Mithraism

Mithraism was a Roman mystery religion that flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Much is still unknown about this secretive sect, but it involved the worship of the ancient Persian god Mithras in caves, a communal meal, and initiation through seven stages of an astrologically-themed hierarchy.

Relief of Mithras slaying the bull. Roman- Germanic Museum, Koln. © Sacred Destinations



Relief of Mithras slaying the bull. Yorkshire Museum, England. Photo © Sacred Destinations

History

Mithraism is known almost entirely from archaeological finds and dedicatory inscriptions; there are very few written references to it. This is largely because, as a mystery religion, the meaning of its iconography and rituals was a secret known only to initiates. Insiders did not record details of their religion and outsiders did not know much about it. There is much about Mithraism that is still not known.

The origin of Mithraism is not fully understood. It clearly derives from ancient Persia, but scholars are divided on whether the Roman cult is a westernized Persian religion or an essentially western religion with Persian trimmings. In any case, the cult of Mithras was well-established by the 2nd century AD (hundreds of inscriptions begin appearing after 136 AD), and died out with the rest of paganism after the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century.

Traces of Mithraism have been found throughout the Roman empire, from Rome to Turkey to Britain. It was especially concentrated in Rome (35 Mithraea found) and its port of Ostia (15 Mithraea). In total, over 400 archaeological find-spots related to Mithraism have been found, along with about 1,000 dedicatory inscriptions and 1,150 pieces of sculpture.

Most followers of Mithraism were Roman soldiers or minor government employees like customs officials. Many were freedmen or slaves. Mithraism did not attract upper-class followers until its rather superficial adoption by the pagan aristocracy of 4th-century Rome. There seem to have been virtually no women followers of Mithraism.

Relationship with Christianity

Mithraism is frequently said to have been a great rival to early Christianity, but scholars indicate the archaeological evidence does not actually support this. Although it was widespread, Mithraism probably had no great numbers. (Christianity was not terribly large or influential in this period, either.) As many as 400 temples of Mithras (Mithraea) have been discovered across the Roman empire, but they are all very small. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion:

Even if all were in service contemporaneously they would accommodate no more than 1 percent of the population — scarcely the great rival to Christianity that inflated views of the cult have sometimes made it.¹

Whether or not they were rivals, it is certainly possible that these two contemporary communities had some influence on each other. But when considering the influence of Mithraism on Christianity, it is important to note that Mithraism was a secretive, initiatory cult whose beliefs, practices and imagery were not known to the outside world. It would not have been so easy for Christianity to borrow ideas as one might assume.

It is also worth noting that two faiths developing in the same area of the world at the same time are likely to have similar ideas and practices, regardless of their interaction. Ritual communal meals and the idea of sacrifice for salvation, for instance, were common not only to Mithraism and Christianity but most of the ancient world.

Beliefs

Because of the lack of written sources, little is known about the beliefs of Mithraism. But it clearly centered on worship of Mithras, who was based on the pre-Zoroastrian Persian god Mithra. Mithra was the most important god in Persian polytheism. He was a god of contracts (which is the literal meaning of his name) and all things associated with contracts: justice, friendship, cattle-herding and the sun (which beholds all things and thus can ensure the keeping of oaths). Since Zoroaster (6th century BC) denounced the sacrifice of the bull, it is likely this was a ceremony of the ancient worshippers of Mithras.

In Roman Mithraism, Mithras was a sun god (called sol invictus, "the invincible sun"), a "bull-slayer," "cattle-thief" and the savior of initiates of his cult. He was probably also the god of kings and of war (which explains Mithraisms' popularity among soldiers).

The image of Mithras killing a bull is central to nearly all Mithraic temples, and thus provides an important (but difficult) clue to the beliefs and concepts of Mithraism. Mithras is dressed like a Persian, including a distinctive cap. He is shown astride a bull, plunging a dagger into its flank. The bull's tail becomes an ear of wheat at the end. The scene takes place in front of a cave.

Mithras is accompanied by a dog, snake, scorpion and raven, as well as two minor deities who are also 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).

This intriguing iconography continues to fascinate and frustrate scholars. The act clearly represents a sacrifice, but for what purpose? Scholars have suggested that the sacrifice creates or ends the world (an idea found in Zoroastrian sources) or somehow saves the world or the initiates of the cult. In a Mithraic temple in Rome, an inscription reads, et nos servasti... sanguine fuso: "and who saved us with the shed blood." If this is the meaning of the bull-slaying image, it still remains unclear what "salvation" meant to followers of Mithras. One must be careful to avoid reading Christian connotations into a non-Christian context.

Another intepretation of the bull-killing scene is that it is an astrological allegory, since elements in the scene correspond to a group of constellations. According to this view, astrology was central to Mithraism and it provided the specifics of the soul's celestial journey (descent to earth and ascent to heaven).

Besides this central icon, there are other episodes of Mithraic myth depicted as well. These include MIthras' birth from a rock, the hunt and capture of the bull, and a banquet celebrated with Sol (who is shown as a separate being on monuments despite Mithras' own designation as a sun god). The divine meal is laid on the hide of the bull killed by Mithras. The banquet scene is sometimes shown on the reverse of the bull-killing reliefs, as an apparent result of the sacrificial act.

Practices

Followers of Mithraism were organized into small autonomous groups of initiates. They met for fellowship and worship in small temples of distinctive design they called "caves." ("Mithraea" and "Mithraic" are modern terms.) The cave-temple was an "image of the universe" and Porphyry noted that the archetypal Mithraeum was designed as a kind of microcosmic model.

Mithraic temples were sometimes actual caves or set against rock faces; otherwise they were made to imitate caves by the use of dim underground rooms or special vaulting and decoration. They were in all cases the antithesis of the classical temple, entirely lacking in exterior decoration and grandeur for public ritual.

One unvarying feature of Mithraic temples is a pair of platforms flanking a central aisle. These furnishings were used for a communal meal. Based on the reliefs that show a feast between Mithras and the sun god, this ritual meal was the human counterpart of the divine banquet.

Mithraic initiates were ranked in a series of seven grades, each named and each under the protection of one of the planets:

1. Raven (Mercury)
2. Nymphus (Venus)
3. Soldier (Mars)
4. Lion (Jupiter)
5. Persian (Moon)
6. Heliodromus (Sun)
7. Father (Saturn)

These initiatory grades are known to us thanks to the frescoes in the Santa Prisca Mithraeum in Rome and the mosaic pavement of the Felicissimus Mithraeum in Ostia. But "Nymphus" (which means, if anything, "male bride") and "Heliodromus" are words with unclear meaning, and all the grades remain full of mystery.

It is probable that each Mithraic temple and community was presided over by one or more Fathers. But the initiates of Mithraism, even in the highest ranks, were not professional priests. Their monument attest that they remained active members of the secular world.

References and Sources

1. "Mithras." Price, Simon and Emily Kearns, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford UP, 2003), p. 354-55.
2. "Mithraism." Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Primary Sources for Mithraism

• Plutarch, Life of Pompey 24
• Porphyry, On the Cave of the Nymphs 6, 15-16, 17-18, 24-25.
• Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Foods 4.16
• Tertullian, On the Soldier's Crown 15
• Origen, Against Celsus 6.22