Helios

This opus sectile panel from the Mithraeum of Sta Prisca (early 3rd c.) shows Helios, the Greek sun god. The underground mithraeum for the god Mithras belonged to a mystery cult favored by soldiers and officials. Polychrome marble inlays and an idealized, Alexander-like face link solar power with heroic rule. Above this shrine, a later church to St Prisca, a young Roman martyr who refused to sacrifice to Roman gods, marks the city’s transition from pagan cults to Christian memory.