Cautes and Cautopates

Cautes and Cautopates

Cautes and Cautopates are torch-bearers depicted attending the god Mithras in the icons of ancient Roman cult of Mithraism, known as Tauroctony. Cautes holds his torch raised up, and Cautopates holds his torch downward.

Interpretation
In Mithraic images Mithras either represents the sun, or is a close friend of the sun god Helios or Sol Invictus (Latin: the invincible sun) with whom Mithras dines. So attendants Cautes and Cautopates are supposed to either represent the stations of sunrise and sunset respectively, or perhaps the spring and autumn equinoxes.

Depictions
Both are depicted as smaller than Mithras to emphasize his significance, and both wear Persian style garments, notably a Phrygian cap, to emphasize the supposed oriental origins of the cult.[1] Cautes holds a burning torch pointed up, whereas Cautopates holds a burning torch pointed down.[2] Cautopates is usually depicted on the left, but not always.

Fiano Romano mithraic relief

The two torch-bearers are often interpreted as symbols of light, one for the rising, the other for the setting sun.[3] Cautopates could also represent death, while Cautes might represent new life.[4] An alternate interpretation advanced by David Ulansey is that Cautes represents the spring equinox and Cautopates the autumn equinox. Thus, represented on the left and right of the Tauroctony, they become a realistic cadre of the celestial equator and the constellations included between the two equinoxes during the Age of Taurus.

References
[1] See Mithraism for a fuller discussion. See also: Cumont, Franz. Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (1911) [2] Manfred Claus, The Roman cult of Mithras, tr. Richard Gordon. Edinburgh University Press (2000) p.95: "No satisfactory etymology of the names Cautes and Cautopates has yet been offered, but it is certain which name applied to which: Cautes holds his torch up, Cautopates down. That it was possible to represent them sometimes simply by their phrygian caps shows that the Mithraists took their presence for granted (p. 49; fig. 9)." [3] Manfred Clauss, The Roman cult of Mithras, tr. R. Gordon, Edinburgh University Press (2000) p.95-6. [4] Manfred Clauss, The Roman cult of Mithras, p.97.

External links
UCL, Mithras (http://search2.ucl.ac.uk/search/search.cgi?query=mithras&collection=ucl-public-meta)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Cautes and Cautopates Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=535870482 Contributors: Amalas, Catalographer, CommonsDelinker, Fabioli2010, FinnWiki, Gekritzl, Jeff3000, Lotje, Mboverload, Pydos, Roger Pearse, T of Locri, Yahel Guhan, 7 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Fiano Romano mithraic relief.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fiano_Romano_mithraic_relief.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: User:PHGCOM

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