CIMRM 434 - Mithraeum. Circus Maximus,* Rome.


Pietrangeli's map and section of the Mithraeum.

3-D view of site including Mithraeum.

From: here.

Cult chamber. By Csaba Szabo. From: here.

View towards cult chamber from above. By Csaba Szabo. From: here.

By Csaba Szabo. From: here.

In 1931 during refurbishment works at the Museum of Rome (Opera), a Mithraeum was discovered. It is today known as the "Circus Maximus" Mithraeum. Access is only possible on a guided tour.

CIMRM entry

* The name "Circus Maximus" appears nowhere in Vermaseren, but several websites show photographs of what is plainly this Mithraeum under the name of the "Circus Maximus Mithraeum".2

Links


1C. Pietrangeli, "Il Mitreo del Palazzo dei Musei di Roma", BCR 68, 1940, p.143-175. (Bullettino della Commissione archeologica Communale di Roma (et. BCM). From 1939: Bullettino della Commissione archeologica del Governatorato di Roma.) CUL shelfmark. NF4 P520.b.31. Vermaseren's figs.120 and 121 appear to be reproduced from this.
2E.g. "The Mithraeum at Circus Maximus: The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult", Atlas Obscura. Accessed 28th Feb. 2014. This adds: "The mithraeum under Circus Maximus is accessible by appointment only. The site dates to the 2nd century AD, and features five parallel but separate chambers with a central sanctuary paved in white marble, with two niches for statues of Caute and Cautopates, and a place of honor which would have held a statue of Mithras." Or: "Hidden Beneath Circus Maximus, an Underground -- and Secret -- Mithraic Temple, 21 February 2011, Revealed Rome, retrieved 28 Feb. 2014.

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