title: Σπήλαιον καλῶσι τὸν τόπον: Justin the Philosopher and the Mithraic Cave
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Tolic, Isidora
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2020-09-09T10:36:14Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2020-09-09T10:36:14Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2020-03
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Isidora Tolic. Σπήλαιον καλῶσι τὸν τόπον: Justin the Philosopher and the Mithraic Cave. Philologia Classica 2020, 15 (1), 162–166.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu20.2020.112
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/19330
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: Justin the Philosopher, a second-century Christian author, discusses the cult of Mithras in
  his works First Apology on behalf of the Christians and Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. Justin’s
  portrayal of Mithraic customs is traditionally interpreted in the light of his conception of
  imitatio diabolica, as the ἀρχή of pagan myths and beliefs. To illustrate the theory of diabolical
  imitation, Justin touches upon several features of Mithraic rituals and provides us with a few
  indications of Mithraic ethical teachings. Two curious accounts of Mithraic cave shrines in
  Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew (Justin. Dial. 70, 1–3; 78, 6) have not been closely examined by previous researchers and require our special attention. Justin draws a parallel between
  the Mithraic cave shrines and the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 33, 13–16), focusing on the prophet’s
  words concerning a cave and a cliff as he finds them analogous to Mithraic sanctums. Remarkably, Justin never refers to Mithraic temples as caves, but only as places, called so by Mithraists.
  He does not claim that the devil has taught Mithraists to perform rituals in caves, but insists
  that he has taught them to name their sanctuaries caves. Justin’s wording exposes his effort
  to accentuate the difference between the object (a shrine) and its name (cave). This indicates
  that Justin believed that Mithraists did not use natural caves as their sanctuaries, despite his
  knowledge of other aspects of this cult.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: en
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Philologia Classica;Volume 15; Issue 1
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: cave shrines
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: mithraea
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Mithraism
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: prophecies
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: imitatio diabolica
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Christian apology
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: Σπήλαιον καλῶσι τὸν τόπον: Justin the Philosopher and the Mithraic Cave
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 162-166.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/19330/1/162-166.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 646,59 kB