Monumentum
Tauroctony of Osterburken
Franz Cumont considers the bas relief of Osterburken 'the most remarkable of all the monuments of the cult of Mithras found up to now'.
Tauroctony of Osterburken
Petrus Agricola
The New Mithraeum
18 Jul 2009
Updated on 2 May 2023
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Large bas-relief in a reddish sandstone. It was found in 1861 and is kept in the Great Ducal Museum of Antiquities at Garlsruhe.
At the centre is Mithras tauroctonous (as bull killer) in a curved niche (grotto), with the dog (disfigured) which is licking the blood from the wound. The scorpion is suspended from the testicles of the bull, and the raven is perched on the right, on the rocks near the edge of the niche. Under the belly of the victim there is a crater, where a snake has come to drink. Facing it a lion is crouching.
At the centre is Mithras tauroctonous (as bull killer) in a curved niche (grotto), with the dog (disfigured) which is licking the blood from the wound. The scorpion is suspended from the testicles of the bull, and the raven is perched on the right, on the rocks near the edge of the niche. Under the belly of the victim there is a crater, where a snake has come to drink. Facing it a lion is crouching.