Roger Beck describes Mithraism from the point of view of the initiate engaging with the religion and its rich symbolic system in thought, word, ritual action, and cult life.
The Mithriac votive sculpture comes from a clandestine excavation in the Tarquinia area. The criminal chain is active in archaeological areas of Rome and southern Etruria.
The altar of the Mithraeum of San Clemente bears the Tauroctony on the front, Cautes and Cautopates on the right and left sides and a serpent on the back.