Description

The Mithras Grotto in Fertőrákos dates back to the 3rd century A.D. This small Roman sanctuary was dedicated to the god Mithras and features the typical layout of a mithraeum, with a sunken central aisle and raised benches on either side. The most significant feature is the cult relief carved directly into the rock, depicting the so-called Tauroctony—the slaying of the bull by Mithras. The scene is accompanied by a dog, a snake, and a scorpion, as well as the torchbearers Cautes and Cautopates. Other monuments discovered during the excavations, including votive altars and inscriptions, were transferred to the Sopron Museum for conservation purposes. Copies of these are now on display in the Mithraeum itself. Some of the inscriptions attest to the sanctuary’s connections to the nearby Roman city of Carnuntum. Rediscovered in 1866 and later archaeologically investigated, the sanctuary is one of the most significant surviving examples of the cult of Mithras in western Hungary.