The Mithraic material documented in Crete and Cyrene reflects the movement of religious practices across maritime routes linking the Aegean, North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. The evidence remains uneven but points to the role of ports, cities and regional mobility in the diffusion of the cult.
Mithraic monuments of Creta et Cyrene
Mithraeum of Cyrene
The Mithraeum of Cyrene is preserved among the remarkable ruins of the ancient capital of the Roman province of Cyrene.
Marble head from Cyrene
Marble head with locks of hair and Phrygian cap, probably depicting Mithras as bull-killer, found under the threshold of the Iseum at Cyrene.
CIMRM 106
Statue fragment from Cyrene
Damaged statue of Mithras as bull-killer on a rectangular base, found in the piazza of the Fountain of Apollo at Cyrene.
CIMRM 107
Provinces of Creta et Cyrene
Cyrene
Cyrene linked North Africa to the Greek East through long-standing urban traditions and eastern Mediterranean maritime exchange.
Places in Creta et Cyrene
References
- Attilio Mastrocinque (2017) The Mysteries of Mithras. A Different Account
