Monumentum
Lion of Carnuntum III
Exceptional sculpture of a lion devouring a bull's head founded in 1894 in Carnuntum, Pannonia.
Lion of Carnuntum
David Walsh
The New Mithraeum
8 Feb 2022
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A reclining lion devours a bull's head held between its paws. The open mouth of the beast still bears traces of red paint.
The iconography of the lion with a bull's head is well known, specially because of some gems and a few coins. Those gems were amulets, on which the bull's head represented evil. In fact, according to Egyptian beliefs, the bull's head was a symbol of evil, possibly of Seth, and the lion was an image of the divine power which was supposed to control and conquer evil.
The iconography of the lion with a bull's head is well known, specially because of some gems and a few coins. Those gems were amulets, on which the bull's head represented evil. In fact, according to Egyptian beliefs, the bull's head was a symbol of evil, possibly of Seth, and the lion was an image of the divine power which was supposed to control and conquer evil.