Bronze Venus of Sidon — The New Mithraeum

The New Mithraeum

8 Aug 2021

Updated on Apr 2022

TNMM 306 ↔ CIMRM 86

A bronze Venus (de Ridder, III, 44 No. 43 and PI. VIII) and another one in Parian marble. The latter shows traces of red painting in her hair.

Aphrodite (pudique, nu, cheveux, en bandeau, chignon, bas, diadème, dentelé, tendant, bras, debout, sur, base, rectangulaire, concave, moulure)

Décor : sur diadème ; palmette (flanqué de, rosace, 2, rinceau)

Etat de l'oeuvre : incomplet : il manque deux pointes du diadème et quelques incrustations d'argent sur le diadème ; épiderme corrodé (base).

Restauration : chignon refait.

References

Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef (1956) Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae
Musée du Louvre (2021) Venus de Sidon.

Related monuments

Mithraeum of Sidon

The Mithraeum of Sidon may have escaped destruction because the Mithras worshippers walled up the entrance to the underground sanctuary.

Tauroctony relief of Sidon

The tauroctony relief of Sidon depicts the signs of the zodiac and the four seasons, among other familiar features.

Taurcotony sculpture from Sidon

The Mithras killing the bull sculpture from Sidon, currently Lebanon.

Lion-headed Aion from Sidon

The controversial Italian journalist Edmon Durighello discovered this marble statue of a young naked Aion in 1887.

Mithras carrying the bull

Sculpture depicting Mithras carrying a young bull on his shoulders.

Cautes of Sidon

The Sidon sculpture includes a dog jumping between Cautes's legs.

Cautopates of Sidon

Cautopates sculpture of Sidon features a snake near his left leg.

Cautes with an axe

The Cautes of Sidon who wields an axe also wears a piece of cloth on his left arm.

Second Cautes of Sidon holding an axe

In this case, a quiver has been attached to the tree-stump behind the torchbearer.

Hekataion of Sidon

The Hekataion of Sidon, which depicts Hekate in her trimorphic form surrounded by three dancing girls, is the only example found to date in connection with the Mithraic cult.