Monumentum
Inscription on a leonteum of Umbria
This plaque from Carsulae, in Umbria, refers to the creation of a leonteum erected by the lions at their own expense.
The New Mithraeum
2 Feb 2022
Updated on 24 Sep 2023
The full article is reserved for our members.
Log in or create a free account to access the entire site.
This monument was found broken into several joined fragments, inserted into the foundations of a wall in the ancient city of Carsulae. It mentions that ten lions financed the construction of a leonteum, which is assumed to be a cult space reserved for initiates of their rank, rather than a denomination of the mithreum itself. This is the only attestation of a building that would be specific to a group of initiates in the cults of Mithra (cf. however the mention of a leonteum in Hermoupolis, Egypt, a place of unconfirmed Mithraic character).