Last night I was thinking about this whole Tauroctony scene depiction and it is a problem. As I noted, Ulansey thinks that it was holding the great secret of Mithraism, i.e. precession and basically, the creator of the image was just using the principles of precession to sort of show off his knowledge via running the images backward in time. I think it depicts a date and that date appears to coincide with important information about what happened on or around that time.
I think that the "great secret is precession" idea is nonsensical. Yes, it is an interesting astronomical fact to any astronomer, but to the average person, who really cares about something that happens over such vast time periods? Does it have any notable effect on the life of anyone? No. Would it be likely to impress a bunch of army guys in those times? Would they think that they could DO anything with this knowledge? No.
As for my own idea, that it depicts a particular date and that date matches a date that I arrived at via a different process, what can be said? That IS interesting mainly because said date coincides with scientific evidence for catastrophe. But again, the same questions can be asked. Would the average person of the time even care? Does the knowledge have any effect on a person's life? Can anything be done with this knowledge? The answer to these questions would seem to be "no", again.
And yet, there it is: clearly depicting a date in conjunction with the text from Diodorus, and matching a catastrophic event of some sort.
One of the problematic things about the Tauroctony is the fact that it depicts everything in reverse, like the Farnese Globe. That is, it depicts the sky from OUTSIDE, or as though the observer were looking down from high above, beyond the stars, a perspective that could be said to belong to God or the angels.
So, this morning, I spent a little time looking into the Farnese globe to try to understand this perspective. We read on Wikipedia:
Atlas labors under the weight because he had been sentenced by Zeus to hold up the sky. The sphere shows a depiction of the night sky as seen from outside the outermost celestial sphere, with low reliefs depicting 41 (some sources say 42) of the 48 classical Greek constellations distinguished by Ptolemy, including Aries the ram, Cygnus the swan and Hercules the hero.
It seems to be implied that the perspective is due to the fact that the viewer is in the position of Zeus observing Atlas holding up the night sky. Now, it seems that anyone hearing the Zeus condemned Atlas to this function, that one would immediately imagine Atlas standing on the top of a high mountain with some point of the sky resting on his shoulders from the INSIDE. But the artist who created the Farnese globe did not attempt such a representation: instead, he created a sort of marble metaphor: the night sky is shown in toto, all the way around, as a celestial sphere that surrounds the earth, and Atlas is outside of it along with Zeus and whoever else is observing the poor guy and his eternal burden.
Okay, I think we can get that.
But what do we know about the artist and his inspiration?
I found a couple of things of interest. First of all, a guy named Bradley Schaeffer worked on identifying the inspiration and date of the Farnese globe here: https://www.phys.lsu.edu/farnese/JHAFarneseProofs.pdf His paper resulted in a news item on Space.com here: Long Lost Star Catalog Found in Plain Sight
However, not everyone was happy with what Schaeffer wrote and Dennis Rawlins pointed out all the discrepancies here: https://people.sc.fsu.edu/~dduke/farnese4.pdf (Scroll all the way to the end for some good images) Rawlins apparently got pretty disgusted with the whole thing and posted a couple of additional articles online about it here: Farnese Atlas Celestial Globe and here: Farnese Celestial Globe: Krates' Galactic-Circle Remnant?
Anyway, Rawlins concluded:
Summary
Schaefer certainly deserves credit for undertaking a new investigation of the Farnese
globe, but in contrast to what he claims, his work does not prove that Hipparchus is the
source of the constellation data on the Farnese globe. First, the true uncertainty of the
date of the astronomical data on the globe is at least ±200 yrs. Second a convincing proof
would have to provide clear positive links between what we know about Hipparchus’
data and what we see on the globe, and that evidence is not in the paper. In fact, there are
many points of disagreement between the Commentary and the globe, as well as many
points of agreement. Even if Hipparchus is not the source, if the real source is basing his
data on the sky, and if that source is reasonably competent (at the 2° level), then of course
we would expect many points of agreement, and these points would indicate no particular
source. But the points of disagreement between Hipparchus’ data and the globe are more
than enough to establish that it is highly unlikely that a proof of Hipparchus as source can
ever be convincing.
Now, it seems to me that the Tauroctony was based, in part, on the Farnese globe, or at least on something similar: a depiction of the night sky from outside.
Yes, Ulansey makes note of this and proposes that this is supposed to clue us in that it is a "Hypercosmic" view of things because, of course, the Mithraic initiate is gifted with godly insight and perspective doncha know? And that initiate is going to know that what he is seeing in the Tauroctony IS, in fact, the view of God and be mightily impressed. Just think about it: all those Roman soldiers who were part of the cult, heck, think of all the pirates who Pompey convinced to become farmers (that's another issue, but not for now), all looked up at the night sky, were easily able to identify all those constellations, and just KNEW that their initiation gave them a superior view from the outside, just like some hypercosmic being, i.e. Mithras.
I'm sorry, I don't buy it.
Yes, I can buy the idea that the Farnese globe was created as it was as a metaphor, but there was a reason for that: the story needed a metaphoric description.
But the Tauroctony being created as it was, i.e. backwards, in order to suggest a "hypercosmic view" - nope, I don't think that's a very good explanation. I think a better one is that the Farnese globe, or something similar to it, was used as a model for the Tauroctony. And possibly, the creator of the Tauroctony did not realize that the constellations were backward.
But that still leaves us with the problem of the date depicted by the Tauroctony. Let's review here:
I hope all of you see what the problem is after reviewing the data above. It seems that someone, using something like the Farnese globe, created the image of the Tauroctony based on some ancient text that must have referred to a cataclysmic event dated about 3100 BC. Were the Phrygians actually refugee Hyperboreans?
Of course, all of the above is in addition to the mystery of whether or not a group of assassins utilized the cult of Mithras as their ideological vehicle.
Keep in mind that Josephus referred to rebels against Rome as "pirates and brigands". It was probably a pretty common epithet at the time.
Rome had many clubs/cults/ecclesia that harbored anti-government types of all sorts at various points in its history. There are records of the banning of such gatherings on numerous occasions because they were often used to destabilize the government. It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Caesar's assassins met in such places to do their plotting and took some sort of sick delight in the iconography of the Tauroctony as an emblem of their designs.
I think that the "great secret is precession" idea is nonsensical. Yes, it is an interesting astronomical fact to any astronomer, but to the average person, who really cares about something that happens over such vast time periods? Does it have any notable effect on the life of anyone? No. Would it be likely to impress a bunch of army guys in those times? Would they think that they could DO anything with this knowledge? No.
As for my own idea, that it depicts a particular date and that date matches a date that I arrived at via a different process, what can be said? That IS interesting mainly because said date coincides with scientific evidence for catastrophe. But again, the same questions can be asked. Would the average person of the time even care? Does the knowledge have any effect on a person's life? Can anything be done with this knowledge? The answer to these questions would seem to be "no", again.
And yet, there it is: clearly depicting a date in conjunction with the text from Diodorus, and matching a catastrophic event of some sort.
One of the problematic things about the Tauroctony is the fact that it depicts everything in reverse, like the Farnese Globe. That is, it depicts the sky from OUTSIDE, or as though the observer were looking down from high above, beyond the stars, a perspective that could be said to belong to God or the angels.
So, this morning, I spent a little time looking into the Farnese globe to try to understand this perspective. We read on Wikipedia:
Atlas labors under the weight because he had been sentenced by Zeus to hold up the sky. The sphere shows a depiction of the night sky as seen from outside the outermost celestial sphere, with low reliefs depicting 41 (some sources say 42) of the 48 classical Greek constellations distinguished by Ptolemy, including Aries the ram, Cygnus the swan and Hercules the hero.
It seems to be implied that the perspective is due to the fact that the viewer is in the position of Zeus observing Atlas holding up the night sky. Now, it seems that anyone hearing the Zeus condemned Atlas to this function, that one would immediately imagine Atlas standing on the top of a high mountain with some point of the sky resting on his shoulders from the INSIDE. But the artist who created the Farnese globe did not attempt such a representation: instead, he created a sort of marble metaphor: the night sky is shown in toto, all the way around, as a celestial sphere that surrounds the earth, and Atlas is outside of it along with Zeus and whoever else is observing the poor guy and his eternal burden.
Okay, I think we can get that.
But what do we know about the artist and his inspiration?
I found a couple of things of interest. First of all, a guy named Bradley Schaeffer worked on identifying the inspiration and date of the Farnese globe here: https://www.phys.lsu.edu/farnese/JHAFarneseProofs.pdf His paper resulted in a news item on Space.com here: Long Lost Star Catalog Found in Plain Sight
However, not everyone was happy with what Schaeffer wrote and Dennis Rawlins pointed out all the discrepancies here: https://people.sc.fsu.edu/~dduke/farnese4.pdf (Scroll all the way to the end for some good images) Rawlins apparently got pretty disgusted with the whole thing and posted a couple of additional articles online about it here: Farnese Atlas Celestial Globe and here: Farnese Celestial Globe: Krates' Galactic-Circle Remnant?
Anyway, Rawlins concluded:
Summary
Schaefer certainly deserves credit for undertaking a new investigation of the Farnese
globe, but in contrast to what he claims, his work does not prove that Hipparchus is the
source of the constellation data on the Farnese globe. First, the true uncertainty of the
date of the astronomical data on the globe is at least ±200 yrs. Second a convincing proof
would have to provide clear positive links between what we know about Hipparchus’
data and what we see on the globe, and that evidence is not in the paper. In fact, there are
many points of disagreement between the Commentary and the globe, as well as many
points of agreement. Even if Hipparchus is not the source, if the real source is basing his
data on the sky, and if that source is reasonably competent (at the 2° level), then of course
we would expect many points of agreement, and these points would indicate no particular
source. But the points of disagreement between Hipparchus’ data and the globe are more
than enough to establish that it is highly unlikely that a proof of Hipparchus as source can
ever be convincing.
Now, it seems to me that the Tauroctony was based, in part, on the Farnese globe, or at least on something similar: a depiction of the night sky from outside.
Yes, Ulansey makes note of this and proposes that this is supposed to clue us in that it is a "Hypercosmic" view of things because, of course, the Mithraic initiate is gifted with godly insight and perspective doncha know? And that initiate is going to know that what he is seeing in the Tauroctony IS, in fact, the view of God and be mightily impressed. Just think about it: all those Roman soldiers who were part of the cult, heck, think of all the pirates who Pompey convinced to become farmers (that's another issue, but not for now), all looked up at the night sky, were easily able to identify all those constellations, and just KNEW that their initiation gave them a superior view from the outside, just like some hypercosmic being, i.e. Mithras.
I'm sorry, I don't buy it.
Yes, I can buy the idea that the Farnese globe was created as it was as a metaphor, but there was a reason for that: the story needed a metaphoric description.
But the Tauroctony being created as it was, i.e. backwards, in order to suggest a "hypercosmic view" - nope, I don't think that's a very good explanation. I think a better one is that the Farnese globe, or something similar to it, was used as a model for the Tauroctony. And possibly, the creator of the Tauroctony did not realize that the constellations were backward.
But that still leaves us with the problem of the date depicted by the Tauroctony. Let's review here:
The suggestion that the celestial equator was the line to be followed attracted the intrepid Ulansey who began to study the problem. He noted that all of the figures, excepting the lion, are matched by constellations through which the celestial equator passes on or below the ecliptic when the spring equinox was in Taurus. And directly above the constellation of the bull, at the time of the Taurus-equinox, the celestial equator passed through the constellation Perseus. He then points out that, in the Phaenomena of Aratos, following the star maps of Eudoxus, it was said that the Pleiades are located near the left knee of Perseus.[1] In the tauroctony, the left knee of Perseus is not far from the position where the dagger is shown entering the bull’s shoulder, and it is precisely at that point, in the constellation of the bull, that the Pleiades are located. Ulansey asks: “Is it just coincidence that the left knee of Mithras is always shown in an exaggerated fashion pointing to just this spot, as if in illustration of Aratos’ description?”[2]
Ulansey then goes on to show that it is Perseus that is represented by Mithras based on several unique features of representation, including the fact that he is always, always, shown killing the bull while looking away from it, exactly as Perseus did when killing the gorgon, Medusa. More than that, the constellation Perseus just happens to be right above Taurus in the sky. However, we must note that Aratos’ description of Perseus in relation to Taurus is contradicted by every other representation known. So this, naturally, caught Ulansey’s attention; there was a mystery here and he began to tug on the dangling thread.
[1] Phaenomena 254.
[2] Ulansey, p. 57.
-------------------
Ulansey’s point: there is a definite relationship between Mithras and Perseus but it was only from the time of Herodotus that Perseus was thought to be associated with Persia at all. In the fifth century BC, the Greek poet, Pindar, wrote of Perseus’s encounter with Medusa as happening in Hyperborea – assumed to be ancient Britain – where Stonehenge was known as “Giant’s dance”.
Mithras is always portrayed wearing what is known as a Phrygian cap and Perseus has a “cap of invisibility” given to him to enable him to slay the gorgon. In quite a number of ancient depictions, this cap is depicted as an Phrygian cap. Phrygia has been identified as a kingdom located in the west central part of Anatolia in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians were most famous for their legendary kings such as Gordias and his knot, Midas and his gold, Mygdon who made war with the Amazons, not to mention their close alliance with the Trojans against the Achaeans!
The Iliad describes the homeland of the Phrygians on the Sangarius River, which would remain the center of Phrygia throughout its history. According to the Iliad, Phrygia was famous for its wine and had "brave and expert" horsemen. The Phrygians were Indo-Europeans who, according to ancient tradition, migrated to Anatolia from the Balkans. Recent theories propose that they made this migration at the time of the collapse of the Bronze Age (or just after), filling the political vacuum left by the depopulated Hittites. (Another theory is that they were part of the Hittite Empire before it fell and just survived and took over the area.)
The earliest preserved literary reference to the Mithraic mysteries is a line from the 1st century Thebaid by Statius, which says: “Persei sub rupibus antri indignata Sequi torquentem cornua Mithram.” This has been translated to say: “Mithras twisting the unruly horns beneath the rocks of a Persian cave.” This was taken to imply the Persian origin of the cult. However, the translation has been corrected by scholars to: “Mithras twisting the unruly horns beneath the rocks of the cave of Perseus”[1] which removes the Persian connection.
[1] Ulansey (1989) p. 29.
-----------------------------
The much later Byzantine historian, Georgius Cedrenos,[1] wrote:
Perseus, they say, brought to Persia initiation and magic, which by his secrets made the fire of the sky descend; with the aid of this art, he brought the celestial fire to the earth, and he had it preserved in a temple under the name of the sacred immortal fire; he chose virtuous men as ministers of a new cult, and established the Magi as the depositors and guardians of this fire which they were charged to protect.[2]
Even though information about Cedrenos and his sources seems to be at a premium, I am intrigued by his connection of the rites of Perseus to “fire from heaven”. Where in the world did he get that?
[1] 12th century Byzantine court historian about whom I can get almost no information at all about what possible sources he used.
[2] _1100-1200- Georgius Cedrenus\ - Operum Omnium Conspectus seu 'Index of available Writings' cited by Ulansey, p. 30.
----------------------
Ulansey suggests that the snake-entwined leontocephalic (Lion headed) god is iconographically similar to Medusa of the snake hair. Indeed, this is a likely comparison since we are talking about comets that were often likened to snakes or dragons. He also notices the similarity to Huwawa/Humbaba. He then compares the image of Medusa from a 6th century BC Attic vase painting to the lion-headed god.
Continuing to pull on the thread, Ulansey cites the evidence from antiquity that the city of Tarsus was said to have been founded by Perseus and was named after his “swift tarsos” or foot. Coins from the city show Perseus often in association with Apollo Lykeios. This Apollo is a particular artistic representation of the god leaning on a support with his bow in his left hand and his right forearm resting on his head as if having just completed a long and difficult task.
Just as Perseus is associated with Apollo, so is Mithras closely associated with the Sun and in Mithraism, the sun is active, playing a part in the tauroctony, the sacred feast, and the ascent to heaven. Another important symbol from the coins of that locale is that of a lion attacking a bull with Perseus standing in the foreground holding his curved knife. As some scholars have suggested, it is the lion-bull combat which eventually morphed into the tauroctony scene, perhaps passing through other stages such as Perseus and the Gorgon, before becoming Perseus disguised as Mithras replacing the lion slaying the bull
Porphyry wrote that the mithraeum functioned as the place of initiation into a mystery of the “descent and exit of souls” and that it was designed and equipped for this purpose as a “likeness of the universe. The things which the cave contained, by their proportionate arrangement, provided [the] symbols of the elements and climates of the cosmos.[1]
[1] De antro nympharum 6, trans. Arethusa edition. Cited by Roger Beck (2000) Ritual, Mythi, Doctrine, and Initiation in the Mysteries of Mithras: New Evidence from a Cult Vessel in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 90, pp. 145-180.
--------------------------
Ulansey conjectures that the influence of Aratus in Tarsus may have led to the emphasis on astrology within the Stoic movement. It could very well be that it was from Eudoxus’ 3000 year old astronomical knowledge, combined with the works of Pherecydes and Pythagorus, that the tauroctony of the Mithraic Mysteries derived. But there is more to it than that: in case you didn’t notice, the figures in the tauroctony are reversed from the way they actually appear in the sky. Ulansey proposes:
…on ancient (and modern) star-globes (like the famous ancient “Atlas Farnese” globe) Taurus is always depicted facing to the right exactly like the bull in the tauroctony. This shows that the Mithraic bull is meant to represent the constellation Taurus as seen from outside the cosmos, i.e. from the “hypercosmic” perspective…[1]
Yet we know, for a certainty, that the particular time is important, as I said, from my own arrival at that date via a different path, as well as Ulansey’s interpretation of the equinoxes being delimited via the figures Cautes and Cautopates.
[1] David Ulansey (19914) Mithras and the Hypercosmic Sun, in Studies in Mithraism, John R. Hinnels, ed., Rome.
-------------------------
We’ve already learned that Plutarch traced the origin of the Cult of Mithras to Cilician pirates, and Ulansey has revealed that the city of Tarsus there was devoted to Perseus and that there are coins and other artifacts to confirm the relationship. He bases his argument on the fact that there are three kinds of evidence: 1) astronomical consisting in the fact that Perseus occupies a position in the sky analogous to the position of Mithras vis a vis the bull he is slaying. 2) the striking iconographical and mythological parallels between the two figures; 3) the historical and geographical evidence linking the origins of the cult to Cilicia, the site of the Perseus cult.
What troubles me is the lack of evidence that the Mysteries of Mithras were significant in the Eastern areas surrounding the proposed birthplace. As we have already noted, the concentration of archaeological finds are focused mainly on Germany, Pannonia and Italy. We have also noted in passing, the presence of a lion-headed god figure in Germany back in Paleolithic times, though we can’t propose a connection over that vast a period of time.
Ulansey continues his interpretation rather promisingly by saying “since it was astronomical considerations which led us to connect Mithras and Perseus in the first place, it stands to reason that the origins and meaning of that connection must be sought in the context of Mithraic astronomical symbolism.”[1] He then begins to build his argument on the ideas of Beck and Insler, that the constellations represented in the tauroctony are those along the ecliptic at the time of the setting of Taurus in the Spring, that is a sky map that represents how the sky looked at a particular time which the Mithraists wished to commemorate. However, it was apparent that the constellations don’t exactly match up with the zodiac which lie along the ecliptic.
The next idea presented by Ulansey is that of Michael Speidel who argued that the constellations depicted are the ones along the celestial equator rather than the ecliptic. That actually worked. The problem there is that, during Graeco-Roman times, Aries and Libra marked the equinoxes – the points where the celestial equator and the ecliptic cross in spring and autumn - and were thus the two most important equatorial constellations; yet they are not indicated at all, in any way, in the tauroctony. Nevertheless, Ulansey’s realized that the particular constellations would fit exactly if you move the clock back to the time when the equinoxes were in Taurus and Scorpio. Here is a small version of Ulansey’s star map showing the result of doing just that.
[1] Ulansey, op. cit., p. 45.
---------------------------------------
As you see, Perseus, in the upper right, is just above the celestial equator at this moment. Looking at this image for a bit, and playing with the Starry Night program to get the one on my screen to match it revealed that this map shows the spring sky just before dawn about 3000 BC at a latitude of about 43° N. That date got my attention because in my book, Secret History, I had proposed a similar date for an event involving the constellation, Taurus, though I had arrived at it from a very different angle following very different clues. The convergence of the result of these two paths was quite startling. Before I compare the two, let’s just continue with Ulansey’s argument.
Ulansey was able to figure out the clues because he knew about the precession of the zodiac so he wondered if the tauroctony scene really did exhibit knowledge of the precession? As he demonstrates, the celestial equator, rather than the ecliptic reveals exactly the series of figures contained within the tauroctony with Taurus at the setting end and Scorpius rising in the east, and the two of them framing Canis Minor, Hydra, Crater, and Corvus: the dog, the serpent, the cup and the raven. So, our intrepid researcher followed the clue of the celestial equator.
What is clear, however, as Ulansey has demonstrated, is that the tauroctony reveals the equinoxes in Taurus and Scorpio, long before they entered Aries over 4000 years ago, and then Pisces, over 2000 years ago; the evidence is contained in a figure recorded in Jozef Vermaseren’s monumental work: Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae AKA CIMRM.[1] In the image in question, reproduced below, what is obviously being emphasized are the torchbearers who are depicted in nearly all Mithraic tauroctony scenes as well as in the birth scenes of Mithras. Their names are known from inscriptions as Cautes and Cautopates. Cautes carries his torch point up (and is usually associated with the birth scenes) and Cautopates carries his torch pointed down. They also wear Phrygian caps and have their legs crossed.
[1] A two volume collection of inscriptions and monuments relating primarily to the Mithraic Mysteries published at the Hague by Martinus Nijhoff, 1956, 1960
---------------------------
If you examine the scene carefully, you will see that the tree on the right has Cautes’ raised torch and a bull’s head next to it; that tree is in early leaf, as if it is spring. The tree on the left has the lowered torch and a scorpion and the tree is full of fruit, emphasizing harvest season. So it is clear what is being said: the torch bearers with their crossed legs delimit the equinoxes at Taurus and Scorpio.
Putting the torchbearers as equinoxes together with the creatures depicted in the scene, confirms Ulansey’s idea that the tauroctony is an image of constellations along the celestial equator at a particular moment in time. He must have also realized that the only period in time when this could have been the image of the night sky just before dawn was over 5000 years ago!
He next seeks out the clues regarding who knew about precession, and when, and comes across the interesting fact that the discoverer was associated with the Stoic philosophical school, and that Tarsus, where the Perseus cult was thriving, was a veritable hothouse of Stoics. More than that, the whole scenario of connections just happens to coincide with the time period that Plutarch assigns to the emergence of the Mithras-worshipping pirates. That, of course, is what led him to his idea: that the important thing being conveyed in the tauroctony was the fact that the equinoxes precess, that this was the “great secret”, a new and worshipful cosmic force: the Dreaded Precession! He argues that:
…the god Mithras originated as the personification of the force responsible for the newly discovered cosmic phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes. Since from the geocentric perspective the precession appears to be a movement of the entire cosmic sphere, the force responsible for it most likely would have been understood as being “hypercosmic,” beyond or outside of the cosmos…. Mithras, as a result of his being imagined as a hypercosmic entity, became identified with the Platonic “hypercosmic sun,” thus opening up the way for the puzzling existence of two “suns” in Mithraic ideology.[1]
[1] David Ulansey (1994) Mithras and the Hypercosmic Sun; Studies in Mithraism, John R. Hinnels, ed. L’Erma di Brettshneider, Rome, pp. 257-64.
-----------------------------
First of all, just because a scene depicts a specific moment in time over 5000 years ago, does not mean it is a projection backward by someone who figured out precession of the equinoxes. But if it were merely a re-working of more ancient material, where are the antecedents that would suggest the things that have been included in the scene? They could have existed at the time, of course, since so much has been lost. What is most interesting about the tauroctony is how it incorporates elements from a wide variety of what appear to have been Mesopotamian myths. It’s like a hybrid determined to not be misunderstood and I suspect that there was a very serious reason for this because, certainly, there was no need to create a mystery religion around precession. The knowledge about precession was not being hidden and there is no reason that it could not be openly discussed in the various philosophical schools that existed at the time. What is more, the idea that it is focused on a “hypercosmic sun” is way too Platonic and not enough Stoical to pass muster.
But still, there is the fact that whoever came up with this hybrid mystery cult most certainly did intend for the information about the equinoxes to carry weight and, more than anything else, that suggests that it was recording an event of extreme importance, a date. Because, in point of fact, that was what the Babylonians used “astrology” for in the beginning: as a means of recording time. So, my suggestion is that someone had access to certain information gained from studying ancient texts. That information was supplemented by the discovery that the equinox precesses. Perhaps understanding of precession enabled that person to figure out something very important from those texts, including a date. Were they then able, utilizing their knowledge of astronomy, able to re-create the night sky in images by precessing the sky map?
I hope all of you see what the problem is after reviewing the data above. It seems that someone, using something like the Farnese globe, created the image of the Tauroctony based on some ancient text that must have referred to a cataclysmic event dated about 3100 BC. Were the Phrygians actually refugee Hyperboreans?
Of course, all of the above is in addition to the mystery of whether or not a group of assassins utilized the cult of Mithras as their ideological vehicle.
Keep in mind that Josephus referred to rebels against Rome as "pirates and brigands". It was probably a pretty common epithet at the time.
Rome had many clubs/cults/ecclesia that harbored anti-government types of all sorts at various points in its history. There are records of the banning of such gatherings on numerous occasions because they were often used to destabilize the government. It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Caesar's assassins met in such places to do their plotting and took some sort of sick delight in the iconography of the Tauroctony as an emblem of their designs.
