Monumentum
Mithraic vessel of Mainz
The Mithraic vase from Ballplatz in Mainz shows seven figures performing different sequences of an initiation ritual.
The Mithraic vessel of Metz
The New Mithraeum / Jona Lendering (CC BY-SA)
Mithraic vessel of Metz. Archer side.
The New Mithraeum / Jona Lendering (CC BY-SA)
Mithraic vessel of Metz - Procession of the Sun-runner side.
The New Mithraeum / Jona Lendering (CC BY-SA)
The New Mithraeum
31 Dec 2020
Updated on 14 Feb 2022
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One of the most outstanding discoveries related to the religious experience within a mithraeum was discovered in Ballplatz, Mainz. First published in 1994 by Günter Horn, the importance of the find was highlighted only a year later by R. Merkelbach, doyen of the Mithraic studies at that time. The vessel and the context was published in details by I. Huld-Zetsche in 2008 in a monograph.
The importance of the find lies in the reliefs of the vessel, representing seven figures, symbols of the initiation grades.
The importance of the find lies in the reliefs of the vessel, representing seven figures, symbols of the initiation grades.