Mithraeum of Thermes — The New Mithraeum

The New Mithraeum

9 May 2010

Updated on Oct 2024

TNMM 202

The archaeological site is located six kilometres into Greece from the Greek-Bulgarian border, near the Greek town of Thermes. Discovered in 1915 by Bulgarian archaeologist Bogdan Filov, no archaeological research of the site was carried out since and knowledge of it was based only on his writings.

The Iron Curtain made it unthinkable for Bulgarian archaeologists to access the site, while their Greek counterparts showed no interest in it, so it was left forgotten for decades.

After the recent opening of the new border control point between Greece and Bulgaria and the road between the Bulgarian town of Zlatograd and the Greek Thermes, the rock sanctuary became accessible to visitors.

Attention: This article may not have sufficient sources for verification. The information provided is for general reference and has not been formally reviewed. Please consult additional sources for more accurate or detailed information.

References

Diamandis Triandaphyllos (2008) ‘Nouveau relief rupestre de Mithra Tauroctone dans la région de Xanthi’. Pulpudeva. Semaines philippopolitaines de l’histoire et de la culture Thrace., pp. 159 - 171.

Comments

Aleš Chalupa

The most detailed publication on this monument seems to be Diamandis Triandaphyllos. „Nouveau relief rupestre de Mithra Tauroctone dans la région de Xanthi“, in: Pulpudeva. Semaines philippopolitaines de l’histoire et de la culture Thrace, (Supplementum 6), Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press 2008, pp. 159‒171. There is information about the "rediscovery" or rather reclassification of this monument (previously described as "the image of a warrior") in 1973, but no information about Bogdan Filov´s discovery. What is the source of this information?

Aleš Chalupa

Thank you for your reply. My comment was in no way meant to be critical, I found the same information on the web. Personally, I have little doubt that Bogdan Filov (a fascinating figure, a leading Bulgarian archaeologist who became Prime Minister of the Fascist government during the Second World War and was executed by the People´s Court in February 1945 and buried in a mass grave) really did discover this monument, the problem is that I cannot find any published source for this information. Triandaphyllos is silent on the subject, but this is not surprising given that the tauroctony of Thermes is located in the disputed region once controlled by Bulgaria and now belonging to Greece, and he has no detailed knowledge of Bulgarian literature on the subject. Anyway, let´s hope that the information is there and that someone will be able to find it in the future.

The New Mithraeum

Please be critical! As you can see, this article was written a long time ago and only quotes an article from https://www.balkantravellers.com, which was deleted shortly after. Any additional information you can provide, including Triandaphyllos’s article if it is publicly available, would be most welcome.