2nd-3rd century AD. A bronze discoid plaque with Mithras and a dog modelled in high relief; Mithras standing on left leg with right knee raised, holding a knife in his right hand and a sheath in his left, his cloak swept over the right thigh and behind the body, round shield behind, fastened with a band across the chest, to his head a crested Phrygian cap; behind him a canine with forelegs reared, head and left forearm modelled in the round; long muzzle and tall pointed ears, body incised with fur detailing; pierced three times for application. Mithras was the Indo-Iranian god of light, whose cult spread across Hellenistic world after the campaigns of Alexander the Great and later became popular throughout the Roman empire. Shrines dedicated to Mithras have been found at Roman sites from Dura Europos on the River Euphrates in modern-day Syria to Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Mithras can be identified here by the the crested 'Phrygian' cap, highlighting his eastern origins. According to various birth myths, Mithras emerged from a cave fully grown holding a dagger and a torch, naked but for his Phrygian cap. The most common imagery associated with Mithras is the tauroctony scene which depicts Mithras killing a bull. In many Roman depictions, Mithras is shown in the act of slaying, often surrounded by four helpers: a dog, a snake, a raven and a scorpion. The dog is thought to have been one of the earliest additions to the scene, often appearing to lap up the blood as it flows from the bull. In this scene, the dog appears as Mithras' hunting companion. Both look ahead in anticipation, as if having spotted the bull in the distance, and Mithras holds the knife forward ready to strike, perhaps representing the moment before the tauroctony. 648 grams, 16.5cm (6 1/4"). From an important English collection; acquired in the 1990s. [A video of this item is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.] Very fine condition, one front paw absent. Rare.