THE IMAGE OF THE HORSEMAN (MITHRA-MEN) IN THE GLYPTIC MONUMENTS OF GEORGIA

Abstract

The geographical extent of the Mithraic cult is generally considered to have stretched from the headwaters of the Euphrates to Great Britain. Scholars recognize the existence of numerous local variations of Mithra worship. According to one Armenian legend, Mithra (Ehera) appears in Caucasian traditions as a horseman deity accompanied by a raven (Ramishvili 2019, 64).

Mithraism spread rapidly throughout regions where the worship of horses and celestial bodies was deeply rooted. It is therefore unsurprising that the cult found particularly fertile ground in Georgia, a country with a strong and enduring tradition of horse and horseman veneration (Makalatia, 1972).

The development and dissemination of the horse as a solar symbol in Georgia were encouraged first by the reforms of King Parnavaz, during whose reign the supremacy of the deity Armazi was established and expressed through the worship of the sun and its symbols. Later, in the early 2nd century BCE, the fire-worshipping King Parnajom further strengthened these traditions by constructing numerous temples and erecting a statue of Zaden on the mountain opposite Armazi in Mtskheta (Vatsadze, 2007, 115–125).

The subsequent revival of solar worship and the increasing veneration of its principal symbol—the horse—contributed to the widespread dissemination of the Mithraic cult throughout various regions of Georgia. The presence in the Georgian pagan calendar of a month dedicated to the festival of Mithra (“Ttuei Mihrakanisa”) indicates that the deity was officially recognized within the religious system of ancient Georgia. The horse was closely associated with solar worship and also played a significant role in funerary rituals. The depiction of mounted deities corresponds to the broader process of anthropomorphization, in which the horse evolved from an independent divine figure into the sacred and subordinate attribute of an anthropomorphic deity.

Representations of horsemen occur frequently among both excavated and accidentally discovered archaeological materials from the territory of Georgia, and glyptic artifacts are no exception. In addition to other glyptic materials, this study examines seal impressions on clay bullae discovered within the temple complex at Tsikhiagora, which we associate with the cult of Mithra-Men.

Key words:   glyptic monuments, Tsikhiagora, a bronze stamp with triangular shaped handle, a bronze stamp with quadrangular shaped handle.