CIMRM Supplement - Israel Museum Inv. 97.95.19 - Tauroctony of Absalmos.

By Carole Raddato. From: Flickr.

From: Richard Gordon, "A new Mithraic relief in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem", Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies, online here.

From Mithraeum.eu. "Relief depicting the god Mithras slaying a bull. Israel Museum Collection 97.95.19. Gift of Samuel Merrin. New York to American Friends of the Israel Museum."

Jaime Alvar Ezquerra (tr. Richard Gordon), "Romanising Oriental Gods", Brill, 2008, p.xviii and plate 11.: "Limestone relief from the Mithraeum of Absalmos (0.66 x 0.49 x 0.10 m). Provenance: unknown but apparently from Roman Syria. Inscr. AE 1999: 1675 = Bull. ép. 2001: 481. Probably IIIp. Israel Museum Collection, inv. no. 97.95.19."

The donation was by Samuel Merrin.1

From: Richard Gordon, "A new Mithraic relief in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem", Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies, online here.

See also Beck on Mithraism, p.10 for another description of the scene.

See also Nicole Belayche, "L'imagerie des divinités "orientales"" in: Corrine Bonnet &c., "Religions orientales - culti misterici", 2006, p.128:


1See: "Topoi orient-occident - Volume 11, Issue 1 - Page 100", snippet here: "A. Le relief du Musée d'Israel En 1997, M. Samuel Merrin de New York fit don d'un relief mithriaque remarquable, dont la provenance est inconnue, aux American Friends of the ... Mithra est habillé à la parthe, son visage est agrandi afin d'attirer le regard du spectateur, les yeux exorbités ...". See also: "Bulletin of the Asia Institute", vol. 9, p.59. (Snippet here): "Inventory number 97.95.19. The relief was published in a preliminary popular contribution in De Jong 1998. It is a gift from Mr. Samuel Merrin of New York to the American Friends of the Israel Museum. I am very grateful to Dr. Tallay Oman,..." ... "One could reasonably surmise that Absalmos was the pater of the Mithraic community by which the present relief was commissioned (cf. above). ... Whereas one can thus safely assume that the new relief has links with Syria, it is impossible to assign a more precise ... It is a gift from Mr. Samuel Merrin of New York to the American Friends of the Israel Museum." See also: "The Israel Museum journal", Vol. 16, p.106 (snippet here): "Archaeology The Samuel Bronfman Biblical and Archaeological Museum This year, as in the past, the Archaeological ... 2nd-3rd century CE Marble Gift of Sam Merrin, New York, to American Friends of the Israel Museum 97.95.19 See "A New Mithraic Relief"

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