The De mensibus by John Lydus contains a problematic sentence stating that Dionysus
had two epithets: Dimétor and Dithyrambus, and both or
one of these names mean(s): “the one who has two paths of procession, the one, from
the east toward the south, in winter, and the other, from the north
toward the west, in summer.” This sentence can be explained with the help of Mithraic
theology as it is summarized in Porphyry’s De antro nympharum.
In Mithraic cosmology, the alter egos of Mithras, Cautes and Cautopates are associated
with the same directions and seasons as in the text by Lydus. The Dionysiac triad
in the De mensibus can be read, thus, as an interpretation and adaptation of a Mithraic
cosmology. The close analogy suggests that in the imperial era of Rome, similar stellar
theologies were adapted for mystery cults with independent origins.
