Table of Contents

Foreword

List of Illustrations

List of Abbreviations



Introduction

 Religious Change in Late Antiquity: Changing Scholarly Views

 The Cult of Mithras: A Brief Introduction

 The Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity: Changing Scholarly Views

 The Structure of This Volume

 Selecting the Evidence

 A Note on Terminology



1 The Development of the Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity

 The Location of Mithraea

 Mithraic Architecture

 Mithraic Iconography

 Patronage and Membership

 Mithraic Hierarchies

 Ritual Practice



 Variations of the Name ‘Mithras’

 Conclusion



2 The Decline of the Cult I: The Evidence

 Introduction

 The Decline in Construction/Restoration of Mithraea

 Mithraea and Wider Patterns of Construction and Repair in Late Antiquity

 Charting the Declining Use of Individual Mithraea

 Conclusion



3 The Decline of the Cult Part 2: Explaining the Decline

 Introduction

 Declining Populations

 Changing Social Networks

 Changes in Mithraic Rituals

 Coercion by the Imperial Government

 Conclusion



4 The Fate of Mithraea

 Introduction

 Geographical and Chronological Variation in the Fate of Mithraea

 Factors Contributing to the Fate of Mithraea

 Conclusion



Conclusion

Appendix A: Gazetteer of Mithraea Active in the 4th c. and Those That Exhibit Evidence of Christian Iconoclasm

 A Britain

 B. Germany

 C. Noricum

 D. Pannonia

 E. Dalmatia

 F. Italy (Excluding Rome and Ostia)

 G. Gaul

 H. Spain

 I. North Africa

 J. The Eastern Mediterranean

Appendix B: Mithraea Constructed and Repaired ca. AD 201–400

Bibliography

Index

Late Antique Archaeology

About the Author

David Walsh, Ph.D. (2016), University of Kent, is a lecturer in Classical and Archaeological Studies at that university. He has published articles on the cult of Mithras and on the fate of temples in the Roman provinces of Noricum and Pannonia.

Reviews

'Scholars and excavators will have a much richer set of causal mechanisms that they can explore and test thanks to Walsh’s work. His book charts new directions in the study of Mithras-worship, and subsequent work on the cult will benefit mightily from engaging with Walsh’s novel framework and ideas.'
Matthew M. McCarty, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2019.08.23. Date accessed: 13 August 2019. Click here.




''Walsh has performed a considerable service in charting the archaeological information, such as it is, relating to the decline after 275 ce of what we may call the institutionalised Roman cult of mithras, in trying to align the discussion of mithraic “decline” and “fate” with developments relating to such topics in related fields, in emphasising alternative narratives, and in pointing out the role of pre-conception and parti-pris in the traditional scenarios''. Richard Gordon in Arys, 17 (2019).



NL:"Het verdwijnen van de Mithras-cultus en de sluiting van elk Mithras-heiligdom kunnen niet langer zonder meer worden toegeschreven aan de opkomst van het christendom. In plaats daarvan zullen geleerden en archeologen een veel rijkere reeks causale mechanismen hebben die ze dankzij Walsh’s werk kunnen verkennen en testen. Zijn boek brengt nieuwe richtingen in de studie van de aanbidding van Mithras, en het daaropvolgende werk aan de cultus zal veel baat hebben bij de interactie met Walsh’s nieuwe raamwerk en ideeën".

EN: "The end of the Mithras cult and the disappearance of every Mithras shrine can no longer simply be ascribed to the emergence of Christianity. Instead, scholars and archaeologists now have much richer causal mechanisms to explore and test, thanks to Walsh’s work. His book brings new directions to the study of Mithras worship, and future work will significantly benefit from interaction with Walsh’s new framework and ideas". Mark Beumer, in KLEIO-HISTORIA, Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 2020 (11).