Taurcotony of Secundinus

TNMM 796 ↔ CIMRM 1947 & 1948

According to the latest tests of petrography, the statue is made from an unidentified, but surely imported type of marble. In its present fragmentary state, the dimensions are h. 1.08 x w. 1.08 x d. 0.30m, which suggests that the intact statue was rather less than life–sized (say 1.30-1.50m). The legs of Mithras are bare, without the bracca persica or anaxyrides, which are the typical indication of an oriental person in Greek art, and almost universal in the representations of Mithras. As usual, the god’s left leg is represented forcing the bull into submission. The folding of the chiton is poorly executed compared to the other parts of the statue. Some attention has been paid to the animals: the bull has been given a pathetic expression, and the dog has a collar. As usual with free-standing Mithraic statues, Cautes and Cautopates were apparently not represented.

[...] Without other archaeological sources, we can’t determine an exact chronology, but the iconographical style, the provincial context and the most relevant analogy (CIMRM 1768) may suggest a mid – Antonine dating for the statue.

The inscription reads:

------] I(nvicto) M(ithrae) · SIGNVM
------ Sec]VNDINVS · EX · VOTO · POS(uit).

The most remarkable feature of the tauroctony of Secundinus from Apulum is its unique use of the term signum in the Mithraic context. This term, typically used for a statue or physical representation of a deity in Greco-Roman religious practices, is rarely found in Mithraic dedications and only appears a few times in Dacia. This specific terminology implies that the statue served as a cult image or focal point for rituals in the mithraeum, rather than just as a decorative or votive piece.

Additionally, this statue represents Mithras without his usual Persian attire, such as the bracca persica or anaxyrides, and shows other unique iconographic details, such as a dog with a collar and a carefully rendered bull’s dewlap. These features set the statue apart within the iconography of Mithraism, as it provides a provincial interpretation of the tauroctony that may reflect local stylistic and symbolic variations.