Monumentum
Tauroctony from the Mithräum von Heddernheim
This relief is so well-known that it has been reproduced in nearly every handbook of archaeology and of history of religions.
Tauroctonia del Mitreo de Heddernheim
dierk schaefer
Front view
Tertullian.org
Rear view
Tertullian.org
Pivoting view
Demasy Roger
The New Mithraeum
7 May 2010
Updated on 20 Sep 2023
The full article is reserved for our members.
Log in or create a free account to access the entire site.
The relief is sculpted on two sides and it is revolving because it has a pivot at the top and a socket at the bottom.
A
The front has the usual scene of Mithras as the bullkiller in a grotto. The bull's tail ends in three corn-ears. The raven sits on the god's flying cloak; the dog with a collar leaps up against the bull and the scorpion grasps its genitals. Underneath the bull is an amphora or krater with two handles with a serpent coiling against it. To its right is a lion with menacing head. Cautes (r) with uplifted torch and…