges is 'Shiboleth'. Shiboleth' means 'ears of wheat', i.e. abundance. Is not the tail of the bull of Mithras an ear of wheat? There are probably dozens of passwords like that. So Hebrew became a secret language for the followers of Mithras, who continued the cult after the fall of Rome, in sanctuaries located near springs or spas, at the same time as the cult of Hercules. Many of these places can be found in France, dating from the 7th to the 10th century. Crypts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries can also be found under Romanesque churches (the church at 'Saint Savin sur Gartempe' has a crypt dating from 800 AD, and a church built above it in 1030 AD). This crypt has a clear mithraeum shape. The modern Masonic rites were probably written in the 15th or 16th...

 
this capital from the cloister of the abbey of Monreal in sicily dates from the 12th century and is very disturbing. It’s exactly Mithras (upside down). This means that, contrary to the idea we have of the past, the cult of Mithras was known and understood in the 12th century. Probably less violently than we do today. All this had to be known and respected.
 
It makes perfect sense. My hesitation would lie in the time gap that separates Mithraism and Freemasonry. I admit that certain knowledge has been passed down through the centuries in oral form from all sorts of mystical traditions that spread from the Middle Ages to modern times, including the Cathars, the Bogomiles, even the Knights Templar if you like, but I think there is a missing piece and that is perhaps the greatest Mithraic scholar of all time, Monsieur Franz Cumont. Even if he wasn't a Freemason, he was a pretty good friend of some notorious ones at the time he was rediscovering the Mysteries. Among them was Eugène Goblet d'Alviella, Grand Maître du Grand Orient de Belgique from 1884 to 1886 and Souverain Grand Commandeur du Suprême Conseil in 1900.
In Notitia
 

From Mithraism to Freemasonry. A history of ideas

Twelve centuries separate the decline of Roman Mithraism from the dawn of Freemasonry. Twelve centuries during which the mysteries of Mithras have remained more secret than ever.

 
October 2023
Comentum

Hello Gabriel, the article you present on the relationship between the religion of the unconquered sun and 18th-century English Masonry notes the similarity of the (supposed) rituals. It is possible to draw attention to a few visual aspects: - the followers face each other - initiation was secret - there are several levels of progression in the ritual - temples are small and often private - the temples are oriented according to the sun, and the place of the Pater (with his solar crown) is theoretically in the east (rising sun). - In 1976, Richard Gordon showed that each Mithraic grade corresponded to a star, in particular the sun and the moon, and had a specific place in the lodge. Similarly, Masonry has retained references to the moon and the sun, and a specific place for each officer. - Mithraism works according to the path of the souls in the rotating wheel of the Zodiac. Particularly the cycle of resurrection, Masons also venerate the 'Eternal East'. The Orthodox make...

 
Salve Dominique and thank you for all the additional parallels you mentioned. Since I wrote this little article, I have indeed found new examples here and there. Quite a fascinating subject, isn't it? I hadn't heard much about the links between Mithraism and Monachism, though. I have read about survivals of Mithraism in the Middle Ages. Certainly Richard Veymiers has written about it. I think there is even a filmed conference on the web where he explores the subject in depth, but I would love to know more about Monachism and Mithraism if you have more of it.
In Notitia
 

From Mithraism to Freemasonry. A history of ideas

Twelve centuries separate the decline of Roman Mithraism from the dawn of Freemasonry. Twelve centuries during which the mysteries of Mithras have remained more secret than ever.

 
June 2023
NewComentum

some pictures from 1895:

In Monumentum
 

Tauroctony of Sarrebourg

The Tauroctony of Saarbourg (Sarrebourg, ancient Pons Sarravi), France, contains most of Mithras deeds known in a single relief.

 
June 2023
Scriptum

hello friends , i am a Leo into my mitraeum of Pons Saravis ( Sarrebourg). I saw the fresco of Barberini mithreaum in Roma. I found it very Platonic

 
the blue line passes exactly through Cancer, and the yellow line is for the resurrection among the stars and passes through Capricorn.
 
June 2023
NewScriptum

sacred geometry of barberini mithraeum. The Platonic Chiasma fits 100% with luna, Sol, Cancer and capricorn...

 
June 2023
NewComentum

AVE , Hello, I'd like to offer you a Platonic interpretation of the Trier Relief. The Sun and Moon show a Platonic dualism, which is added to the zodiac. The axis of the sun is in line with the axis of Mithras' arm and gaze, and also with the dog below. The axis of the Moon passes through the middle of Mithras' head. This axis passes slightly outside the gate of Cancer, the gate of descent catabasis (the gate of generation). This blue line is that of earthly reincarnation. The axis of the sun crosses the lunar axis on the torso of Mithras. He can therefore distribute souls either along the line of the moon, towards a return to the earth, or upwards, towards solar resurrection. greetings

 
Thank you for sharing your observation and perspective.
In Monumentum
 

Mithras rock-birth of Trier

The relief depicts the birth of Mithras, holding a globe, surrounded by the zodiac.

 
May 2023
NewScriptum

old and unique picture of Sarrebourg altar destroyed by Christian...

 
May 2023
NewComentum

Dear Csaba , I am fascinated by your slab of Mithras with Cautes wearing a child in front of the bull. I would like to have a higher definition picture because this picture opens many questions !! Could you send me one ? Regards pers00ns@aol.com Dominicus ( small Dominus = house chief)

In Notitia
 

Mapping Roman sanctuaries

The Digital Atlas of Roman Sanctuaries in the Danubian Provinces (DAS) is the first comprehensive and open access representation of sacralised spaces in the area.

 
May 2023
NewComentum

Danuvius stele a C. Szabo mihi extraordinarius videtur. Accurate pictum videre vellem. Ubi est Sol, numquid puer ex ore tauri egreditur? Videmusne religionem inter Mithrae et Christianitatem? Multae post scriptum quaestiones : nomen meum est dominicus, princeps minimus, hoc est caput familiae.

In Liber
 

Roman Religion in the Danubian Provinces. Space Sacralisation and Religious Communication during the Principate (1st–3rd century AD)

The Danubian provinces represent one of the largest macro-units within the Roman Empire, with a large and rich heritage of Roman material evidence. Although the…

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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

 
some pictures from 1895:
In Monumentum
 

Tauroctony of Sarrebourg

The Tauroctony of Saarbourg (Sarrebourg, ancient Pons Sarravi), France, contains most of Mithras deeds known in a single relief.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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). ??

In Monumentum
 

Cautes des Bolards

This monument representing Cautes with uncrossed legs was consecrated by a certain Anttiocus.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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.

In Monumentum
 

Two-sided relief from Konjic

The mithraic relief of Konjic shows a Tauroctony in one side and a ritual meal in the other.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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

In Monumentum
 

Cautes des Bolards

This monument representing Cautes with uncrossed legs was consecrated by a certain Anttiocus.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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 ?

In Monumentum
 

Cautes des Bolards

This monument representing Cautes with uncrossed legs was consecrated by a certain Anttiocus.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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.

 
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). ??
 
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:  
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?
In Monumentum
 

Cautes des Bolards

This monument representing Cautes with uncrossed legs was consecrated by a certain Anttiocus.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

that's where I live.... Sarrebourg

 
Thank you for sharing @dominique.persoons It would be great if we can get it in a better definition.
 
here is the altar of Sarrebourg , picture tooken in 1890.
In Monumentum
 

Tauroctony of Sarrebourg

The Tauroctony of Saarbourg (Sarrebourg, ancient Pons Sarravi), France, contains most of Mithras deeds known in a single relief.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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

In Liber
 

Roman Religion in the Danubian Provinces. Space Sacralisation and Religious Communication during the Principate (1st–3rd century AD)

The Danubian provinces represent one of the largest macro-units within the Roman Empire, with a large and rich heritage of Roman material evidence. Although the…

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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 .

In Monumentum
 

Mitreo de Cabra

The Mithraeum of Cabra is located in the Villa del Mitra, which owes its name to the discovery in 1951 of a Mithras tauroctonus in the remains of the Roman villa.

 
April 2023
NewComentum

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

In Monumentum
 

Phallus relief from the Mithraeum of Tiddis

The phallus from Tiddis, Algeria, has been represented as a cock.

 
November 2018
NewLiber

Fils du soleil et de la lune. La lune et le soleil dans l'imaginaire humain au fil des siècles

Certains mythes de l'Antiquité sont probablement basés sur des récits de « mort imminente » exactement les mêmes que les nôtres. Ainsi, s'expliqueraient le Paradis, l'Enfer, l'âme, le Dieu unique, nos divers «états d'âme»... Les prophètes ser…