AION

ARIMANIUS THE LION HEADED MITHRAIC DEITY OF ETERNAL TIME

“The Mithraic Mysteries, also known as Mithraism, were a mystery cult in the Roman world where followers worshipped the Indo-Iranian deity Mithras (Akkadian for “contract”) as the god of friendship, contract and order. The cult first appeared in the late 1st century CE and, at an extraordinary pace, spread from the Italian Peninsula and border regions across the whole of the Roman empire.” Source

The Lion headed, winged god stands on the globe with the keys to the world. White marble relief (H. 0.78 Br. 0.28), Museo Torlonia.
“His body is entwined by six windings of a serpent, which lays its head on that of the god.” White marble relief (H. 1.15 Br. 0.35). Galleria degli Uffizi.
leontocephaline (“lion-headed”) god of Mithraism, variously identified by scholars as Aion (“Eternity”), Arimanius, Kronos, etc. He holds keys in each hand, and the snake likely symbolizes the endless cosmic cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Parian marble, 4th cent. CE from the Mithraeum at Sidon, now in the Louvre. Photos by Coyau.

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