Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

HAWARTI

SYRIA

giants as known from a Greek myth adapt-
ed in the Mithra cult. While the figure of
the supreme god is poorly preserved, and
surprisingly clad in a cloak and boots, the
two monsters on either side are nude, and
their human legs end in serpents winding
up around them; the heads are lost. A vic-
torious Zeus is shown in the NE corner of
the cave, next to the battle scene, seated on
a throne inside a circular wreath. In
Mithraic mythology, the battle with the
giants symbolized the establishment of the
world order prior to the birth of Mithra.
This event is represented next, already on
the eastern wall of the grotto. Mithra is a
young man emerging from the rock, around
which a huge serpent is coiled. He is entirely
nude, but holds the Phrygian cap in his hand.
Next to this we see a nude boy in a cypress
tree, associated again with the Phrygian cap.
Immediately to the right, a fully dressed
huge figure of the Sun god stands with raised
hands. It seems that this entire series was
intended to express Mithra's identification
with various gods of other myths, here per-
haps Apollo, Attis, and Helios.
Further along the eastern wall, the
paintings have been all but completely lost.
A fragment still in place could represent
a bull being carried upside down by Mithra.
As is known, the god dragged the animal
into a cave to slaughter it there, a sacrifice
intended to save the world from evil forces.
The evil element opposed to the good,
darkness to light, so typical of the Iranian
religious outlook and inherited in the mys-
teries of Mithra, was remarkably absent
from the Mithraic iconography known so
far. This is no more so: The evil demons are
depicted on the left side of the Hawarti
mithraeum. The western wall has not been
uncovered as yet, being hidden behind the
later church foundation, but the part of the
northern wall to the left of the niche is vis-
ible, and survives in good condition. The

masons who laid the foundations of the
church limited themselves to scratching
out the eyes of the figures they found.
What can be seen now is a city wall
with an arched gate. Over the top of the
wall, there is a row of hideous and dreadful
heads, with shaggy hair and teeth being
ground. Each is stricken by a long yellow
line, apparently a ray of light. One of the
heads has already fallen to the ground out-
side the gate. No doubt the gates of Hell
are being assailed here by Mithra himself,
in a scene entirely new in the extant docu-
mentation (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Paintings on the eastern wall
(after G. Majcherek)


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