CIMRM Supplement - Restored tauroctony from two fragments. Banjevic, now in Zadar, Croatia.

Two fragments of a double-sided and heavily restored Mithraic relief from Banhevac (near Stankovici), end of the 2nd-beginning of the 3rd c. AD. One half of the relief is a modern restoration.

The front depicts the tauroctony within the ring of the zodiac. At the top right Luna in a two-horse vehicle is shown, and beneath this is the altar on which stands cautopates. (The restored section shows Cautes and Sol).

The reverse probably displays the ritual meal. Mithras and Sol are depicted, plus two other participants as servants. The Moon and the Sun appear again in the upper corners.

From Richard L. Gordon, p.110:

An equally small number of reliefs goes still further and sets the bull-killing scene within a zodiacal ring (Fig. 3), thus stressing not merely the immutable temporal succession of seasons but also the ideal cosmic setting and implications of Mithras’ action in killing the bull.[76] 76. ... Zotović 1978 = Gundel 1992, p. 222, Cat. no. 44 (Banjevci/Banjevac, Croatia/Dalmatia; two fragments, Fig. 3 here)

From Zotović:

A MITHRAIC RELIEF FROM BANJEVAC Two fragments of a Mithraic relief in white limestone were found recently by J. Medini at Banjevac, between Zadar and Sibenik. Both were damaged when the stone was reused (see p.191 below), but it is clear that the relief was worked both front and back, the major scenes being picked out in deeper relief, which consequently suffered greater damage. Dimensions: fragment A: 0.705 m x 0.405 m x 0.21 m; fragment B: 0.555 m x 0.425 m x 0.26 m. Published by J. Medini, Diaspora 8, 1975: 39-83, plates I-XIII. Obverse: (1) Fragment A, the upper right corner of the relief, the field enclosed by a raised border (see Pl. II). In the top right corner, separated from the rest of the field by a small raised border below and by part of a zodiacal circle to the left, is Luna, facing right. She has no visible attributes; the biga is represented only by the head and neck of two horses with bridles. Below these figures, an area of wavy lines. The central bull-killing scene is surrounded by a circular zodiac, with each sign separated from the next by a line. In spite of extensive damage, the rough outline of Mithras' head and torso can be made out (the head apparently facing forward) , and the bull’s head with Mithras' left hand at the nostrils. Of the zodiacal signs, only Virgo is well preserved: she is dressed in a long garment covered by a chiton, with a veil? to the left of her head. To the left of Virgo, the forequarters of Leo can just be made out; and to the right, part of Libra, represented by a young man holding a pair of scales in his right hand (now lost). Scorpio is entirely lost in the severe damage to the stone below Luna. (2) Fragment B, the lower right corner of the relief, the field once again enclosed within a small raised border. Of the bull-killing scene, the forequarters of the bull are quite well preserved, though the nearside foreleg is faint, and only the foreleg of the dog is visible, together with traces of the snake. Of the zodiacal signs, from top right of the fragment, Sagittarius is completely lost, but the lower half of Capricorn and the torso of Aquarius survive. To the right of the zodiacal ring, between the outer frame and a smaller line above, occurs an incised area (perhaps water or rocks; or as Medini thinks, leaves or fruit). The lower right corner itself is badly broken. Above the internal border is the podium of one of the torchbearers, together with his crossed feet. Reverse: Fragment A. The entire surface has been roughly levelled with a chisel. The central scene, clearly a feast scene reminiscent of the Ladenburg relief found by Dr. Heukemes, is enclosed within a semicircular vault (pl. III). Within this frame, there survives the rough outline of a figure in a phrygian cap facing front and the remains of part of another to his right. To the left is a large circular object with a central hole, which Medini believes to be a patera, but which could be a cosmic circle. Below this to the left, part of a tree in leaf. Fragment B. The outer frame survives, larger at the bottom than at the side. From left to right, one can make out the following figures: human figure with the head missing, facing right. The right arm is raised ... (the copy of this article I found online was corrupt at this point) a rhyton. Behind this arm, the remains of a human foot on a larger scale, apparently draped (presumably Mithras' foot). Mithras seems to have been sitting on the bull's skin, the tail of which hangs down below the bull's skin From left to right, an indeterminate animal sitting on its haunches facing right, with one foot raised, interpreted by Medini as a panther); a lion crouching right with its head looking backwards and nearside paw raised; part of a tripod table. Medini’s reconstruction as presented in Plates II-III relies upon argument from analogy and in particular upon L.A. Campbell, 'Typology of Mithraic tauroctonies, Berytus 11, 1954. He estimates the size of the original relief to have been 1.18 m x 1.02 m x 0.26 m. In the top of fragment A, 0.59 m from the corner, is a hole 0.055 to 0.06 m in diameter and 0.06 m deep. Presumably there was a corresponding hole at the bottom, to enable the relief to be turned round during the ritual (as with Heddernheim I and the Fiano Romano relief). Following Campbell's typology, Medini argues that this relief is a conflate of Types V and VII, and argues from this to his placement of Cautopates on the right of the obverse face. But of course this, and all the other details he supplies on both faces, are quite speculative. He dates the relief to the late second or early third century AD. The fragments were found during repair work on a local road using stone from a nearby slope as infill. Apart from these two relief fragments, some architectural fragments were found - two wall tiles, part of the base and shaft of a column, the base of a capital with incised cross and part of an acanthus capital. Medini speculates that there had been a mithraeum here later adapted as a Christian church, using part of the Mithraic furniture which was first broken up. Ljubica Zotovic, Arheoloski Institut, Beograd

Bibliography

• L. Zotović, "A Mithraic Relief from Banjevac," In: Journal of Mithraic Studies 2.2 (1978), pp. 189–191.
• H.-G. Gundel, Zodiakos: Tierkreisbilder im Altertum. Kosmische Bezüge und Jenseitsvorstellungen im antiken Alltagsleben, Mainz (1992).
• Richard Gordon, "Cosmic Order, Nature, and Personal Well-Being in the Roman Cult of Mithras", in: Holy Wealth: Accounting for This World and The Next in Religious Belief and Practice: Festschrift for John R. Hinnells, edited by Almut Hintze and Alan Williams (Iranica 24). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2017, p.93-130. Online at .