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The Mithraeum above Rozanec is one of the most attractive archaeological monuments in Slovenia. The temple was close to the Roman road that led from Crnomelj past Rozanec to Semic, where it divided into two separate routes. The first led past Rozni Dol into the valley of the river Krka and on to Emona (Ljubljana), whilst the second ran through Strekljevec, Jugorje and the Gorjanci hills towards Novo mesto, where it joined the main Emona (Ljubljana) - Neviodunum (Drnovo near Krsko) - Siscia (Sisak) road. The rock cut relief of Mithras with accompanying inscription is preserved in a small picturesque valley in the sweet chestnut forest of Judovje, not far from the path that leads to the filial church of sv. Jurij (St. George). Entry to the mystic valley is via a narrow path between large stone blocks. These surround the small valley, which geologists interpret as an abandoned Roman quarry. The Mithras relief above Rozanec is an example of the classic representation of the sacrifice, in which the god Mithras, kneeling on the bull's back, kills the mighty beast. The rock-cut inscription states that the brothers or initiates from the Aelii family, Nepos, Proculus and Firminus, caused the sacred image of the invincible god Mithras to be carved for their own well-being and the well-being of their relatives. This probably took place at the end of the 2nd century. Archaeological excavation has shown that the rituals before the relief involved the kindling of fire, which had a special meaning in the sacrificial rite. The Rozanec Mithraeum differs from the other known mithraea in Stovenia on this account. The excavations also revealed the presence of coins, sherds of pottery and oil lamps. The earliest coin is a bronze as of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 - AD 180), which is followed chronologically by three coins of the emperor Probus (AD 176 - AD 282) and a folis of the emperor Constantine I (AD 330 - AD 335). The coins bear witness to the beginning of Mithraism in Bela krajina, its rise and climax, as well as of its persistence in this out of the way place in spite of its official prohibition in AD 313. The stone relief has deteriorated rapidly in the last few decades, because of damage, caused by freezing, lichen and acid rain. The state of the relief in the mid 20th century is shown by a cast, kept in the Belokranjski muzej (Bela krajina museum) in Metlika. Mithraism Mithraism was a religion that was founded on the cyclical alternation of life and death, on the conflict between good and evil and on the power of the redemptive sacrifice. Its roots can be found in ancient religions of Persia. It spread to the west during the Roman period through the influence of easterners in public service and in the imperial capital. It adopted many elements from other religions, intertwined with Gnosticism and influenced Christianity, from which it also acquired a very distinctive stamp. This complicated and exclusive religion represents an important link in the development of European Thought and the dominance of monotheistic religions at the end of Antiquity. The major festivals took place on the main divisions of the solar year: at the equinoxes and on the winter and summer solstices. The most important festival took place on the winter solstice, on the 25th December, when the invincible god, or sun, was born and brought new life. The celebration of the Saviour's birth on the winter solstice later passed into Christian tradition. The rituals, of which little was said or written, took place inside closed religious communities that were exclusively male and numbered up to a hundred initiates. These were divided according to degree of initiation into seven ranks, whose representative symbols are also depicted on the relief at Rozanec. Mithraism almost became the state religion of the vast Roman empire in the second half of the 3rd century. Mithraism and the other pagan religions were banned and their temples destroyed in the mid 4th century. However, the relief above Rozanec remained undamaged. This gives rise to the suggestion that the Mithraic religion was still practised in outlying regions, in spite of official prohibition. Relief depictions of the god Mithras were widely distributed throughout the Roman empire, including the modern area of Slovenia: at least five examples from Ptuj, as well as further individual examples from Modrič near Oplotnica, Ruse, Zgornja Pohanca near Krsko and the Mitrova jama (Mithras cave) near Skofije.
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