JUPITER DOLICHENUS

god of a Roman mystery cult, originally a local Hittite-Hurrian god of fertility and thunder worshiped at Doliche (modern Dlk), in southeastern Turkey. Later the deity was given a Semitic character, but, under Achaemenidian rule (6th4th century BC), he was identified with the Persian god Ahura Mazda, thus becoming a god of the universe. Through Greek influence he was renamed Zeus Oromasdes; and under that title he was closely associated with the cult of Mithra, another Persian deity. The worship of Jupiter Dolichenus and that of his consort was gradually carried westward to Rome and other military centres, where it became extremely popular during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. In the Roman mystery religion he was not only recognized as a god of the heavens but was also believed to control military success and safety. He was usually represented standing on a bull and carrying his special weapons, the double ax and the thunderbolt.