Gocha R.

Tsetskhladze
The Cult of Mithras in Ancient Colchis
In: Revue de l'histoire des religions, tome 209 n2, 1992. pp. 115-124.
Abstract
The cult of Mithras in Colchis was widespread from the Hellenistic period onward. This has been borne out by a fragment of a
Colchian amphora discovered during excavations at the city-site of Pichvnari, bearing the circular imprint of a seal described in
detail here (it depicts a horseman, a six-pointed star, a bird and a sprig). This cult made its way to Colchis from the neighbouring
state of the Achaemenids. Its syncretic character enabled it gradually to blend into the cult of the sun, Helios being a widely
venerated deity in Colchis. Mithras must have been the precursor of Saint George in pagan Georgia.
Rsum
Le culte de Mithra dans l'ancienne Colchis.
Le culte de Mithra tait pratiqu Colchis sur une grande chelle depuis la priode hellnistique. A preuve, un fragment
d'amphore de Colchis, dcouvert lors de fouilles sur le site de la ville de Pichvanari, portant une empreinte circulaire qui est
l'impression d'un sceau, dont nous dcrivons ici les lments constitutifs (cavalier, toile six branches, oiseau, rameau). Ce
culte s'est introduit Colchis en provenance de l'tat voisin des Achmnides. Son caractre syncrtique l'aida se mler peu
peu au culte du Soleil, Hlios tant une divinit trs vnre Colchis. Mithra a d tre le prcurseur de saint Georges dans la
Gorgie paenne.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Tsetskhladze Gocha R. The Cult of Mithras in Ancient Colchis. In: Revue de l'histoire des religions, tome 209 n2, 1992. pp.
115-124.
doi : 10.3406/rhr.1992.1605
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rhr_0035-1423_1992_num_209_2_1605
/
s
GOCHA R. TSETSKHLADZE
Balliol College, Oxford
THE CULT OF MITHRAS
IN ANCIENT COLCHIS
The cull of Mithras in Colchis was widespread from the
Hellenistic period onward. This has been borne out by a fragment
of a Colchian amphora discovered during excavations at the
city-site of Pichvnari, bearing the circular imprint of a seal
described in detail here (it depicts a horseman, a six-pointed
star, a bird and a sprig). This cult made its way to Colchis from
the neighbouring state of the Achaemenids. Its syncretic character
enabled it gradually to blend into the cult of the sun, Helios being
a widely venerated deity in Colchis. Mithras must have been the
precursor of Saint George in pagan Georgia.
Le culte de Mithra dans l'ancienne Colchis
Le culte de Mithra tait pratiqu Colchis sur une grande
chelle depuis la priode hellnistique. A preuve, un fragment
amphore de Colchis, dcouvert lors de fouilles sur le site de la
ville de Pichvanari, portant une empreinte circulaire qui est
Vimpression d'un sceau, dont nous dcrivons ici les lments
constitutifs (cavalier, toile six branches, oiseau, rameau). Ce
culte s'est introduit Colchis en provenance de ltal voisin des
Achmnides. Son caractre syncrtique Vaida se mler peu
peu au culte du Soleil, Hlios tant une divinit trs vnre
Colchis. Milhra a d tre le prcurseur de saint Georges dans la
Gorgie paenne.
Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, ccix-2/1992, p. 115 124
It has previously only been possible to assume that the
cult of Mithras was popular and widespread in ancient Georgia
with reference to materials from Iberia dating from the early
centuries A. D. (depictions of horses on silver drinking cups
from Bori, Armazi and Zguderi).1 Interesting information
has also been preserved in folklore and in the pagan calendar
of ancient Georgia, in which there was a month marked by
celebrations in honour of Mithras namely February. In the
course of these celebrations people would turn to Mithras,
revered as the benevolent god of Light and Prosperity, and
sacrifice a pig to him (in Aresta the pig was regarded as the
sacred animal of Mithras).2
Until recently nothing was known to scholars about the
existence of a cult of Mithras in Colchis (the region to the
east of the Black Sea, that is Western Georgia today) during
the Hellenistic period. In 1983 during excavations at the
city-site of Pichvnari (in south-west Georgia on the outskirts
of the town of Kobuleti)3 a fragment of a Colchian amphora
was found which bore a stamp.4 The stamp is round and it is
an impression from a seal. In the centre a horseman is depicted
facing left and under the front hooves of his horse is a six-
1. K. Machabeli, Pozdneantichnaya torevtica Gruzii (Late Classical Toreutics
in Georgia), Tbilisi, 1976, Tables 28-31.
2. S. Makalatia, Gvtaeba Mitras kulti sakartveloshi (The Cult of the God
Mithras in Georgia, published in Georgian), Reports from the Georgian Museum,
1927, Vol. Ill, pp. 184-93.
3. Details of the stamp: Kobuleti-Pichvnari - 1983, city-site, Trench II,
Square A5, Hellenistic layer. The fragment is stored at the base of the
Pichvnari Archaeological Expedition of the Batumi Scientific Research Insti
tute affiliated toi the Georgian Academy of Sciences in the town of Kobuleti.
I should like to express my thanks to the director of the Pichvnari Archaeo
logical Expedition, Professor A. Y. Kakhidze, for granting me access to the
material.
4. Finds of Colchian vessels bearing stamps are exceedingly rare. On the
subject of Colchian stamps see: G. R. Tsetskhladze, Organization of Ceramic
Production in Colchis during the Hellenistic Period, Eirene, 1990, XXVII; Goa
R. Tsetskhladze, Die Kolchischen Stempel, 1991, Klio, Bd. 73.
The
cult of Mithras 117
pointed star: above his head is a crescent moon and next to
this, above the horseman's head, is a bird (Fig. 1). The depic
tion of the horseman and the horse was very sketchy. The
horse's front hooves are raised, which creates an impression
of movement: its mane is conveyed with the help of straight
vertical lines and its tail is reminiscent of a fir-tree. In his
right hand the horseman is holding a sprig a of plant. One
other detail attracts the beholder's attention. The first of the
five lines which go to make up the mane of the horse is
shorter than the subsequent four. More likely than not the
first short line represented a horn. It would not be unusual
since representations of horned horses were a common
phenomenon in the glyptics of ancient Georgia.
In the ancient world seals served not only to authenticate
private and official documents, but also to protect and
strengthen owners' claims to their property. Originally a seal
served as the mark of its owner, and later all property bearing
a seal was not only singled out thereby as the personal prop
erty of its owner, but also placed under the protection of the
118 Gocha f. Tseiskhladze
law, as was frequently expressed via the depiction of a deity5
on the seal.
In Colchis, as is indicated by the handle of the amphora
from Pichvnari mentioned above, the practice of placing a
personal seal on everyday objects was widespread as in all
parts of the ancient world. It is not possible to date this
piece any more precisely than as belonging to the Hellenistic
period, the layer in which it was found. It is a well-known
fact that intaglios made of stone or metal can survive through
many centuries6 and it is possible that they are also passed
down from one generation to another. Other factors making
it impossible to date the amphora handle with any precision
are its fragmentary nature and the absence of any parts of
the amphora which shed light on its overall shape. The
depiction of a horseman is not something new among engraved
finds in either Colchis or Iberia. In Vani, for example, in a
burial of a noble warrior, a gold seal was found on which
there was also a depiction of a horseman on a horned horse
facing right. The horseman was holding a spear in his right
hand7. A depiction of a horseman on a horned horse has also
been found in Kanchaeti, where the relevant seal showed a
horseman facing left. The horseman is holding a spear under
which is depicted an eight-pointed star.8 A horseman bearing
a spear was also found on a seal excavated in the burial
ground at Algeti.9 All these seals date from the 5th-4th cen
turies . It is not impossible that the seal used to make the
5. F. Marshall, Catalogue oflhe Finger Rings vf the British Museum, London,
1907, pp. 10-27; J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London, 1970,
pp. 235-38.
6. Y. G. Vinogradov, Keramicheskiye kleima ostrova Fasos (Ceramic Stamps
from the Island of Phasos), Numismatica i Epigraphica, Moscow, 1972, X, p. 43.
7. M. Lordkipanidze, Kolkhelis dz. ts. V-III s. Sabechdavi bechdebi {Signet
Rings of the 5th-3rd centuries . . from Colchis, published in Georgian), Tbilisi,
1975, pp. 93-5.
8. I. Gagoshidze, Adreantikury khanis dzeglebi Ksnis kheobidan (Early
Classical Sites from the Ksan Gorge, published in Georgian), 1964, Tbilisi, p. 25.
9. M. Lordkipanidze, Sakartvelos sakhelmtsipo muzeumis gemebi (Gems from
the Georgian Slate Museum, published in Georgian), Tbilisi, 1961, Vol. Ill,
No. 37, pp. 41-2.
The
cult of Mithras 119
impression on the amphora handle was also made in that
period.
It should be noted that the horse is a very popular motif
for master seal-engravers in ancient Georgia. A seal depicting
a horned horse was found in Kanchaeti: above its back flew
a bird; between its fore and hindlegs there was an eight-
pointed star.10 At the same site a fragment of a seal depicting
a horse was also found.11 A horse was impressed on seals
from Guadikhu, Batnaokhoru,12 Meskheti13 and various other
places. In this connection an interesting find from Uplistsikhe
merits particular attention namely an oval-shaped seal made
of clay with a high handle bearing a sketchy depiction of a
horse under what is probably a moon. It dates from the
3rd-2nd centuries B. G.14
The depiction of star symbols was also not an innovation
in engravings found in Georgia dating from the 5th-lst cen
turies B. G. Seal-rings bearing crescent moons, stars and suns
originating from all parts of Colchis and Iberia have been
found.15 Astral and solar symbols were very widespread on
gems and seals of the ancient world.16 These symbols underl
ine, for example, in Gnostic gems, signet-rings and amulets,
the cosmic character of the primitive gods, and the fusion of
them with Hellenic gods provides an expression of the search
10. M. Lordkipanidze, Udzvelesi sabechdavi bechdebi Iberiidan da Kolkhe~
tidan (Ancient Signet Rings from Iberia and Colchis, published in Georgian),
Tbilisi, 1981, p. 41.
11. Ibid., pp. 43-4.
12. M. Lordkipanidze, 1975, op. cit., pp. 45, 76-9.
13. M. Lordkipanidze, 1981, op. cit., pp. 96-7.
14. D. A. Khakhutaishvili, Uplistsikhe (Uplistsikhe - City-site, published in
Georgian), Tbilisi, 1970, Vol. II, p. 117, Table VI, Section I.
15. Ibid., M. Lordkipanidze, 1981, op. cit., pp. 38, 43, 56, 66; M. Lordkipan
idze, 1975, op. cit., pp. 31, 65, 101; B. A. Kuftin, Materily arkheologii Kol-
khidy (Materials on the Archaeology of Colchis), Tbilisi, 1949, Vol. I, p. 64,
Table VI; V. V. Ivashchenko, Kuvshinny mogilnik v Zapadnoi Gruzii (Urn
Burial-ground in Western Georgia), Sovetskaya arkheologiya (Soviet Archaeology )
1950, No. XIII, p. 321; G. K. Shamba, Materily mogilnika ellinisticheskoi
epokhi iz Esherskogo gorodishcha (Materials from a Burial-ground of the
Hellenistic Period from the City-site of Eshera), Izvestiya ABIYLI (Bulletin of
the Abkhazian Institute of Language, Literature and History), Tbilisi, 1977,
Vol. VI, p. 129.
16. J. Boardman, op. cit.
120
Gocha . Tsetskhladze
for universal, monotheistic cults.17 The sun and the crescent
moon occupy a special place in the engravings of the Bosphorus
region.18 The depiction of the sun and stars constitute the
Achaemenid emblem of Mithridates known from coins.19 The
sun and the crescent moon were, of course, emblems of the
most widely venerated gods of Iran (see also Herodotus, 1, 131),
as is reflected in their depictions on Sasanian gems.20 Subjects
found on the gems of the ancient world are extremely varied.
They reflect literally all aspects of the material and non-
material activities of that world: politics, religion, literature,
theatre, domestic activities.21 This gives rise to the question
as to the significance of the subject depicted on the stamp
on the handle of the Colchian amphora under discussion.
When the depictions on our stamp were compared with those
found in gems, seals, reliefs, frescoes and coins it emerged
that what we have here is a depiction of Mithras, who was
often shown as a horseman with attributes typical for that
cult. In Germany, Pannonia and other parts of the ancient
world reliefs and frescoes have been found depicting Mithras
as a horseman complete with attributes such as stars, the
moon and a dog or snake under the horse's hooves.22 Mithras
the horseman is also depicted on coins from Kushan,23 on
diadems from Panticapaeum (Mithras in this instance has
17. O. Y. Neverov, Gnosticheskiye gemmy, perstni i amuleti Yuga SSSR
(Gnostic Gems, Signet Rings and Amulets from the southern USSR), Vestnik
drevnei istorii (Review of Ancient History), Moscow, 1971, No. 1, p. 96.
18. M. I. Maximova, Bosporskaya kamnereznaya masterskaya (Bosporan
Stonecutting Workshop), Sovietskaya arkheologiya (Soviet Archaeology), Moscow,
1957, No. 4, pp. 75-82.
19. O. Y. Neverov, Mitridat Evpator i perstni-pechati iz Panticapeya
(Mithridates Eupatorus and Signet Rings from Panticapaeum), Sovelskaya
arkheologiya (Soviet Archaeology), Moscow, 1968, No. 1, pp. 23539.
20. Y. A. Borisov, V. G. Lukinin, Sasanidskiye gemmy (Sasanian Gems),
Leningrad, 1963, p. 34.
21. O. Y. Neverov, Anlichniye intalii v sobranii Ermitazha (Classical Inta
glios in the Hermitage Collection), Leningrad, 1976, p. 36.
22. M. J. Vermaseren, Corpus inscriptionum et monumentorum religionis
Mithraicae, Hague, 1956, Vol. I, p. 68, Illustration No. 52; 1960, Vol. II, p. 80,
Illustration No. 1704, etc.
23. J. M. Rosenfleld, The Dynastic Art of the Kushans, Los Angeles, 1967,
p. 89.
The
cult of Milhras 121
a bird sitting on his hand).24 An important representation of
Mithras is that in a fresco from the temple of Mithras in
Ponsa. The fresco represents a zodiacal map. There is also
the Zodiac of Daressy, in the centre of which is depicted
Mithras wearing a radiate crown.26 Representations of Mithras
wearing a radiate crown are rare.26
Let us now dwell in detail on the coins from Trapezus,
since according to ancient sources it was a colony of Sinope
in the land of Colchis (Xenophon, Anabasis, IV, 8, 22) and
Mithras was held to be the supreme deity of Trapezus,
as reflected in the depictions on coins from that city.27
Initially they bore a bust of Mithras wearing a radiate
Phrygian cap, while later examples showed the forepart
of a horse as well. From the end of the 2nd century Mithras
was depicted mounted on a horse, whose right foreleg was
raised above a sacrificial altar. Later still a tree of life
would be added and in some cases there would be a snake
wound around its trunk. The next stage was marked by
the appearance of companions alongside Mithras: above the
sacrifical altar would rise a column on which was perched
a raven, above whose head would be a star. The final touch
would be a snake stretched out beneath the line representing
the earth.
The existence of the cult of Mithras in Trapezus is borne
out by other data as well: in the chronicle of Mikhail Panaret
reference is made to the hill of Mithras in Trapezus (the
24. W. Blawatsky, G. A. Kochelenko, Le culte de Mithra sur la cle septen
trionale de la mer Noire, Leiden, 1966, Plates III, IV.
25. M. J. Vermaseren, Mithraica, Vol. II : The Mithraeum at Ponza, Leiden,
1974, pp. 8-9, Plates I-XXI, XXV; R. Beck, Interpreting the Ponza Zodiac,
Journal ofMithraic Studies, 1976, No. 1, pp. 1-19; 1977, No. II, pp. 87-147.
26. M. J. Vermaseren, Corpus inscriptionum et monumentorum religionis
Mithraicae, Vol. I, Hague, 1956, Fig. 94, 101, 126, 193, etc.
27. G. Dundua, Monetnoe obrashchenie i torgovo-ekonomicheskie svyazi
Bichvinta po numismaticheskim dannym vo II v. do n.e. IV v. n.e (Coin
Circulation and Trading Links o Bichvinta according to Numismatic Data from
the 2nd century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.), Veliki Pitiunt (Piiiunt the Great),
Tbilisi, 1975, Vol. I, pp. 232-35; G. Dundua, Eshche raz ob ikonografii monet
Trapezunta (More on the Iconography of Coins from Trapezus), Velikii Pitiunt
(Pitiunt the Great), Tbilisi, 1977, Vol. II, pp. 343-47.
122 Gocha f. Tseiskhladze
modem name of which is Boztepe). In one of the versions
of the life of Saint Eugne, the patron of Trapezus, it is
stated that at night with the help of two peasants he threw
down a statue of Mithras from a high hill and from that day
began the conversion to Christianity of the inhabitants of
the city. The ruins of the shrine to Mithras in Trapezus have
attracted the attention of researchers on several occasions.28
Thus, in view of all the above it is possible to state with
a high degree of probability that what we have on the stamp
on the handle of the Colchian amphora under discussion is a
depiction of Mithras on horseback complete with attributes
of his cult: a crescent moon, a star and a bird. This bird is
most likely to be a raven since it is a precisely a raven that
was depicted on all bas-reliefs connected with Mithras.29
The cult of Mithras was very widespread in the ancient
world. He was a god of the sun and light, possessed chthonic
significance and performed various functions: cosmological,
military, etc. He was an Indo- Aryan god, who first emerged
in the Ancient East (the earliest information on Mithras has
come down to us in the Indian epic poem Rig- Veda) and from
there his cult spread to Asia Minor and then throughout the
whole of the ancient world. What helped the cult spread so
far was the universal, syncretic nature of Mithras.30 He was
particularly popular in ancient Persia during the age of the
Achaemenids.31 He was acknowledged as the god of warriors
and horsemen. His name was even given to Persian kings
and he was regarded as their patron (Ps. Kallisth, I, 36; 2, 14).
Persian kings helped to spread the cult of Mithras in all the
28. A. Popodopulo-Kerameus, Sbornik istochnikou po istorii Trapezunskoi
imperii (Collection of Sources on the History of the Trapezus Empire), Saint-
Petersburg, 1897, Part I, p. 63; M. I. Maximova, Antichniye goroda Yugo-
vostochnogo Prichernomorya (Ancient Cities on the south-eastern coast of the Black
Sea); F. Cumont, Textes et monuments relatifs aux mystres de Milhra, Brussels,
1898, Vol. II, p. 55.
29. F. Cumont, Textes et monuments figures relatifs aux mystres de Milhra,
Paris, 1899, Vol. II, Fig. 23, 63, 169, 403, etc.
30. Kleine Pauly, Munich, 1979, Vol. Ill, Columns 1359-1364.
31. Belani i Duglas, Velikie religii Vostoka (Great Religions of the East),
Moscow, 1899, p. 293.
The cult of Mithras 123
countries they subjugated. This explains why the cult was
so widespread in Asia Minor.82
The cult to Mithras was particularly widespread in the
Roman Empire and its provinces: in the cities to the north
of the Black Sea,33 on the lower reaches of the Danube,34
in Lower Moesia and Thrace35 and also in Central Asia.36
Many shrines to Mithras existed.37
The find in Pichvnari bearing a depiction of Mithras shows
that the cult of this god was also widespread in Colchis.
Mithras was venerated and his cult was spread by warriors,
craftsmen and traders.38 The stamp from Pichvnari made
from the imprint of a seal was on an amphora. Amphorae
were vessels in which agricultural products were transported
for trading purposes. It is possible on this basis to conclude
that the seal impressed on the amphora from Pichvnari
belonged to a merchant. It is also quite possible that this
cult was popular among the craftsmen of Colchis as well.
With regard to the routes along which the cult of Mithras
penetrated as far as Colchis, it can be assumed that it spread
32. N. A. Kun, Predshestvenniki khristianstva (Forerunners of Christianity),
Moscow, 1922, p. 123.
33. W. Blawatsky, G. Kochelenko, op. cit.; M. M. Kobylina, Izobrazheniya
vostochnykh bozhestv v Severnom Prichernomorye v pervye veka n.e. (Depictions
of Oriental Deities on the Northern Coast of the Black Sea in the first centuries A.D.),
Moscow, 1978, pp. 18-9.
34. A. Stefan, Rapports religieux entre les cites du Pont-Euxin Histra,
Tomi, Callatis et le monde oriental, Problmy antichnoi istorii i kultury,
Yerevan (Questions of Ancient History and Culture, Yerevan), 1979, pp. 271-72.
35. V. Naidenova, Mithraism in Lower Moesia and Thrace. Rise and Decline
of the Roman World, Berlin, New York, 1986, Vol. 18, Part II, pp. 1308-422;
V. P. Naidenova, Kult Mitry v Nizhnei Myozii i Frakii (The Cult of Mithras in
Lower Moesia and Thrace), Problmy antichnoi kultury (Questions of Ancient
Culture), Moscow, 1986, pp. 56-60.
36. Z. V. Serditykh, Ob odnom iz variantov ikonografii Mitry (On one of
the Variants of Mithraic Iconography), Problmy antichnoi kultury (Questions
of Ancient Culture), Moscow, 1986, pp. 279-82; J. M. Rosenfield, op. cit., p. 89.
37. F. Cumont, Die Mysterien des Milhra, Leipzig, Berlin, 1923, pp. 20-42;
M. J. Vermaseren, Mithras de geheimzinnige god, Amsterdam, Brussel, 1959,
pp. 29-76; M. J. Vermaseren, . Van Essen, The Excavations in the
M ithraeum of the Church of Santa Prisca in Rome, Leiden, 1965, pp. 117-48;
M. J. Vermaseren, Mithraica, II, pp. 8-26; M. J. Vermaseren, Mithraica, I: The
Milhraeum at S. Maria Capua Vetere, Leiden, Brill, 1971, pp. 5-38; L. Zotovi,
Le mithraisme sur le territoire de la Yougoslavie, Beograd, 1973, pp. 87-107,
119-30.
38. F. Cumont, Les mystres de Milhra, Paris, 1913, p. 36.
124 Gocha f. Tsetskhladze
there from the neighbouring state of the Achaemenids. The
probability of such an assumption stems firstly from the fact
that in Persia, as already stated, Mithras was widely venerated
and secondly from the fact that some Colchian tribes were one
of the 19 satrapies of the Achaemenids (Herodotus III, 97).
This cult, distinguished by its syncretic character, was well
suited to blend with the local cults found in Colchis, for the
cult of Mithras gradually came to merge with the cult of the
Sun,39 and Helios was a widely venerated deity in Colchis.
Scholars also stress that Mithras must have been the precursor
of Saint George in pagan Georgia.40*
39. Kleine Pauly, op. cit., D. Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries,
Oxford, 1989, pp. 103-12; Slrabo, for example, directly states... Worship Helios,
calling him Mithras (XV, III, 13). Depictions of Mithras are frequently linked
with the iconography of the brothers Dioscouroi, like that of Helios, was very
widespread in Colchis: we find them depicted on coins from Dioscurias (a city in
Colchis) dating from the end of the 2 nd century B.C.
40. S. Makalatia, op. cit.; I. Gagoshidze, op. cit.; G. Dundua, op. cit. * I should like to thank Professor Sir John Boardman for his comments.