Between the 1st and 4th centuries, Mithraism developed throughout the Roman world. Much material exists, but textual evidence is scarce. The only ancient work that fills this gap is Porphyry’s intense and complex essay.
Neoplatonic allegorical interpretation expounds how literary texts present philosophical ideas in an enigmatic and coded form, offering an alternative path to the divine truths. The Neoplatonist Porphyry’s On the Cave of the Nymphs is one of the most si…
