Mithras in Lusitania

Cerro de San Albín

Although the site at Cerro de San Albín is not a Mithraeum, archaeologists have found several monuments related to the cult of Mithras.

CIMRM 772

Lion-headed figure of Mérida

The lion-headed figure, Aion, from Mérida, wears oriental knickers fastened at the waist by a cinch strap.

CIMRM 776

Aion of Mérida

The Aion-Chronos of Mérida was found near the bullring of the current city, once capital of the Roman province Hispania Ulterior.

CIMRM 777

Mercury of Mérida

The statue of Mercury in Merida bears a dedication from the Roman Pater of a community in the city in 155.

CIMRM 780

Isis de Mérida

The Isis of Merida is covered by a long dress that reaches down to her feet.

Venus pudica of Mérida

The Venus pudica of Merida stands next to the young Amor riding a dolplhin.

CIMRM 784

Triptic of Tróia

The remains of the mithraic triptic of Tróia, Lusitania, were part of a bigger composition.

CIMRM 798

Naked figure from Mérida

This sculpture may be a naked dadophorus, probably Cautopates.

CIMRM 775

Tauroctony from the Gran Mitreo de Mérida

These fragments of a monumental tauroctony found in the Cerro de San Albín must have decorated the Gran Mitreo de Mérida, which has not yet been found.

Feast from Mérida

This scene of a feast from Mérida shows three persons at a table with other people standing beside them, one holding a bull’s head on a plate.

CIMRM 782

Mitreo de la calle Espronceda

The Mithraeum at Espronceda Street, in Merida, was discovered in 2000. It is a semi-subterranean temple.

Venus of Mérida small sculpture

The lack of attributes and its decontextualisation prevent us from attributing a specific Mithraic attribution to this small Venus pudica from Mérida.

CIMRM 785

Caetobriga

Caetobriga, now Setúbal of Proto-Celtic *Caetobrix, became a Turdetani settlement which passed under Roman rule. In the time of Al-Andalus the city was known as Shaṭūbar.

Emerita Augusta

Emerita Augusta was founded in 25 BC by order of the Emperor Augustus to protect a pass and a bridge over the Guadiana River. The city became the capital of the province of Lusitania and one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire.