781769.

Sold For $1250

PONTUS, Trapezus. Lucius Verus. AD 161-169. Æ 29mm (13.17 g, 6h). Dated CY 108 (AD 161). AVTAKPATwP OVHPOC CEBACT, bare head right / TPAPEZOVTIWN ETOV EPV, radiate and draped bust of Mithras right, wearing Phrygian cap, seen from behind; behind, head of horse right. RG 11; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG von Aulock -; Gorny & Mosch 129, lot 234 (same dies). Good VF, green patina. Very rare.

Mithras, the central god of the syncretic Hellenistic mystery religion known as Mithraism, was of Persian origin. There, known as Mithra, he served as a mediator between the supreme god Ahura-Mazda and humankind. His attributes were varied, but he soon became associated as a divinity of light and much of the symbolism of the mystery cult that developed around him is cosmologic. The chief participants of the cult were the military, attracted to the masculine aspect of the god and his selfless sacrifice to duty.