| DESCRIPTION |
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|---|---|---|
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| Language: | Latin | |
| Medium: | stone | |
| Length: | 6 lines of writing | |
| Approximate Date: | c. 215 CE | |
| Place of Discovery: | Carrawburgh (ancient Brocolitia) England |
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| Date of Discovery: | 1956 |
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| Excavation number: | 1956.10.31 | |
| Inscription number: | CSIR I.6.121 | |
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(from Vermaseren 1960) |
by K. C. Hanson (Adapted from Virtual Temple of Mithras ) |
| DEO INV(ICTO) M(ITHRAE) L(UCIUS) ANTONIUS PROCULUS PRAEF(ECTUS) COH(ORTIS) I BAT(AVORUM) ANTONINIANAE V(OTUM) S(OLUIT) L(IBENS) M(ERITO) letters in parentheses fill out abbreviations |
To the invincible deity Mithras, Lucius Antonius Proculus, Prefect of the First Cohort of Batavians Antoniniana, willingly and appropriately fulfilled his vow. |
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Photo by Luther Martin |
| 1. What was the importance of Mithraism in the Roman empire?
2. Why did ancient individuals dedicate altars to their gods? 3. Why is it significant that the dedicator of the altar was in the Roman army? 4. What characteristics did ancient Mithraism share with early forms of Christianity? How was it different? Consider rituals, theology, forms of worship, and group formation. 5. Why is it significant that a Mithraeum was located in Caesarea Maritima? |
Photo from David Ulansey's Website |
| SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| Bull, Robert J. "The Mithraeum at Caesarea Maritima." In
Etudes Mithriaques: Actes du 2e Congrès International, Téhéran,
du 1er au 8 Septembre 1975, 75-89. Acta Iranica 17. Leiden: Brill, 1978.
Merkelbach, Reinhold. "Mithra, Mithraism." In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 4:877-78. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Nock, Arthur Darby. "The Genius of Mithraism." Journal of Roman Studies 27 (1937) 108-12. Richmond, I. A. "The Cult of Mithras and Its Temples at Carrawburgh." In Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain, edited by R. L. S. Bruce-Mitford, 136-42. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1956. Richmond, I. A., and J. P. Gillam. "The Temple of Mithras at Carrawburgh." In Archaeologia Aeliana (4th series) 29 (1951) 1-92. Ulansey, David. "The Mithraic Mysteries." Scientific American 261.6 (1989) 130-35. Ulansey, David. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Ulansey, David. "Solving the Mithraic Mysteries." Biblical Archaeological Review 20.5 (Sept/Oct 1994) 40-53 + 79. Vermaseren, M. J. Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae. 2 vols. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1956, 1960. (Abbrev. CIMR) Vermaseren, M. J. Mithras, The Secret God. Translated by Therese Megaw and Vincent Megaw. London: Chatto & Windus, 1963. Virtual Temple of Mithras. Museum of Antiquities, University of Newcastle, England. |
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