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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 Mithraic vessel of Metz
    The New Mithraeum / Jona Lendering (CC BY-SA) 

  • Mithraic vessel of Metz. Archer side.

    Mithraic vessel of Metz. Archer side.
    The New Mithraeum / Jona Lendering (CC BY-SA) 

  • Mithraic vessel of Metz - Procession of the Sun-runner side.

    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 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 figures are presented in a very delicate, expressive way, showing certain

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