LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mithras: Persian Mithra
built 302 days ago
Mithras is accompanied by a dog, snake, scorpion and raven, as well as two minor deities who are ... dressed in Persian attire. Each carries a torch (one pointed up, one down) and their names are known from inscriptions: Cautes and Cautopates. Above the scene are images of Sol and Luna (Sun and Moon).
Source:
Emperor Nero [ruled from 54 to 68] [A]dopted the radiating crown as the symbol of his sovereignty to exemplify the splendour of the rays of the sun, and to show that he was an incarnation of Mithras. He was initiated into the Mithraic religion by the Persian Magi brought to Rome by the King of Armenia. Emperors from that time onwards proclaimed themselves destined to the throne by virtue of having been born with the divine ruling power of the sun. Nero was a popular emperor with the people and ruthless in protecting his throne. His tutor Seneca was well known as a Stoic writer and was the last word on a heliocentric solar system till Copernicus 1500 years later.
Source:
The Persian crown, from which all present day crowns are derived, was designed to represent the golden sun-disc sacred to Mithras. As a deity connected with the sun and its life-giving powers, Mithras was known as 'The Lord of the Wide Pastures' who was believed to cause the plants to spring forth from the ground.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Persian Mithra