Descending underground today to enter a sacred and mysterious place… a Mithraeum from the Hadrianic period in the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica.

Mithraea, places of worship dedicated to the god Mithras, were often constructed in underground spaces, deliberately hidden from public view. Here, secret rituals were held, reserved for a select group of initiates, the followers of Mithraism, a mystery religion that spread throughout the Roman Empire between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.

The image of Mithras slaying the bull, central to the cult, symbolized the triumph of light over darkness and cosmic regeneration.