Sidon Mithraeum

A number of statues and a marble bas-relief were found on site; these were part of the décor of a Mithraeum, an underground sanctuary dedicated to Mithras, an Iranian deity whose cult, reserved for initiates was especially popular among Roman soldiers.

[1] A brief note by the Durighello, who sold the sculptures to Louis De Clercq, offers a doubtful and fanciful description of the Mithreum.

[1] It is believed that the structure is located under the car park of the St. Nicholas Greek church in Sidon, but has not been excavated in modern times.

The other statues depict the god carrying the bull, two of his attendants, Cautes and Cautopates, each holding a torch, two other characters that are more difficult to identify, each characterized by a double axe which may link them to the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus, another Near Eastern deity popular among Roman soldiers.

Their donation by Flavios Gerontios further confirms that the Mithraic cult was still flourishing in Sidon despite the imperial edicts condemning paganism, the persistence of which is now well known through many other documents.