The mark of Mithras

[zakhx150]

I was recently reading Simon Scarrow's 'The Gladiator' (a Macro and Cato novel) and came upon a reference to an ex-legionary having a solar symbol branded onto his skin as a mark of the Mithraic cult (Chapter 17).

This is not something I am familiar with as having occuring. Is anyone aware of this being attested in the literature or on sculpture??? Or is this literary license?

Thanks.
Adam

[Jona Lendering]

It used to be mentioned more often (cf. Sutcliffe's novel The Eagle of the Ninth), but I would not be surprised if it were some kind of modern fiction, like almost everything we believe we know about Mithras. The Wiki article is good.

[gneuspartak]

There is a common myth that Mithras followers had a sign placed on their skin.
Dr. Richard Gordon absolutely object to such interpretation of ancient authors.
You can see his comments here

http://www.uhu.es/ejms/faq.htm

[Paul Elliott]

Yes, I've only ever heard of it mentioned before in Eagle of the Ninth. Like Maximus' SPQR tatoo, I would dismiss it as a modern fictive invention.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Considering the secretive nature of the cult, there will probably never be any evidence
of their rituals and practices....are there any sources on the matter?

[gneuspartak]

Gaius Julius Caesar!

Not exactly!
In any cases we have more than one evidence of the Mythraists rituals.
http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/index.htm
And even the strange "Mithras" Liturgy, the text for careful reading.
http://hermetic.com/pgm/mithras-liturgy.html
The problem of such evidences is interpretation, problem of context.
Denis!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Ahhh, many thanks. I was under the impression there was no evidence. apart from statues and Mithraic temples.