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Monumentum

Mitreo di Santa Maria Capua Vetere

The Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere preserves frescoes depicting several scenes of the initiation rites.
 
 
The New Mithraeum
19 Jul 2009
Updated on 23 Jan 2022
 
  • Interior of the Capua Mithraeum

    Interior of the Capua Mithraeum
    The New Mithraeum / Andreu Abuín (CC BY-SA) 

  • Current entrance.

    Current entrance.
    The New Mithraeum / Andreu Abuín (CC BY-SA) 

  • Fresco representando la tauroctonia del Mitreo de Capua

    Fresco representando la tauroctonia del Mitreo de Capua 

  • Eros leading Psyche from the Mitreo di Capua Vetere.

    Eros leading Psyche from the Mitreo di Capua Vetere.
    Mihr* 

  • Eros leading Psyche from the Mitreo di Capua Vetere.

    Eros leading Psyche from the Mitreo di Capua Vetere.
    The New Mithraeum / Andreu Abuín (CC BY-SA) 

  • Estrellas de la bóveda del Mitreo de Santa Maria Capua Vetere

    Estrellas de la bóveda del Mitreo de Santa Maria Capua Vetere
    Mihr* 

  • Fragmento de un fresco del Mitreo de Santa Maria di Capua Vetere

    Fragmento de un fresco del Mitreo de Santa Maria di Capua Vetere
    Marco 

  • Fresco scene from the initiation ceremony at S. Capua Vetere

    Fresco scene from the initiation ceremony at S. Capua Vetere
    Stanley A. Jashemski / The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections CC BY-NC 4.0 

  • Cautes fresco on Santa Maria Capua Vetere

    Cautes fresco on Santa Maria Capua Vetere
    The New Mithraeum / Jorge Gallo (CC BY-NC-SA) 

  • CIMRM 182

    CIMRM 182 

  • Scene of the initiation into the Mithras cult.

    Scene of the initiation into the Mithras cult.
    CIMRM 

  • Fresco scene of initiation at S. Capua Vetere

    Fresco scene of initiation at S. Capua Vetere
    CIMRM 

 

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The Mithraeum at Capua is in many respects one of the most important sanctuaries of the Iranian god who in the first centuries of our era conquered the Roman world. It is decorated with fascinating and original paintings by a number of artists, many of them being unique in their kind. The most interesting, however, are the ones on a number of the front panels of the side benches, which revealed a large part of the initiation rites for the first time.
 
 

Related monuments

Tauroctony of Santa Maria Capua Vetere

The main fresco of the Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere portrays Mithras slaughtering a white bull.

Eros and Psyche

The Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere includes a marble relief depicting a child Eros guiding Psyche through the dark.

Stars of the Mitreo de Santa Maria Capua Vetere

The vault of the Mithraeum of S. Capua Vetere is ornamented with stars with holes in their centres, which used to contain colourful glass decorations.

Fresco de Luna en el Mitreo de Santa Maria Capua Vetere

Luna riding a biga in the Mithraeum of Santa Capua Vetere.

 

Fresco scene from Mitreo of Santa Maria Capua Vetere

Fresco showing a scene of initiation into the mysteries of Mithras in the Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.

Cautes fresco from Mitreo di Santa Maria Capua Vetere

In the Mithraeum of S. Capua Veteres, Cautes stands between two laurel trees.

A man is initiated into the Mysteries of Mithras

This is the first of several fresco scenes depicting the initiation of a new member in a mithraic community, in Capua Vetere.

Kneeling man from Santa Maria Capua Vetere

This scene from the frescoes of the Mitreo di Santa Maria Capua Vetere shows a kneeling, naked man surrounded by two other figures.