Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART: Mithras Killing the Bull
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Collection:
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ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
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Preferred Title:
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Mithras Killing the Bull
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Alternate Title:
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Tauroctony
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Image View:
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Detail, head of the bull held by Mithras
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Creator:
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unknown (Roman (ancient))
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Location:
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repository: Musei Vaticani (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy)
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Location Note:
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Pio Clementino Museum, Hall of Animals
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GPS:
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+41.906389+12.454444
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Date:
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ca. 1st to 4th centuries CE. (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Roman (ancient)
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Style Period:
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Imperial (Roman)
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Work Type 1:
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sculpture (visual work)
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Classification:
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sculpture
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Material:
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marble
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Technique:
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carving (processes)
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Description:
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The Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries CE. The mysteries were popular in the Roman military. About 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult, including over 700 examples of the bull-killing scene (tauroctony). It has been estimated that there would have been at least 680 mithraea (underground cave-like temple spaces) in Rome alone. The practice of depicting the god slaying a bull seems to be specific to Roman Mithraism, not to any of the Persian or Zoroastrian sources. (Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
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Collection:
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Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
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Identifier:
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7A3-R-VM-MKN-A03
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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