LEONTOCEPHALINE GOD
“Where the lion-headed figure, 'this cruel, ugly deity, clearly appears with his serpent, his four wings, as the master of the world’.”
Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, The Western Response to Zoroaster
“The Mithraic lion-man was usually depicted entwined by a serpent with the serpent's head resting on his leonine visage, which often appeared menacing if not infernal. The lion-man was variously portrayed with keys and scepters.”
Yuri Stoyanov, The Other God: Dualist Religions From Antiquity to the Cathar Heresy
Here's another one that's been on my "to draw" list for a while now. The mysterious Leontocephaline (literally "lion-headed") god whose images are found in many Mithraic temples and is possibly linked to the destructive spirit Ahriman from Zoroastrianism or even Aion and Chronos. However, these connections are tenuous at best.
While many animal-headed gods exist in ancient Egyptian and Gnostic representations, no exact parallel exists. This is all to say, this guy is obscure and unknown....and yet, he still pops up in popular culture.
Since this guy is most connected to Mithra, here's a little summary: Mithraism is an ancient religion that predates Zoroastrianism.
"during the 6th century bce, the Iranians had a polytheistic religion, and Mithra was the most important of their gods. First of all, he was the god of contract and mutual obligation. In a cuneiform tablet of the 15th century bce that contains a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, Mithra is invoked as the god of oath."
"There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from the year 136 ce onward, there are hundreds of dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra. This renewal of interest is not easily explained. The most plausible hypothesis seems to be that Roman Mithraism was practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius who may have lived as late as c. 100 ce and who gave the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become acceptable to the Roman world."
Since this guy is most connected to Mithra, here's a little summary: Mithraism is an ancient religion that predates Zoroastrianism.
"during the 6th century bce, the Iranians had a polytheistic religion, and Mithra was the most important of their gods. First of all, he was the god of contract and mutual obligation. In a cuneiform tablet of the 15th century bce that contains a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, Mithra is invoked as the god of oath."
"There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from the year 136 ce onward, there are hundreds of dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra. This renewal of interest is not easily explained. The most plausible hypothesis seems to be that Roman Mithraism was practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius who may have lived as late as c. 100 ce and who gave the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become acceptable to the Roman world."
In 2017, I got to visit a Mithraic temple in Ostia Antica and another, smaller one in Rome. The video above is of me descending into the underground chamber to approach a sunlit statue of Mithra sacrificing a bull.
The Shin Megami Tensei series features a boss named Mitra or Mithra that is directly inspired by the Leontocephaline god. There's also a young adult fantasy series called The Trials Of Apollo that features the Leontocephaline god.
I hope you enjoyed this bonkers god....Tomorrow's a really exciting one!
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