Double-faced Mithraic relief. Rome, second to third century CE. Louvre Museum. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France
Front:Mithras killing the bull, being looked over by the Sun god and the Moon god.
Back: Mithras banquetting with the Sun god.

The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a mystery religion practiced in the Roman Empire (1st to 4th centuries CE), best attested in the cities of Rome and Ostia and in the Roman provinces of Mauretania, Britain, and in the provinces along the Rhine and Danube frontier. Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Ostia Antica was the Harbour of Ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. In Antiquity Mauretania was originally an independent Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa (named after the Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj

Rituals and worship

Mithraism was an initiatory order, passed from initiate to initiate, like the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Eleusinian Mysteries (Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone It was not based on a body of scripture, and hence very little written documentary evidence survives. Soldiers and the lower nobility appeared to be the most plentiful followers of Mithraism. Until recently, women were generally thought to not have been allowed to join, but it has now been suggested that "women were involved with Mithraic groups in at least some locations of the empire. "^[1] Recently revealed discrepancies such as these suggest that Mithraic beliefs were (contra the older supposition) not internally consistent and monolithic,^{cf. [2]} but rather, varied from location to location.

No Mithraic scripture or first-hand account of its highly secret rituals survives, with the possible exception of a liturgy recorded in a 4th century papyrus, thought to be an atypical representation of the cult at best. ^[3] Current knowledge of the mysteries is almost entirely limited to what can be deduced from the iconography in the mithraea that have survived.

The mithraeum

A mithraeum found in the ruins of Ostia Antica, Italy. Ostia Antica was the Harbour of Ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia.

Religious practice was centered around the mithraeum (Latin, from Greek mithraion), either an adapted natural cave or cavern or an artificial building imitating a cavern. Mithraea were dark and windowless, even if they were not actually in a subterranean space or in a natural cave. When possible, the mithraeum was constructed within or below an existing building. The site of a mithraeum may also be identified by its separate entrance or vestibule, its "cave", called the spelaeum or spelunca, with raised benches along the side walls for the ritual meal, and its sanctuary at the far end, often in a recess, before which the pedestal-like altar stood. Many mithraea that follow this basic plan are scattered over much of the Empire's former area, particularly where the legions were stationed along the frontiers (such as Britain). See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Others may be recognized by their characteristic layout, even though converted as crypts beneath Christian churches.

From the structure of the mithraea it is possible to surmise that worshippers would have gathered for a common meal along the reclining couches lining the walls. Most temples could hold only thirty or forty individuals.

The mithraeum itself was arranged as an "image of the universe". It is noticed by some researchers that this movement, especially in the context of mithraic iconography (see below), seems to stem from the neoplatonic concept that the "running" of the sun from solstice to solstice is a parallel for the movement of the soul through the universe, from pre-existence, into the body, and then beyond the physical body into an afterlife.

Mithraic ranks

The members of a mithraeum were divided into seven ranks. All members were expected to progress through the first four ranks, while only a few would go on to the three higher ranks. The first four ranks represent spiritual progress—the new initiate became a Corax, while the Leo was an adept—the other three have been specialized offices. An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge skill or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular author or organization The seven ranks were:

• Corax (raven)
• Nymphus (bridegroom)
• Miles (soldier)
• Leo (lion)
• Perses (Persian)
• Heliodromus (sun-courier)
• Pater (father)

The titles of the first four ranks suggest the possibility that advancement through the ranks was based on introspection and spiritual growth.

Tauroctony of Mithras at the British Museum London

The tauroctony

In every Mithraic temple, the place of honor was occupied by a tauroctony, a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull which was associated with spring. A tauroctony is an artistic depiction of the mythic hero and ancient religious savior Mithras engaged in the ritual slaying of a bull The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites A tauroctony is an artistic depiction of the mythic hero and ancient religious savior Mithras engaged in the ritual slaying of a bull Mithras is depicted as an energetic young man, wearing a Phrygian cap, a short tunic that flares at the hem, pants and a cloak which furls out behind him. The Phrygian cap is a soft red conical cap with the top pulled forward worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia Mithras grasps the bull so as to force it into submission, with his knee on its back and one hand forcing back its head while he stabs it in the neck with a short sword. The figure of Mithras is usually shown at a diagonal angle and with the face turned forward. The representations occur as both reliefs, and as three-dimensional sculpture; however the three dimensional images have a strongly frontal aspect.

A serpent and a dog seem to drink from the bull's open wound which is sometimes depicted as spilling grain rather than blood, and a scorpion (usually interpreted as a sign for autumn) attacks the bull's testicles sapping the bull for strength. Serpent is a word of Latin origin (from serpens serpentis "something that creeps snake" that is commonly used in a specifically mythic or Sometimes, a raven or crow is also present, and sometimes also a goblet and small lion. Cautes and Cautopates, the celestial twins of light and darkness, are torch-bearers, standing on either side with their legs crossed, Cautes with his brand pointing up and Cautopates with his turned down. Cautes and Cautopates are the two attendants of Mithras in the ancient Roman cult of Mithraism. Above Mithras, the symbols for Sol and Luna are present in the starry night sky. In Greek mythology, Selene (Σελήνη " Moon " English sɛˈliːniː was an archaic Lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans

The Platonic writer Porphyry, recorded, in the 3rd century CE that the cave-like temple Mithraims depicted "an image of the cosmos" or "great cave" of the sky. Porphyry of Tyre ( Greek:, c AD 233&ndashc 309 was a Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher This interpretation was supported by research by K. B. Stark in 1869, with astronomical support by Roger Beck (1984 and 1988) and David Ulansey (1989). Year 1869 ( MDCCCLXIX) is a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

Detail of sculpture (left) showing scorpion attacking the bull's testicles

It has been proposed by David Ulansey that, rather than being derived from Iranian animal sacrifice scene with Iranian precedents, the tauroctony is a symbolic representation of the constellations. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. ^[4] The bull is thus interpreted as representing the constellation Taurus, the snake the constellation Hydra, the dog Canis Major or Minor, the crow or raven Corvus, the goblet Crater, the lion Leo, and the wheat-blood for the star Spica, the name of which means "spike of wheat". Taurus is the second Astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Taurus. Hydra (ˈhaɪdrə is the largest of the 88 modern Constellations and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. Canis Major ( greater Dog) is one of the 88 modern Constellations and was also in Ptolemy 's list of 48 constellations Canis Minor (ˌkeɪnɨs ˈmaɪnɚ smaller Dog) is one of the 88 modern Constellations and was also in Ptolemy 's list of 48 constellations Corvus (ˈkɔrvəs Raven or Crow) is a small southern Constellation with only 11 stars visible to the naked eye (brighter than magnitude 5 Crater (ˈkreɪtɚ cup) is one of the 88 modern Constellations and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. Leo (ˈliːoʊ Lion, symbol, Unicode ♌ is a Constellation of the Zodiac. Spica (ˈspaɪkə (also known as α Vir / α Virginis / Alpha Virginis is the brightest star in the Constellation Virgo, and the 15th brightest star Ulansey suggests that the two torch-bearers represent the two equinoxes, and that their crossed legs represent the two intersection points of the zodiac and the celestial equator that define the equinoxes. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle Ulansey argues that the tauroctony is an astronomical code symbolizing the precession of the equinoxes: the movement of the cosmic sphere, discovered by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus, which caused the spring equinox to move out of the constellation of Taurus (thus ending the "Age of the Bull").

Mithras is associated by Michael Speidel with the constellation of Orion^[5] because of the proximity to Taurus, and the consistent nature of the depiction of the figure as having wide shoulders, a garment flared at the hem, and narrowed at the waist with a belt, thus taking on the form of the constellation. Ulansey, on the other hand, argues that Mithras was equated with Perseus, whose constellation is directly above that of the Taurus in the sky-- the same position occupied by Mithras in the tauroctony. Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas ( Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας) the Legendary founder

Cumont hypothesized (since then discredited) that this imagery was a Greco-Roman representation of an event in Zoroastrian cosmogony, in which Angra Mainyu (not Mithra) slays the primordial creature Gayomaretan (which in Zoroastrian tradition is represented as a bull). "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation.

Other iconography

Depictions show Mithras (or who is thought to represent Mithras) wearing a cape, that in some examples, has the starry sky as its inside lining. (See image below)

A bronze image of Mithras emerging from an egg-shaped zodiac ring was found associated with a mithraeum along Hadrian's Wall (now at the University of Newcastle). Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman Newcastle University is a leading research intensive University located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. An inscription from the city of Rome suggests that Mithras may have been seen as the Orphic creator-god Phanes who emerged from the world egg at the beginning of time, bringing the universe into existence. Orpheus ( Greek: Ὀρφεύς ˈɔrfiəs ( OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ ( OHR'-fews) in English is a figure from Greek mythology born in A world egg or cosmic egg is a mythological motif found in the Creation myths of many Cultures and Civilizations Typically This view is reinforced by a bas-relief at the Estense Museum in Modena, Italy, which shows Phanes coming from an egg, surrounded by the twelve signs of the zodiac, in an image very similar to that at Newcastle. Modena (ˈmɔːdena Mòdna in Modenese dialect is a city and a Comune ( Municipality) on the south side of the Po valley, in the Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

Reliefs on a cup found in Mainz,^[6] appear to depict a Mithraic initiation. Mainz (ˈmaɪ̯nʦ (Mayence is a City in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. On the cup, the initiate is depicted as led into a location where a Pater (see Mithraic ranks) would be seated in the guise of Mithras with a drawn bow. Accompanying the initiate is a mystagogue, who explains the symbolism and theology to the initiate. A mystagogue is a person who initiates others into mystic beliefs an educator or person who has knowledge of the Sacred Mysteries or Magick. The Rite is thought to re-enact what has come to be called the 'Water Miracle', in which Mithras fires a bolt into a rock, and from the rock now spouts water.

History and development

Mithras and the Bull: This fresco from the mithraeum at Marino, Italy (third century) shows the tauroctony and the celestial lining of Mithras' cape. Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the Mystery religion of Mithraism. A tauroctony is an artistic depiction of the mythic hero and ancient religious savior Mithras engaged in the ritual slaying of a bull (See above)

In antiquity, texts refer to "the mysteries of Mithras", and to its adherents, as "the mysteries of the Persians. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of "^[7] This latter epithet is significant, not only for whether the Mithraists considered the object of their devotion a Persian divinity (i. Several important religions and religious movements originated in Greater Iran, that is amongst speakers of various Iranian languages and hence with an Iranian cultural e. Mithra), but for whether the devotees considered their religion to have been founded by Zoroaster. This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra. Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت ^[7]

It is not possible to state with certainty when "the mysteries of Mithras" developed. Clauss asserts^[8] "the mysteries" were not practiced until the 1st century CE. Mithraism reached the apogee of its popularity around the 3rd through 4th centuries, when it was particularly popular among the soldiers of the Roman Empire. The 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century Mithraism disappeared from overt practice after the Theodosian decree of 391 banned all pagan rites, and it apparently became extinct thereafter. Flavius Theodosius (January 11 347 – January 17 395 also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great ( Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄ Events By Place Roman Empire All non- Christian temples in the Empire are closed as Theodosius establishes Christianity

Although scholars are in agreement with the classical sources that state that the Romans borrowed the name of Mithras from Avestan^[9] Mithra, the origins of the Roman religion itself remain unclear and there is yet no scholarly consensus concerning this issue (for a summary of the various theories, see history, below). The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra. Further compounding the problem is the non-academic understanding of what "Persian" means, which, in a classical context is not a specific reference to the Iranian province Pars, but to the Persian (i. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Fars (pronounced/fɑː(ɹs ( Persian: فارس Fârs) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. e. Achaemenid) Empire and speakers of Iranian languages in general. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian.

Origin theories

Cumont's hypothesis

'Mithras' was little more than a name until the massive documentation of Franz Cumont's Texts and Illustrated Monuments Relating to the Mysteries of Mithra was published in 1894-1900, with the first English translation in 1903. Franz-Valéry-Marie Cumont ( Aalst Belgium, January 3 1868 – Brussels, August 25 1947) was a Belgian archaeologist Cumont's hypothesis, as the author summarizes it in the first 32 pages of his book, was that the Roman religion was a development of a Zoroastrian cult of Mithra (which Cumont supposes is a development from an Indo-Iranian one of *mitra), that through state sponsorship and syncretic influences was disseminated throughout the Near- and Middle East, ultimately being absorbed by the Greeks, and through them eventually by the Romans. This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra.

Cumont's theory was a hit in its day, particularly since it was addressed to a general, non-academic readership that was at the time fascinated by the orient and its hitherto (relatively) uncharted culture. This was the age when great steps were being taken in Egyptology and Indology, preceded as it was by Max Müller's "Sacred Books of the East" series that for the first time demonstrated that civilization did not begin and end with Rome and Greece, or even with Assyria and Babylon, which until then were widely considered to be the cradle of humanity. Cumont's book was a product of its time, and influenced generations of academics such that the effect of Cumont's syncretism theories are felt even a century later.

Cumont's ideas, though in many respects valid, had however one serious problem with respect to the author's theory on the origins of Mithraism: If the Roman religion was an outgrowth of an Iranian one, there would have to be evidence of Mithraic-like practices attested in Greater Iran. Greater Iran (in Irān-e Bozorg, or fa ایران‌زمین Irān-zamīn; the Encyclopedia Iranica uses the term However, that is not the case: No mithraea have been found there, and the Mithraic myth of the tauroctony does not conclusively match the Zoroastrian legend of the slaying of Gayomart, in which Mithra does not play any role at all. The historians of antiquity, otherwise expansive in their descriptions of Iranian religious practices, hardly mention Mithra at all (one notable exception is Herodotus i. 131, which associates Mithra with other divinities of the morning star). The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University

Further, no distinct religion of Mithra or *mitra had ever (and has not since) been established. As Boyce put it, "no satisfactory evidence has yet been adduced to show that, before Zoroaster, the concept of a supreme god existed among the Iranians, or that among them Mithra - or any other divinity - ever enjoyed a separate cult of his or her own outside either their ancient or their Zoroastrian pantheons. Nora Elisabeth Mary Boyce ( &ndash) was a British scholar of Iranian languages, and a recognized authority on Zoroastrianism. "^[10]

It should however be noted that while it is "generally agreed that Cumont's master narrative of east-west transfer is unsustainable," a syncretic Zoroastrian (whatever that might have entailed at the time) influence is a viable supposition. ^[11] This does not however imply that the religion practiced by the Romans was the same as that practiced elsewhere; syncretism was a feature of Roman religion, and the syncretic religion known as the Mysteries of Mithras is a product of Roman culture itself. "Apart from the name of the god himself, in other words, Mithraism seems to have developed largely in and is, therefore, best understood from the context of Roman culture. "^[12]

Other theories

Other theories propose that Mithraism originated in Asia Minor, which though once within the sphere of Zoroastrian influence, by the second century BCE were more influenced by Hellenism than by Zoroastrianism. It was there, at Pergamum on the Aegean Sea, in the second century BCE, that Greek sculptors started to produce the highly standardized bas-relief imagery of Mithra Tauroctonos "Mithra the bull-slayer. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. "

The Greek historiographer Plutarch (46 - 127) was convinced that the pirates of Cilicia, the coastal province in the southeast of Anatolia, were the origin of the Mithraic rituals that were being practiced in the Rome of his day: "They likewise offered strange sacrifices; those of Olympus I mean; and they celebrated certain secret mysteries, among which those of Mithras continue to this day, being originally instituted by them. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black " (Life of Pompey 24)

Beck suggests a connection through the Hellenistic kingdoms (as Cumont had already intimated) was quite possible: "Mithras — moreover, a Mithras who was identified with the Greek Sun god, Helios, which was one of the deities of the syncretic Graeco-Iranian royal cult founded by Antiochus I, king of the small, but prosperous "buffer" state of Commagene, in the mid first century BCE. In Greek mythology the Sun was personified as Helios (ˈhiliˌɑs ( Ἥλιος Latinized as Helius) For the kingdom please see Kingdom of Commagene. Commagene or Kommagene ( Greek: Kομμαγηνή, Kommagênê Կոմմագենէ "^[7]

Ulansey argues that the Mithraic mysteries began in the Greco-Roman world as a religious response to the discovery by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of the astronomical phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes-- a discovery that amounted to discovering that the entire cosmos was moving in a hitherto unknown way. This new cosmic motion, he suggests, was seen by the founders of Mithraism as indicating the existence of a powerful new god capable of shifting the cosmic spheres and thereby controlling the universe.

Another possible connection between a Mithra and Mithras, though one not proposed by Cumont, is from a Manichean context. Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating According to Sundermann, the Manicheans adopted the name Mithra to designate one of their own deities. Sundermann determined that the Zoroastrian Mithra, which in Middle Persian is Mihr, is not a variant of the Parthian and Sogdian Mytr or Mytrg; though a homonym of Mithra, those names denote Maitreya. Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language that was spoken in Sogdiana ( Zarafshan River Valley located in modern day Uzbekistan Maitreya ( Sanskrit) or Metteyya ( Pāli) is a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In Parthian and Sogdian however Mihr was taken as the sun and consequently identified as the Third Messenger. This Third Messenger was the helper and redeemer of mankind, and identified with another Zoroastrian divinity Narisaf. ^[13] Citing Boyce,^[14] Sundermann remarks, "It was among the Parthian Manicheans that Mithra as a sun god surpassed the importance of Narisaf as the common Iranian image of the Third Messenger; among the Parthians the dominance of Mithra was such that his identification with the Third Messenger led to cultic emphasis on the Mithraic traits in the Manichaean god. "^[15]

Some commentators^[16] surmise that the Mithraists worshipped Mithras as the mediator between Man and the supreme God of the upper and nether world. Other commentators, inspired by James Frazer's theories, have additionally labeled Mithraism as a mystery religion with a life-death-rebirth deity, comparable to Isis, or Persephone/Demeter, the cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The category life-death-rebirth deity also known as a "dying-and-rising" or "Resurrection" Deity is a convenient means of classifying the many divinities Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater The Eleusinian Mysteries (Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone

The early period

Mithraism began to attract attention in Rome around the end of the first century. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. Statius mentions the typical Mithraic relief in his Thebaid (Book i. Publius Papinius Statius (ca 45-96 was a Roman Poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature, born in Naples, Italy. The Thebaid or Thebais (Θηβαΐς or Θηβαΐδα is the region of Ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt 719,720), around 80 CE. Year 80 was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. The earliest material evidence for the Roman worship of Mithras dates from that period, in a record of Roman soldiers who came from the military garrison at Carnuntum in the Roman province of Upper Pannonia (near the Danube River in modern Austria, near the Hungarian border). Carnuntum (Καρνοιις in Ptolemy) was an important Roman army camp in what is now Austria. Pannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Other legionaries fought the Parthians and were involved in the suppression of the revolts in Jerusalem from 60 CE to about 70 CE When they returned home, they made Mithraic dedications, probably in the year 71 or 72. Year 60 was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 70 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 71 was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 72 was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar.

By the year 200, Mithraism had spread widely through the army, and also among traders and slaves. Events By Place World Human population reaches about 257 million During festivals all initiates were equals including slaves. The German frontiers have yielded most of the archaeological evidence of its prosperity: small cult objects connected with Mithras turn up in archaeological digs from Romania to Hadrian's Wall. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman

Expansion throughout the empire

Sol Invictus on the reverse of this coin by usurper Victorinus. Marcus Piav(vonius Victorinus was emperor of the secessionist Gallic Empire from 268 to 270 or 271 following the brief reign of Marius. Mithras (as well as Elagabalus and Sol) was at times referred to as Sol Invictus. Elagabalus was a Syro - Roman Sun god. Cult Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa in Syria. Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun" or more fully Deus Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun God" was the late Roman state Sun god.

By the third century, Mithraism was officially sanctioned by the Roman emperors. The 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. ^[17] According to the fourth century Historia Augusta, Commodus participated in its mysteries: Sacra Mithriaca homicidio vero polluit, cum illic aliquid ad speciem timoris vel dici vel fingi soleat "He desecrated the rites of Mithras with actual murder, although it was customary in them merely to say or pretend something that would produce an impression of terror". Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus ( August 31, 161 – December 31, 192) was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 (also with ^[18]

Concentrations of Mithraic temples are found on the outskirts of the Roman empire: along Hadrian's wall in northern England three mithraea have been identified, at Housesteads, Carrawburgh and Rudchester. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The discoveries are in the University of Newcastle's Museum of Antiquities, where a mithraeum has been recreated. Newcastle University is a leading research intensive University located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. Recent excavations in London have uncovered the remains of a Mithraic temple near to the center of the once walled Roman settlement, on the bank of the Walbrook stream. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Walbrook is the name of a ward a street and a subterranean river in the City of London. Mithraea have also been found along the Danube and Rhine river frontier, in the province of Dacia (where in 2003 a temple was found in Alba-Iulia) and as far afield as Numidia in North Africa. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae " Alba Iulia ( Latin: Apulum, German: Karlsburg / Weißenburg, Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár, former Erdel Belgradı Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia ( North Africa) that later alternated

As would be expected, Mithraic ruins are also found in the port city of Ostia, and in Rome the capital, where as many as seven hundred mithraea may have existed (a dozen have been identified). Ostia Antica was the Harbour of Ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Its importance at Rome may be judged from the abundance of monumental remains: more than 75 pieces of sculpture, 100 Mithraic inscriptions, and ruins of temples and shrines in all parts of the city and its suburbs. A well-preserved late second-century mithraeum, with its altar and built-in stone benches, originally built beneath a Roman house (as was a common practice), survives in the crypt over which has been built the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome. The Basilica of Saint Clement ( Basilica di San Clemente in Italian) Rome is a twelfth century Roman Catholic Basilica dedicated

Decline and demise

There is very little information about the decline of the religion. The edict of Theodosius I in 394 made paganism illegal. Flavius Theodosius (January 11 347 – January 17 395 also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great ( Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄ Events By Place Roman Empire September 6 — Battle of the Frigidus: Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the usurper Official recognition of Mithras in the army stopped at this time, but we have no information on what other effect the edict had. Mithraism may have survived in certain remote cantons of the Alps and Vosges into the fifth century. The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini / Common Era. ^[19]

Legacy

Sites of interest relating to the Mystery of Mithras include:

• Italy: The Basilica of San Clemente in Rome has a preserved mithraeum with the altarpiece still intact in the excavations under the modern church. The Basilica of Saint Clement ( Basilica di San Clemente in Italian) Rome is a twelfth century Roman Catholic Basilica dedicated Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2
• Italy: The Castra Peregrinorum mithraeum in Rome, under the basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo was excavated in the 20th century. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Santo Stefano Rotondo, also known as Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, is an ancient Basilica church in Rome.
• Italy: Ostia Antica, the port of Rome, where the remains of 17 mithraea have been found so far; one of them is substantial. Ostia Antica was the Harbour of Ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia.
• Germany: The museum of Dieburg displays finds from a mithraeum, including ceramics used in the service. Dieburg is a town in Hessen, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district of Dieburg but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.
• Germany: The museum of Hanau displays a reconstruction of a mithraeum. Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main.
• England: The museum at the University of Newcastle displays findings from the three sites along Hadrian's Wall and recreates a mithraeum. Newcastle University is a leading research intensive University located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England.
• England: A Temple of Mithras was discovered in 1954 in Walbrook, London. It was moved and is now on Queen Victoria Street, with findings in the Museum of London. The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day
• Switzerland: The city of Martigny (ancient Octodurus), in the Alps, displays a reconstructed Mithraeum [1]
• Slovenia: The museum of Ptuj and town Hajdina near Ptuj. Martigny ( German Martinach, Latin Octodurum, sometimes also Octodure in French) is the capital of the French Ptuj (Pettau Latin: Poetovio) is a City and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. Hajdina (Haiden is a town and a municipality in Slovenia near Ptuj.
• United States: The Cincinnati Art Museum displays a relief from a mithraeum in Rome itself depicting Mithras slaying a bull. The Cincinnati Art Museum is one of the oldest Art museums in the United States.

Mithraism and Christianity

Further information: Christianity and Paganism, Christianised rituals, and Jesus and comparative mythology

Evaluation of the relationship of early Christianity with Mithraism has traditionally been based on the polemical testimonies of the 2nd century Church fathers, such as Justin's accusations that the Mithraists were diabolically imitating the Christians. This article gives overview about the relations between Christians and Pagans. Christianised rituals were among the cultural features of the Mediterranean world that were adapted by the Early Christians, as part of the thorough-going Christianization The study of Jesus from a mythographical perspective is the examination of the narrative of Jesus, the Christ ("the Anointed " of the Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c Justin (Latin Marcus Junianius (or Junianus) Justinus) was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. ^[20] This led to a picture of rivalry between the two religions, which Ernest Renan summarized in his 1882 The Origins of Christianity by saying "if the growth of Christianity had been arrested by some mortal malady, the world would have been Mithraic. Ernest Renan ( February 28, 1823 &ndash October 12, 1892) was a French Philosopher and writer deeply attached to his native "^[21] This characterization of Mithraism and Christianity as "deadly rivals" became mainstream in the early 20th century with Cumont's endorsement, but was later criticized as too sweeping. Martin (1989) characterizes the rivalry between 3rd century Mithraism and Christianity in Rome as primarily one for real estate in the public areas of urban Rome. ^[22]

Iconographical similarities with Early Christian art

Franz Cumont was the first scholar to suggest that Early Christian art had borrowed iconographic themes from Mithraism, pointing out that Mithraic images of the Heavens, the Earth, the Ocean, the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, signs of the Zodiac, the Winds, the Seasons, and the Elements are found on Christian sarcophagi, mosaics, and miniatures from the third to the fifth centuries. Franz-Valéry-Marie Cumont ( Aalst Belgium, January 3 1868 – Brussels, August 25 1947) was a Belgian archaeologist Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the Ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the heavens through the Constellations that divide the ecliptic A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone According to Cumont the Church was opposed to the pagan practice of worshipping the cosmic cycle, but these images were nevertheless incorporated into Christian artworks, in which "a few alterations in costume and attitude transformed a pagan scene into a Christian picture".

The Jewish faith provided no precedent of pictorial representation on which the Early Christians could base their imagery. According to Cumont, Early Christian imagery drew upon Mithraic traditions. Depictions of the biblical story of Moses striking Mount Horeb with his staff to release drinking water were, according to Cumont, inspired by Mithraic representation of Mithras shooting arrows at rocks causing fountains to spring up. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Mount Horeb, Hebrew he חֹרֵב Greek in the Septuagint grc χωρηβ Latin in the Vulgate la Horeb, is the place ^[23]

M. J. Vermaseren claimed that the scene of Mithras ascending into the heavens was similarly incorporated into Christian art: after Mithras had accomplished a series of miraculous deeds, he ascended into the heavens in a chariot, which in various depictions is drawn by horses being controlled by Helios-Sol, the pagan sun god. In other depictions a chariot of fire belonging to Helios is led into the water, surrounded by the god Oceanus and sea nymphs. Ocean (Ὠκεανός was believed to be the world-ocean in Classical antiquity, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be Vermaseren argues that Christian portrayals on sarcophagi of the soul’s ascension into heaven, though ostensibly referencing the biblical scene of Elijah being led into heaven by fiery chariots and horses, were in fact inspired by representations of Mithras' ascent into the heavens in Helios’ chariot. Elijah or Elias ( was a Prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC The sun god, Vermaseren claims, provided inspiration for the flames on Elijah’s chariot and the Jordan River is personified by a figure resembling the god Oceanus. ^[24]

A. Deman suggests that rather than attempting to find individual references from Mithraic art in Christian iconography, as Cumont does with the sun and moon, for instance, it is better to look for larger patterns of comparison: "with this method, pure coincidences can no longer be used and so the recognition of Mithras as the privileged pagan inspirer of medieval Christian iconography is forced upon us. " For example Deman compares what he calls the "creative sacrifice" of Mithras with the creative sacrifice of Christ. In representations of both iconographic scenes the vernal sacrifice is central to the image, with sun and the moon symmetrically arranged above. Beneath the sacrifice two other figures are symmetrically arranged. In mithraic scenes these are Cautes and Cautopates, and in the Christian scenes, which date from the 4th century onwards, the figures are typically Mary and John. In other Christian instances however, these two attendants are other figures, and carry a raised and lowered object reminiscent of the raised and lowered torches of Cautes and Cautopates. Cautes and Cautopates are the two attendants of Mithras in the ancient Roman cult of Mithraism. Such figures may be two Roman soldiers armed with lances, or Longinus holding a spear and Stephaton offering Jesus vinegar from a sponge. In some instances the clothes of these figures resemble those of Cautes and Cautopates in the earlier Mithraic depictions. Derman also compares the twelve apostles shown in Christian crucifixion scenes with the twelve signs of the zodiac common in Mithraic scenes, as well as identifying a cross-legged posture commonly found in figures in both sets of iconography. ^[25]

References

A statue of the tauroctony (of unknown date) in the Vatican Museum. The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are one of the greatest museums in the world since they display works

Further reading

• Legge, Francis. Forerunners and the Rivals of Christianity (1915)
• Beck, Roger "The Mysteries of Mithras: A New Account of Their Genesis," Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 88, 1998 (1998) , pp. 115-128.
• Ulansey, David, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World, Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Walter Burkert, Ancient Mystery Cults, Harvard University Press, 1987. Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau, Bavaria, February 2, 1931) a scholar of Greek mythology and cult, is an emeritus
• Hinnells, John (ed. ), Proceedings of The First International Congress of Mithraic Studies, Manchester University Press (1975).
• A. Rehn, The Relation Between Mithraism and Christianity, University of Chicago, Divinity School (1921).
• H Salahi, Mithraism and Its Similarities to Christianity, California State University, (1979).
• RN Wells, A Study of Mithraism and of Its Effects on Christianity, Duke University (1946).
• KP Robinson-Campos, Mithraism and Christianity: Myths and Origins, University of New Mexico (2006).
• DR Morse, Mithraism and Christianity: How Are They Related, Journal of Religion and Psychical Research (1999)
• E Winter, Mithraism and Christianity in Late Antiquity - Ethnicity and culture in Late Antiquity, London/Swansea, 2000
• JJ Hoffmann, Mithraism and Early Christianity, Northwestern University (1923)
• MS Whitman, Similarities in the Content and Practices of Early Christianity and the Mithra Cult, University of Idaho, (1933).
• R Beck, The Mysteries of Mithras: A New Account of Their Genesis, The Journal of Roman Studies (1998).
• Luther H. Martin, Roman Mithraism and Christianity, Numen (1989).
• Kriwaczek, Paul. In Search of Zarathustra. Weidenfeld and Nicholson (2002)

External links