Tauroctony from Monreale

Mithras, dressed in oriental garb but wearing a turban instead of his usual Phrygian cap, slays the bull. His position on the animal follows Roman convention, although reversed horizontally. He holds one of the bull’s horns with one hand, while with the other he plunges his dagger into its neck.

As in the other two medieval depictions of Mithras Tauroctonus found to date, the crow, the scorpion and the dog have been omitted. The image also lacks the snake that appears in the Santo Domingo de Silos relief.

The image of Mithras belongs to the double capital number 22 in the south aisle…