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Monumentum

Lion of Carnuntum III

Exceptional sculpture of a lion devouring a bull's head founded in 1894 in Carnuntum, Pannonia.
Lion of Carnuntum

Lion of Carnuntum
David Walsh 

 
 
The New Mithraeum
8 Feb 2022
 

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A reclining lion devours a bull's head held between its paws. The open mouth of the beast still bears traces of red paint.



The iconography of the lion with a bull's head is well known, specially because of some gems and a few coins. Those gems were amulets, on which the bull's head represented evil. In fact, according to Egyptian beliefs, the bull's head was a symbol of evil, possibly of Seth, and the lion was an image of the divine power which was supposed to control and conquer evil.

One should not suppose that the lion with a bull's head from the Mithraea were directly related to…

Related monuments

Mithraeum III of Carnuntum

Mithraeum III found in the west part of Petronell near Hintausried in August 1894 by J. Dell and C. Tragau.

Tauroctonia de Carnuntum (III ?)

Of this great relief of Mithras slaying the bull only a few segments remain.

Felsgeburt des Mithras

Mithras Petrogenitus, born from the rock, from the Mithraeum of Carnuntum III.

Inscription by Propinquos of Carnuntum

On this slab, Gaius Iulius Propinquos indicates that he made a wall of the Mithraeum at his own expense.

 

Altar of Carnuntum by the Jovians and Herculians

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