Syndexios
Absalmos
Αβσάλμος
Of Semitic origin, Absalmos has dedicated a tauroctonic relief to Mithras in ancient Syria.
Tauractony with several mythical scenes at the Israel Museum.
Carole Raddato (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Biography
of Absalmos
TNMP 138
The name Absalmos, derived from the Aramaic ‘b(d)šlm’ ‘servant of Shalman’, is only found in Dura, Palmyra, Hatra, Edessa, and the mid-Euphrates in general, and is a further confirmation, alongside the Duran iconographic parallels, of the relief’s Syrian provenance. We may assume that Absalmos was the current Father of the community. De Jong suggests a date between late II and late III cent. AD: it is not possible to be more specific.
References
- Richard Gordon (2013) A new Mithraic relief in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Relief inscribed in Greek depicting the god Mithra slaying a bull
Attestations
Tauroctony from Absalmos
TNMM 128
The relief depict several unusual scenes from Mithras’s myth.
ἐκ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ ̕Αβσάλμου.
Because of the things [received] from the God, in the time of Absalmos.
