Speaker: Dr. Jane DeRose Evans (Temple University)
Title: Mithras at Caesarea Maritima
Abstract: A warehouse converted to a Mithraeum (a sanctuary to the Persian god Mithras) was excavated by Robert J. Bull in 1973 at Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. This lecture will present the findings of the publication team, including when the Mithraeum was used and abandoned, the furniture of the cult (including a relief showing Mithras slaying the bull), partial remains of a fresco of initiation, and the proposed calendar found in the initiates’ chamber. From one of the few excavated Mithraea in the East we can get a glimpse of this mystery religion and its importance in the Roman imperial period.