Table Of ContentMystery Cults in Visual Representation in Graeco-Roman Antiquity
Religions in the
Graeco-Roman World
Series Editors
David Frankfurter (Boston University)
Johannes Hahn (Universität Münster)
Frits G. Naerebout (University of Leiden)
Miguel John Versluys (University of Leiden)
volume 194
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/rgrw
Mystery Cults in Visual
Representation in
Graeco-Roman Antiquity
Edited by
Nicole Belayche
Francesco Massa
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Taurobolic altar (Mousonios), National Archaeological Museum of Athens, n. 1747.
Right side. The rights to the depicted monument belong to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports
(Law 3028/2002). Responsibility for the monument rests with the National Archaeological Museum.
Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports/ Archaeological Resources Fund.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Belayche, Nicole, editor. | Massa, Francesco, editor.
Title: Mystery cults in visual representation in Graeco-Roman antiquity /
edited by Nicole Belayche, Francesco Massa.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2021] | Series: Religions in the
Graeco-Roman world, 0927-7633 ; volume 194 | Includes bibliographical
references and index. | English and French.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020031996 (print) | LCCN 2020031997 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004439320 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004440142 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Cults—Rome. | Mysteries, Religious—Rome. | Mysteries,
Religious, in art. | Rome—Religion.
Classification: LCC BL805 .M97 2021 (print) | LCC BL805 (ebook) | DDC
292.9—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031996
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031997
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN 0927-7633
ISBN 978-90-04-43932-0 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-44014-2 (e-book)
Copyright 2021 by Nicole Belayche and Francesco Massa. Published by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden,
The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi,
Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
Koninklijke Brill NV reserves the right to protect this publication against unauthorized use. Requests
for re-use and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV via brill.com or copyright.com.
Brill has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this
work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from
copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle
other permission matters.
This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
Contents
List of Figures vii
Notes on Contributors xi
1 Mystery Cults and Visual Language in Graeco-Roman Antiquity:
An Introduction 1
Nicole Belayche and Francesco Massa
part 1
Do Images Depict Mystery Cults, and If So, How?
Introduction to Part 1 41
2 Comment figurer l’ineffable, comment lire les images ? 43
Cornelia Isler-Kerényi
3 Le phallus qui cache le mystère ? Les images dionysiaques dans les
décors romains : à propos d’une fresque de la Domus Transitoria 62
Stéphanie Wyler
4 Échos de la Télétè dionysiaque dans la mosaïque romaine tardive 80
Janine Balty
part 2
Historiography and Images of Mystery Cults
Introduction to Part 2 101
5 ‘The Seven Grades of Mithraism’, or How to Build a Religion 103
Philippa Adrych
6 Les mystères isiaques et leurs expressions figurées. Des exégèses
modernes aux allusions antiques 123
Richard Veymiers
vi Contents
part 3
Depicting Objects to Signify Mystery Cults
Introduction to Part 3 171
7 The Liknon and the Bundle: Does the Ritual ‘Initiatory’
Object Make the Mystery? 173
Anne-Françoise Jaccottet
8 The Cista, a Hallmark of Mater Magna’s Mysteries in the
Roman World? 194
Françoise Van Haeperen
Selected Bibliography 219
Index of Ancient Authors 229
Index of Inscriptions (in corpora) 232
General Index 234
Figures
1.1 Taurobolic altar (Archeleos), National Archaeological Museum of Athens,
n. 1746. Front side. The rights to the depicted monument belong to the
Ministry Culture and Sports (Law 3028/2002). 32
1.2 Taurobolic altar (Mousonios), National Archaeological Museum of Athens,
n. 1747. Front side (Photo Museum). The rights to the depicted monument
belong to the Ministry Culture and Sports (Law 3028/2002). 33
1.3 Taurobolic altar (Mousonios), National Archaeological Museum of Athens,
n. 1747. Right side (Photo Museum). The rights to the depicted monument
belong to the Ministry Culture and Sports (Law 3028/2002). 34
2.1 Cratère à volutes attique, Ferrara, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di
Spina 2897. D’après Salvatore Aurigemma, La necropoli di Spina in Valle
Trebba I (Rome : Bretschneider, 1960), pl. 121. 48
2.2 Amphore attique, Orvieto, Museo Civico 240. D’après Heide Mommsen,
Der Affecter (Mainz a. Rh. : Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1975), pl. 103 no 95. 51
2.3 Coupe attique, Würzburg, Universität, Martin von Wagner Museum 427.
D’après Irma Wehgartner, Luxusgeschirr keltischer Fürsten : griechische
Keramik nördlich der Alpen (Würzburg : Mainfränkisches Museum, 1995),
30 fig. 2. 54
2.4 Cratère en cloche apulien. Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale Stg. 1.
D’après RVAp pl. 25.3. 58
2.5 Cratère en cloche apulien. Tarente, Museo Archeologico Nazionale 61059.
D’après RVAp pl. 46.1. 59
2.6 Cratère en cloche apulien. Bari, Museo Archeologico 6325. D’après
RVAp pl. 52.1. 60
3.1 Plan de la Domus transitoria. Par T. Ciacchi au moment des fouilles de
G. Boni. 65
3.2a Naples, MANN, inv. 8909 (détail). Sur concession de la Soprintendenza
per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli. Photo S. Wyler. 68
3.2b Aquarelle de Francesco Bartoli (1721), Eton College Library, Topham
Collection, Bn.8:18. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of
Eton College. 68
3.3a Naples, MANN, inv. 8909 (détail). Sur concession de la Soprintendenza per i
Beni Archeologici di Napoli. Photo S. Wyler. 69
3.3b Aquarelle de Francesco Bartoli (1721), Eton College Library, Topham
Collection, TP.5 Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows
of Eton College. 69
viii Figures
3.4 Aquarelle de Francesco Bartoli (1721), Eton College Library, Topham
Collection, Bn 8:10. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of
Eton College. 70
3.5 Aquarelle de Francesco Bartoli (1721), Eton College Library, Topham
Collection, Bn 8:16. Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of
Eton College. 72
3.6 Répartition des images dionysiaques en fonction des contextes. 77
4.1 Sepphoris, mosaïque dionysiaque (d’après Talgam et Weiss, House of
Dionysos, 47 fig. 32). Courtesy of the authors. 81
4.2 Zeugma, mosaïque de Télétè (d’après Ergeç, Belkis/Zeugma, 134).
With permission. 83
4.3 Zeugma, mosaïque d’Éros et Télétè (d’après Ergeç, Belkis/Zeugma,
couverture). With permission. 84
4.4 Sheikh Zuweid, mosaïque dionysiaque (dessin, d’après Clédat,
« Fouilles à Cheikh Zouède », fig. 5). 88
4.5 Sarrîn, thiase (dessin Yves Baudouin). 90
4.6 Sarrîn, thiase, détail : nourrice et tropheus (photo Marc Balty). 91
4.7 Fondation Abegg, tenture dionysiaque. Inv. Nr. 3100 a, détail : tropheus,
myste, nourrice (d’après Willers et Niekamp, Dionysosbehang, pl. 2).
With permission. 92
4.8 Fondation Abegg, fragment de tenture. Inv. Nr. 5438 (d’après Willers
et Niekamp, Dionysosbehang, pl. 31). With permission. 96
4.9 Fondation Abegg, fragment de tenture. Inv. Nr. 9240 (d’après Willers
et Niekamp, Dionysosbehang, fig. 63). With permission. 96
4.10 Sarrîn, thiase, détail : « ostension » du vase (photo Marc Balty). 97
5.1 Mosaic from the Felicissimus mithraeum, CIMRM 299. Photo Ph.
Adrych. 104
5.2 Detail of the heliodromus panel from the Felicissimus mithraeum,
CIMRM 299. Photo Ph. Adrych. 116
5.3 Burning altars and cypress trees, with traces of a missing altar, Dura-Europos
mithraeum, CIMRM 45. Yale University Art Gallery. 118
5.4 Detail of the miles panel from the Felicissimus mithraeum, CIMRM 299.
Permission https://www.ostia-antica.org/dict/topics/mithraea/
mithraea.htm. 119
6.1 Dessin d’un bas-relief gravé par Mathieu Ôgier, 1685. D’après Spon,
Miscellanea eruditae antiquitatis, 306, Toreumata VII. 124
6.2 Stèle votive en marbre, Thessalonique (Sanctuaire isiaque), 2e moitié
du IIe s. av. J.-C. Thessalonique, Archaiologiko Mouseio, 997.
© Archaiologiko Mouseio Thessalonikis. 133
Figures ix
6.3 Stèle funéraire en marbre, Pruse, milieu du IIe s. Bursa Arkeoloji Müzesi,
3208 et 4532. D’après RICIS 308/0401 (pl. LXXXII). 138
6.4 Fresque, Pompéi (Iseum), après 62 apr. J.-C. Naples, Museo Archeologico
Nazionale 8929. © Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. 141
6.5 Sarcophage en marbre, Hiérapytna, 3e quart du IIIe s. apr. J.-C. Istanbul,
Arkeoloji Müzesi, 665. © İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzesi. 149
6.6 Mosaïque, Antioche (Maison des Mystères d’Isis), début ou milieu du
IIIe s. apr. J.-C. Princeton University Art Museum, y1965-217.
© Princeton University Art Museum. 151
6.7 Autel votif en marbre, Fontana Liri, 1ère moitié ou milieu du Ier s. apr.
J.-C. Museo dell’Abbazia di Casamari, 107494. © Museo dell’Abbazia di
Casamari. 158
6.8a–b Statue en marbre, Taormina, II/IIIe s. apr. J.-C. Palerme, Museo
Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas, 704 (N.I. 1515). © Archivio
Fotografico del Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas di
Palermo. 161
6.9a–c Autel funéraire en marbre, Rome, milieu ou fin du Ier s. apr. J.-C. Rome,
Museo Nazionale Romano, 125406. © Museo Nazionale Romano. 163
6.10 Stèle funéraire en marbre, Athènes, fin du règne d’Hadrien.
Athènes, Ephoreia Archaiotitôn Athinôn, 1160. D’après Walters,
Attic Grave reliefs, pl. 23b. 165
7.1 Crater London British Museum F 68 (1865,0103.14), ARV2 1446, 1.
Photo © Trustees of the British Museum. 175
7.2 Crater Naples, Mus. Arch. Naz. 177
7.3 Hydria Istanbul, Mus. Arch. 152. 179
7.4 Ni(i)nnion Pinax Athens, National Archaeological Museum 11036.
Photo © Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports/Archaeological
Receipts Fund. 180
7.5 Eleusis, Lesser Propylaea, Caryatid, Eleusis Museum (computer
drawing). 181
7.6 Amphora, London British Museum B 174 (1868, 0610.2), ABV 141,1.
Photo © Trustees of the British Museum. 183
7.7 Roma, Palazzo Massimo, Villa under the Farnesina, Stucco Cubiculum D.
Photo © M. Musy. 186
7.8 Pergamon, Cistophoric Tetradrachm, 12,50 gr, Geneva, Musée d’art et
d’histoire CdN 2001-1930. Photo © Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève. 189
7.9 Detail of fig. 7.7. Photo © M. Musy. 190
7.10 Ostia Isola Sacra, stucco from the grave of Publius Aelius Maximus,
120–130 CE drawing (from LIMC I, s.v. “Antiope”, no. 7). 191
