Mithraism

November 23, 2008

[One more article from the same site. You would find the article talks of virgin births , kanya garbham that is mentioned in Bhavishya purana. This will make the concept essentially an Indo-Iranian rather than hellenistic, supporting my theory that most of the biblical thoughts about JC are borrowed from Eastern religions, whether Iranian or Indian. It is possible that this is the man who has been met by Satavahana since this savior meets three criteria of the prophet in Bh P : proclaimed virgin birth, Sun worship and connection with Mlecchas or foreingers . I invite comments from the Learned members of the group - Kishore patnaik ]

http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Mithraism/mithra.htm

MITHRÂ

Professor M. Moghdam

The Second International Congress of Mithraic Studies

Tehran 1975

Ahura Mazda is a divine name, but you can meet men in flesh named Hormoz. Mithra is the name of an ancient Iranian divinity, but you can meet men named Mehr, and nowadays boys and even girls are named Mitra.

One such man by the name of Methr or Mehr or Mir appeared in Eastern Iran in the third century BCE, and he was hailed as the expected saviour or Sosyant, and the religion he founded spread all over the ancient world from the British Isles to Japan, South to the confines of the Sahara desert, down to southern Arabia, and the Indian sub-continent. It was the official religion of the two rival powers of the ancient world, the Parthian and the Roman empires for half a millennium.

It had time and again been observed that the Mithraism with whose remains we are familiar in the Roman Empire was in many respects different from the ancient Mithra cult, that there was some new development, perhaps some sort of a revival or reform. This called the forth for new nomenclature, among others neo-Mithraism, later Mithraism (Humbach), or Saco-Median Mithraism of the Modified Seythians (Gershevitch).

The explanation of this new religious phenomenon was sought in the accretion of Mesopotamian and Syrian elements, in the activities of Hellenized Magians, or even, as tendencies in some quarters indicate, in an almost Western, Roman creation and, as far as the silence and confusion of extant sources permit, almost a total denial of its connection with Iran, particularly as it bears on its relations with Christianity.

However, I believe we are now in a position to offer a new explanation.

The Saviour was born in the middle of the night between Saturday and Sunday, 24th and 25th of December, 272 BCE, and according to those who believed in Him from an Immaculate (Anahid) Virgin (Xosidhag) somewhere not far from lake Hamin, Sistan, Lived for 64 years among men, and ascended to His Father Ahura Mazda in 208 BCE

The literary evidence Keeping in mind the fate of the religion of Mithra in the West and its utter absorption in Christianity, and the similar fate it had, even more severely, under the Sasanian neo-Zoroastrianism and later under Islam, we would naturally expect in Moslem historians a total identification of Mithra with Jesus, the only Messiah allowed in orthodox Islam.

The following are some of the texts related to the birth of the Messiah. (All references are to Persian translation of the Arabic text Hazma, History of Prophets and Kings, p.41:

" Shabur son of Ashk: The Lord Messiah appeared in his days. Shabur fought against Rum, and at that time the king that ruled there was Antiochus, the third king after Alexander, and it was he who built Antioch. "

Tha'alibi, Ghurar, p.215:

" Jesus and John son of Zacharias, on them be peace, lived during the reign of Sabur Shah son of Afghur Shah. "

Ibn Miskuwaih, Ta jarib:

" Jesus appeared during the reign of Sabur son of Ashkan. "

Tabari, History, vol. II, p.498:

" And these were the Ashkanian kings that are now called Muluk-al-Tawa if (Kings of the Tribes, the Parthian Federation)… During this period Ashk son of Ashkan ruled for ten years. After him Shabur son of Ashkan ruled for sixty years, and in the forty-first year of his reign Jesus son of Mary appeared in the land of Palestine. "

Ibid. , p.466:

" Jesus son of Mary, on whom be peace, was born in Jerusalem fifty-one years after the beginning of the reign of the Parthian Federation. "

In contrast, Ibid. p.495:

" In the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus Jesus son of Mary, on whom be peace, was born, and his birth was 303 years after the uprising of Alexander. "

Tabari continues, p. 501:

" The Persians think that Mary, daughter of Amran, gave birth to Jesus, son of Mary, sixty-five years after the domination of Alexander over the land of Babylon, but the Christians think the birth of Jesus occurred 303 years after the reign of Alexander, and they also think that the birth of John, son of Zacharias, was six months before the birth of Jesus. "

Tabari goes on, p. 507:

" The Magians agree with the Christians and Jews as to the duration of the desolation of the Holy City and What Bukhtnasr did with the Israelites until the domination of Alexander over the Holy City and Syria and the death of Dara, but they disagree as to the interval between the reign of Alexander and the birth of John; they think that the interval was fifty-one years, and the disagreement between the reign of Alexander and the birth of John and Jesus is what I have said. "

Mas'udi in the Muruj and Tanbih is still more explicit.

Muruj, vol. I, p.229:4

" After Ashk there was Shabur son of Ashk who ruled for sixty years, and in the forty-first year of his reign the Lord Messiah, on whom be peace, appeared in Ilya of Palestine. "

Ibid. , p.550:

" Tishirin Second is thirty days and Kanun First is thirty days. Nineteenth of Kanun the day is 9 1/2 hours and a quarter, and the night is 14 hours and a quarter maximum. On the eve of the 25th of this month is the birth of Messiah, on whom be peace. "

And, incidentally, in connection with the island of Socotra he says, ibid. , p.382, that Aristotle wrote a letter to Alexander and made recommendations to the effect that Alexander should send a group of Greeks to that island and settle them there, Alexander did accordingly. Then " Alexander died and Messiah appeared and the inhabitants of the island became Nasranis. "

And now in contrast, ibid, p.303:

" In the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, on whom be peace, who, as we have said before, is Yasu Naseri (Jesus of Nazareth) was born. "

And he adds in the Tanbih, pp 114-115:

" In the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus the Messiah was born in Bethlehem of Palestine…According to the Christians in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, Ishu Nasiri was baptized in the river Jordan… According to the Christians in the seventeenth year of the reign of Tiberius, who was king 342 years after Alexander son of Philip, Ishu Nasiri was crucified. "

Masudi uses, it seems advisedly, two distinct expressions, al- sayyid al-Masih, the Lord Messiah, and Ishu Nasiri, Jesus of Nazareth, although he used both expressions for Jesus son of Mary because he would not dare to say otherwise, which, by the way, reminds one of Augustine's reference to Mithra as the " Fellow in the Cap " , for apparently any reference to the name Mithras was declared anathema by the church.

However, it is quite clear from the above texts that these historians made a distinction between two Messiahs, one born 65 years after the beginning of the reign (mulk) of Alexander (336-335 BCE) and in the fifty-first year of the founding of the Parthian dynasty: i.e. in 272-271 BCE, and the other, Jesus of Nazareth, who was born in the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus.

The same narrative and dates are given in the Koranic commentaries on the Sura' Al' Amran, for example Ab-ul- Futuh, Qomshei's Tehran edition, vol. II, p. 372.

There seems also to be a distinction running through all the sources between a Messiah that was crucified and the Messiah that was not crucified, and the Koranic narrative of the crucifixion was perhaps as assimilation of the two traditions in one presentation.

It may be observed that these narratives do not supplement each other, but are derived from one source, which was universally accepted by these historians, for there was no other tradition.

And finally, from Armenia, the last stronghold of the religion of Mithra, we had the testimony of Elise Vardapet to the effect that the Lord Mihr was born of a human mother and he is King and the Son of God.

I believe all students of Iranian religions are familiar with the story of virgins bathing in Lack Hamun where the seed of Zoroaster is preserved for making the chosen virgin pregnant, who is to give birth to the expected Saviour, on the model of which the story of the virgin birth of Jesus from the seed of David was constructed. Although no seed of David is in substance is present at the appearance of the angle in the Annunciation scene on the 25th of March, Koranic commentators repeat the story that the angel blew in the sleeves of Mary's dress when she came out of the water.

The story of the virgin birth originates from the materialization of Farr or Xvarenah, which after all, in spite of the scholarly literature that has grown about it, is the light within man, what in modern terminology we name aptitude. Now the capacity of the individual for kingship or prophet hood is of course of a higher order and was therefore specified as the Kingly Farr and the Farr of Zarathushtra. Since in popular belief this Farr had taken a material form it could only be transmitted through materials means. Hence the transmission of the Kingly Farr in the case of Freydun through plant, animal and milk, or the Farr of Zardosht conveyed to the future Saviour by means of his reserved seed. And in the case of Zoroaster himself, the heavenly Farr descended in the form of fire and mingled with the holy fire in the atrium and penetrated into the body of His mother and joined the baby Zarathushtra. In this connection is should be pointed out that due to the supposed preservation of the seed as bearer of the Farr in water, three Mithraic symbols came into use.

(1) The pearl and its shell, a " seed " that grows into an organism in water. The pearl is seen in Mithraic monuments, for example in the hands of angels in Taq-e-Bostan, in the beak of birds in eastern Iran and elsewhere, and in literature, such as the Pearl of great price in he gospels and the well-known Syriac Hymn of the Pearl. The shell is represented in some of the scenes of the birth of Mithra that have been erroneously interpreted as an egg, and also appears as the vaulting of niches in Mithraic monuments and in the churches, especially where Mother and Child are depicted. Incidentally the word for niche in Italian means shell (Nicchia, nicchio).

(2) The second symbol is the dolphin, obviously as a mammal raising its young in water. This symbol is found on some Mithraic monuments in Europe and appears abundantly in the Khirbahs or Mithraeums in Syria and Arabia.

(3) The third symbol is the lotus, a water-flower. Mithra stands n a lotus in Taq-e-Bostan and it seems to me that the stylized object from which Mithra emerges, and which has been interpreted as rock, is nearer to the shape of the lotus, besides the possible confusion in the Greek title of Mithra as Petregenes, from petra, rock, and petri-on, the name of a plant; of petal-on, petal.

And now we pass on from the virgin birth to the ascension.

Hamza, p. 42, says:

" Gudarz son of Ashk, after John was killed by the Children of Israel, fought against them and destroyed Jerusalem for the second time. "

Tha'alibi, P.216:

" Gudarz son of Shabur started his reign with a war of revenge against the Children of Israel for their having killing John of Zacharias, and destroyed Jerusalem. "

Now leaving aside again the confusion arising from the identification of Mithra with Jesus, and taking notice of the information is Islamic writings and the Messiah was charged with his mission when he was 25 years old and preached for 40 years among men, and the date of the second destruction of Jerusalem in 168 BCE, and the date given for the second destruction of Jerusalem as 40 years after the Ascension, we conclude that the death of Mithra took place in the year 208 BCE and from the Turfan fragment that was taken by Henning, with his own emendation, as a description of the death of Mani, we learn the death of Mithra Messiah occurred on Monday, the fourth of Shahrivar, at the eleventh hour at night. (Henning's ascription of the said fragment to Mani's death is impossible because the day and the month do not coincide with the dates we for Mani's death in prison.)

The Archaeology of Mithraism

I shall deal briefly with some of these relevant archaeological problems in my forth coming small book in Persian with the title An Essay on Mehr and Nahid, and I shall only make a few remarks here.

Motives for Identification

1. When a foreign thought, religious or otherwise, or even foreign material objects are imposed upon or adopted by a people, they are adapted by the receiving people and one means of adaption and reception is the identification of the foreign thing to what is already existing and familiar. This is natural and permissible, and one may say sincere.

Specially in the case of the religion of Mithra which was the most universal religion in the ancient world, and which had its object the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth and the brotherhood of man, as symbolized in the Mithraic sign of the Cross, explained in the Mithraic monument of Hsian-fu in China as representing the unity of man from the four corners of the earth, even the encouragement of such a policy of identification on the art of the followers of Mithra is quite understandable. (Incidentally, the Hsian-fu monument carries all the three symbols of the pearl, the lotus and the dolphin.)

2. A second motive of identification is the protection of native monuments from vandalism of fanatical groups who are imposing a new religion or a new way of life. Under this category may be listed such identifications as the Mosque of Solomon's Mother, Takht-e-Soleyman, Ebrahim-e Zardosht, or the substitution of Mithra with Jesus, that my be literally multiplied a hundred fold in Iran and elsewhere.

Now the modern scholarly attempts at identification of things Iranian with Greek mythological names do not fall within either of these two categories, unless it is committed as an act of defence for the protection of the West, and on particular the Church, against an Iranian re-invasion.

Furthermore, I sympathize with Herzfeld when he said that the constant mention of gods and goddesses of fertility is really sickening.

Passing on to the problem of lack of Mithraeums in Iran, it must be pointed out that in Iran they had the same fate as in Europe, where excavations have revealed a Mithraeum under almost every old church building. In the east, for example the Cathedral in Etchmiadzin we have encountered the same phenomenon, and recent excavations under Jame Mosque in Esfahan by the Italians, as also in other Jame Mosques in Iran have revealed remains of pre-Islamic monuments which must certainly be of a religious character.

In Iran the Parthian Mithraeums were first turned into Sasanian fire-temples, still preserving the name dare-e Mehr, and second time into mosques, also preserving the old designation as the " House of Communion " (myazda-kada> mazget> masjed, Arabic sajada being a back-formation).

But Iran is not lacking in Mithraic monuments. The Taq-e-Bostan with its cave-like construction and the religious scenes inside the Taq is a Parthian monument, situated in a district named in honour if Mithra, Baghestan, with its Mithraic appendages of flowing spring and small lake, and the figure of Mithra standing on a lotus flower. The ascription of the scenes to Khosro Parvis is impossible and follows the policy of identifications discussed above, which may have been encouraged even in the Sasanian period.

The " fire-temple " in Bishapur is another similar case. When some years ago I argued that we could not consider an underground building as a Zoroastrian fire-temple I did not have Professor Ghirshman's Bichapour, vol. II on hand. The figure of Mithra on a fragment discovered in that temple and reproduced on Plate XVII removes any doubt as to the Mithraic origin of that temple.

Furthermore, the Khirbahs scattered all over Arabia and Syria are Mithraeums in which Mithraic figures and statuettes have been discovered. Khirbah has no connection with Arabic Kharaba, ruined. It is the Iranian Khorabe, a " sun-dome. " Abe is found in compounds as in gur-abe, a " tomb-dome, " a mausoleum, or in the name Saavee, " three domes, " reminding one of Marco Polo's, mention of the tombs of the three Magi in that town. It is the name of a locality near Hamedan in its older form, Avaj, and the word lives on in English Abbey and ab-bot, old English ab-bod, the head of the abbey. In the Masnavi we have Khor-bod, head of the Khor-Khane, translated into Arabic shammas, a title still used in oriental churches for an office of the clergy. (Dozy also translated Arabic Khirba as " court. " )

In the last story in the kitab al-Aghani it is narrated, " in Sistan there was a man called Burzen, an ascetic, whose father had been impaled in his Khiraba. " He could not have been impaled in his " ruins " but in the Khorabe, Mithraeum. So there were Khorabes as far as Sistan.

In the poems of Hafez the Khorabat-e Moqan, Mithraeums of the Magians, synonymous with Deyr-e Moghan, the convent of the Magians, is common theme. The word deyr, from Avestan dauru-upadarana-, wooden house, is also found the compound Se-deyr, the three Convents, the old name of Dura Europas, the word dura itself representing deyr.

In Armenia, as Starbo mentions, a whole district was named in honour of Anahita, the Mother of God, and the word Mehean from Migryan, i.e. Mithraism, is the common noun in Armenian for temple. Now the ruins of the Mehean in Garni show that the temple was a magnificent monumental edifice. It was natural that the royal house of the Armenia who were followers of Mithra should build such royal temples for worship. It follows that the Parthian emperors must have built such monumental cathedrals in the homeland of Mithra. The temple at Kangavar, dedicated also the Mother of God, was one such building, and we have references to other Mithraic cathedrals, some of which were later turned into fire-temples by the Sasanians. The buildings in Old Nisa and Kishan monuments open another chapter in the story.

It is unthinkable that the Roman Empire, where the official religion was Mithraism for almost half-a-millennium, or at least as it is admitted, several of the emperors were outspoken followers of Mithra, the only house of the worship for the emperors and the Roman nobility should have been confined to underground crypts which were used for community chapels. That part of the building in the baths of Caracalla set apart for worship show that magnificent halls were also dedicated for Mithraic worship. The basilica of Trajan is another such temple. Trajan is depicted elsewhere with the Mithraic Cap of Liberty, and while we are mentioning Trajan let me throw out this thought for consideration that the wars of the Romans against the Parthians were in many instances a proto-type of the later Crusades in the Middle Ages, that is to say, an attempt to posses the Holy Land where Mithra was born and had preached.

Mehrayns or Mirans or Milans were scattered all over the ancient world as great centers of Mithraism from Milan in Italy to numerous Milans and Mirans in Iran to Miran near lake 'Lob Nor' not far from Turfan.

The Cult and the Doctrine

From the extant remains, literary and archaeological, of the religion of Mithra, we gather that the salvation of man, after the slaying of the Bull, is symbolized in the obtaining of blessed eternal life by partaking the holy meal in the community of the brethren.

The Iranian origin of this divine supper is proved by the terminology. In the Armenian rites the meat is nishkhark, Persian Nushkhare, the edible thing of immortality, the corresponding liquid element nushabe, the water of immortality. The whole meal is the eucharistia, the Greek form of Iranian hu-khoresht, the good meal, the divine meal.

The two ancient Iranian words for the holy repast in the Gathas are myazda and myastra; one gives the Persian miz and Latin mass, and the other gives Greek musterion, mystery. That is why Mithraism as well as Christianity are mystery religions. Secrecy is not essential to the myastra.

As regards the word Messiah itself, it might be interesting to point out that the western Iranian form is Missa, and the eastern misi, possible originals of the Arabic and Hebrew forms of the word which were popular etymology related to the root for rubbing and anointing, and incidentally for the first time used in the Bible for an Iranian, Cyrus. The word would then mean mediator, supported by Plutarch's mesites and confirmed in the Sorkh Kotal inscription.

In the divine meal, the Lord's Supper, apparently the Cup used for the nushabe became the holiest object in the service. That cup figures very prominently in Persian literature and especially in the mystical poems. The cup has seven lines or measures corresponding to the seven degrees in Mithraism. The full cup is for the Pir or the Father, who is know as the Pir of the seven lines. In the West it gave rise to the " Graded cup " , Latin gradalis> grail. The story of the Holy Grail as well as the Arthurian legends will occupy our attention at another meeting.

Remnants of Mithraism

As to remnants of Mithraism in Iran, at its best it survives in Iranian mysticism represented by the Divan-e Shams, the Golshan-e Raz, and above all, in the poems of Hafez, and of course in the string influence it exerted on Islamic Sufism, which is quite distinct from Iranian mysticism.

In sects, there is a survival of Mithraism in the Ahl-e Haq and the Yazidis, and other small sects scattered in closed communities.

In Europe the remnants such as the medieval Albigensis and Bogomils are considered to be Manicheans. No doubt that they were influenced by Manichean doctrines just as the Christian Church was, but they are more likely to be remnants of the followers of Mithra, and the case of the Bogomils is more clear in as much as the name composed of Bog, bagh, special title of Mithra, and mil, the same word as Mihr, which in the Slavic languages even carries the meaning of live as in Persian mehr. Bogomil is then the etymological and semantic equivalent of the Soghdian Bagh Misi.

It is written in the Bayan al- Adyan, that " the Manicheans say that Jesus called men to Zoroaster. "

November 29, 2008

[The following website makes it clear how Christianity is mere copy

of Mithraism and other religions. I want those who oppose to these

views to kindly discuss them with a cool mind, instead of either

keeping quiet or backing off and I want once more to make it clear

that these posts are not meant to hurt any one's feelings or

sentiments - Kishore patnaik ]

http://www.edwardjayne.com/christology/mithra.html

RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN MITHRAISM AND CHRISTIANITY

1. Both Mithras and Christ were portrayed as young and beardless;

both sometimes appeared in the shepherd's role, and both saved

mankind by performing sacrifical deeds.

2. Both Mithras and Christ had virgin births in the sense that they

were conceived without any sexual union between man and woman.

Christ's father was said to be God, while Mithras was said to have

had no father or mother, having emerged as an adult from a large

rock.

3. Both Mithraism and Christianity celebrated the birth of their god

on the winter solstice, the 25th of December according to the Julian

calendar. Both featured the sharing of presents, the use of

Christmas trees with candles, and nativity scenes that included

shepherds attracted by a sacred light. The special importance of

this solstice ceremony to Mithraists would be indicated by the name

Mithras, which derived from Meitras, which in Greek numerology

refers to the number 365, the last day of the solar year at the

winter solstice.

4. Both the Old Testament and Mithraic legend told of the first

human couple having been created. Mithra supposedly kept a watchful

eye over their descendents until Ahriman caused a draught that

caused such thirst that they begged Mithra for water.

5. Both told of a major flood, in the case of Mithra through his

having shot an arrow into a stone cliff to quench mankind's thirst.

Unfortunately, the entire world's population was drowned in a flood

produced by the water spout that gushed from the hole his arrow

produced. One man alone (a Noah figure borrowed from the earlier

Sumerian myth of Atrahasis) was warned in time and could therefore

save himself and his cattle in an ark.

6. Both Mithraism and Christianity emphasized mankind's redemption

resulting from a sacrificial death followed by the god's ascent to

heaven. In the case of Christ, it was the god himself (or his son)

who was sacrificed; in the case of Mithra, it was a sacred steer

that Mithra sacrificed.

7. Both featured resurrection through sacrifice. Mithraism more

obviously drew upon spring equinox fertility myths by depicting

Mithra's sacrificial bull with a tail that consisted of sheaves of

wheat that were supposedly scattered throughout the world once it

was slaughtered. Also, the bull's blood formed the milky way,

allowing human souls both to be born and to return to the heavens

after death.

8. Both told of a Last Supper linked with the blood sacrifice whose

symbolic recreation by eating bread and wine provided salvation for

all worshippers. After Mithra killed the bull depicted in Mithraic

art, he feasted upon it with the Sun God and other companions before

ascending to the heavens in the sun god's chariot. The sequence was

slightly different in the New Testament: Christ's Last Supper

necessarily preceded his crucifixion rather than following it, after

which he ascended to heaven.

9. Both emphasized purification through baptism, Mithraists by

washing themselves in the blood of sacrificial oxen. While dying

oxen bled to death on lattice floors built over their heads,

initiates both drank and washed themselves with the blood that

dripped on them.

10. Both featured secret temples located underground. For Christians

it was a temporary expedient to avoid persecution, but for

Mithraists it became a permanent institution, each small chapel,

called a Mithraeum, having seated no more than fifty worshippers and

having been constructed to point from east to west. Rounded ceilings

were painted blue and imbedded with gemstones. There were no windows

except for a few chapels in which tiny holes in the ceiling that had

been bored to let in the light of certain stars at particular times

of the year.

11. Both held Sunday to be sacred.

12. Both encouraged asceticism. Mithraists were expected to resist

sensuality and to abstain from eating certain foods.

13. Both emphasized charity. Mithra was identified as the god of

help who protected his worshippers, whatever their tribulations in

life.

14. Last and probably least, both emphasized a rock, Mithra having

been born from one and the Vatican having been built on one.

RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND ZOROASTRIANISM

Also important were similarities between Christianity and the sixth

century eschatology of Zarathustra (or Zoroaster), which reduced

Mithra's role to humanity's final judge after death:

15. Both Christianity and Zoroastrian eschatology emphasized the

conflict between virtue and vice as a cosmic rivalry between a God

and Satan figure. The Zoroastrian god was Ahura Mazda and the Satan

figure was Ahriman. The world was filled with good and bad angels,

the latter called devas, or devils.

16. Both emphasized the overriding importance of an immortal soul

that survives the body.

17. Both anticipated a judgment day, when mankind would once and for

all be divided into those accepted in heaven and those consigned to

eternal punishment in hell. The Zoroastrian explanation was that all

of humanity would be obliged to cross a sifting bridge. Sinners

would lose their balance and tumble into hell; the virtuous would be

able to cross without falling, after which they could ascend to

heaven.

18. As opposed to other early religions, which consigned all the

dead to an underworld, both Christianity and Zoroastrian dogma

located hell in the underworld and heaven in the sky, where God was

located.

November 29, 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_Mysteries#Mithraism_and_Christi

anity

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.[21] This led

to a picture of rivalry between the two religions, which Ernest

Renan set forth 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, " [22] Although as

remarked above, little was actually known about Mithras in 1882.

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.[23]

[edit] Iconographical similarities with Christian art in late

antiquity

The examples and perspective in this article or section may

not include all significant viewpoints.

Please improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

(June 2008)

The Jewish faith provided no precedent for pictorial representation

on which the Early Christians could base their imagery. Consequently

early Christian scenes tend to make use of pagan imagery.

According to Franz Cumont, after the triumph of the church over

paganism, artists continued to make use of stock images originally

devised for Mithras in order to depict the new and unfamiliar

stories of the bible. The way in which Mithras was depicted shooting

arrows at rocks causing fountains to spring up was adapted to

represent the biblical story of Moses striking Mount Horeb with his

staff to release drinking water, according to Cumont. Likewise the

Heavens, the Earth, the Ocean, the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, signs

of the Zodiac, the Winds, the Seasons, and the Elements appear on

sarcophagi, mosaics, and miniatures in the fourth to fifth centuries

using the same sort of iconography used for Mithras earlier.

The " strangehold of the workshop " meant that the first Christian

artworks were heavily based on pagan art, and " a few alterations in

costume and attitude transformed a pagan scene into a Christian

picture " .[24]

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. 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. 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.[25]

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. " [26] 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. 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. Deman 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.[26]

[edit] Other similarities with Christianity

Some authors have drawn parallels between the circumstances of

Mithras' and Jesus' birth: Joseph Campbell described it as a virgin

birth,[27] and Martin A. Larson noted that Mithras was said to have

been born on December 25, or the winter solstice.[28] This theory is

in contradiction to the traditional understanding of Mithras' birth.

In Mithraic Studies it stated that Mithras was born as an adult from

solid rock, " wearing his Phrygian cap, issues forth from the rocky

mass. As yet only his bare torso is visible. In each hand he raises

aloft a lighted torch and, as an unusual detail, red flames shoot

out all around him from the petra genetrix. " [29] David Ulansey

speculates that this was a belief derived from the Perseus' myths

which held he was born from an underground cavern.[30]

[edit] References

A statue of the tauroctony (of unknown date) in the Vatican Museum.

1. ^ David, Jonathan (2000), " The Exclusion of Women in the

Mithraic Mysteries: Ancient or Modern? " , Numen 47 (2): 121–141,

doi:10.1163/156852700511469 , at p. 121.

2. ^ Beck, Roger, The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman

Empire, London: Oxford University Press , p. 85-87.

3. ^ Meyer, Marvin W. (1976) The " Mithras Liturgy " .

4. ^ Ulansey, David (1989). The Origins of the Mithraic

Mysteries. Oxford University Press. (1991 revised edition)

5. ^ Michael P. Speidel, Mithras-Orion: Greek Hero and Roman Army

God, Brill Academic Publishers (August 1997), ISBN 109004060553

6. ^ Beck, Roger (2000). " Ritual, Myth, Doctrine, and Initiation

in the Mysteries of Mithras: New Evidence from a Cult Vessel " . The

Journal of Roman Studies 90 (90): 145–180. doi:10.2307/300205.

7. ^ Merkelbach, Reinhold (1995). " Das Mainzer Mithrasgefäß " .

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (108): 1-6.

8. ^ a b c Beck, Roger (2002). " Mithraism " . Encyclopædia Iranica.

Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.

9. ^ Clauss, Manfred (2001). in Gordon, Richard (trans.): The

Roman cult of Mithras. Routledge.

10. ^ Ware, James R.; Kent, Roland G. (1924). " The Old Persian

Cuneiform Inscriptions of Artaxerxs II and Artaxerxs III " .

Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological

Association 55: 52. doi:10.2307/283007. pp. 52-61.

11. ^ Boyce, Mary (2001). " Mithra the King and Varuna the Master " .

Festschrift für Helmut Humbach zum 80 (Trier: WWT). pp. 243,n.18

12. ^ Beck, Roger B. (2004), Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works

With New Essays, Aldershot: Ashgate , p. 4.}}

13. ^ Martin, Luther H. (2004), " Forward " in Beck, Roger B.

(2004), Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works With New Essays,

Aldershot: Ashgate , p. xiv.

14. ^ Sundermann, Werner (1979). " The Five Sons of the Manichaean

God Mithra " . Mysteria Mithrae: Proceedings of the International

Seminar on the Religio-Historical Character of Roman Mithraism. Ed.

Bianchi, Ugo. Leiden: Brill.

15. ^ Boyce, Mary. (1962) On Mithra in the Manichaean Pantheon. In

Henning, Walter B. and Yarshater, Ehsan (eds.). A Locust's Leg:

Studies in Honour of S. H. Taqizadeh.

16. ^ Sundermann, Werner (2002). " Mithra in Manicheism " .

Encyclopaedia Iranica. Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub.

17. ^ Kriwaczek, Paul (2002), In Search of Zarathustra, London:

Weidenfeld and Nicholson , p 120.

18. ^ " As Mithraism passed as a Phrygian cult it began to share in

the official recognition which Phrygian worship had long enjoyed in

Rome. " " Mithraism " . Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York:

Robert Appleton Company.

19. ^ Loeb (1932). Scriptores Historiae Augustae: Commodus. pp.

IX.6.

20. ^ Cumont, Franz (1903). in McCormack, Thomas J. (trans.): The

Mysteries of Mithra. Chicago: Open Court. pp. 206.

21. ^ Martin (1989), p. 2.

22. ^ Renan (1882), p. 579.

23. ^ Martin (1989), p. 4f.

24. ^ Cumont, Franz (1956). in McCormack, Thomas K. (trans.): The

Mysteries of Mithras. Dover Publications. pp. 227-8.

25. ^ Vermaseren, M.J (1963). Mithras: The Secret God. Chatto &

Windus. pp. 104-6.

26. ^ a b Deman, A. (1971). in Hinnells, John R.: " Mithras and

Christ: Some Iconographical Similarities, " in Mithraic Studies, vol.

2. Manchester University Press. pp. 510-7.

27. ^ Campbell, Joseph (1964). The Masks of God: Occidental

Mythology. Viking Press. pp. 260-61.

28. ^ Martin A. Larson, The Story of Christian Origins (1977),

p.470.

29. ^ Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International

Congress of Mithraic Studies. Manchester U. Press, 1975, p. 173

30. ^ Ulansey, David. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries:

Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. New York: Oxford U.

Press, 1989

[edit] Further reading

* Legge, Francis. Forerunners and 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.

* 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)

* Malloch, D.K, Christ and the Taurobolium - Lord Mithras in the

genesis of Christianity, Lochan Press, 2006

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mithraism

* Cumont's The Mysteries Of Mithra is now in the public domain:

site 1, site 2

* L'Ecole Initiative: Alison Griffith, 1996. " Mithraism " A brief

overview with bibliography.

* Cross-references to Mithras in classical works

* David Ulansey's article " The Cosmic Mysteries of Mithras " from

Biblical Archaeology Review, summarizing his book The Origins of the

Mithraic Mysteries (Oxford Univ. Press, 1989)

* Mithraism in History and Archaeology

* Third-century mithraeum in the Circus Maximus, Rome:

Illustrated introductory article.

* The mithraeum at Carrawburgh (University of Newcastle Mithras

website)

* The mithraeum at Riegel, Baden-Wurtemburg: plan and photos

(French).

November 29, 2008

Dear Kishore and others,

Please remember that Mithras is NOT the same as Mitra or Mehr. The Roman cult though preceding or coterminal with the advent of Christianity, is MUCH later than the worship of Mitra which is a precursor of Zoroastrianism in what we call Persia or Iran. It is part of the Indo-[whatever suffix you wish]. There are a number of websites devoted to each.

Steve

S DavidWho can promise, 'forever' And not lie?INOL--- On Sat, 11/29/08, Kishore patnaik <kishorepatnaik09 wrote:

Kishore patnaik <kishorepatnaik09 Re: Mithraism Date: Saturday, November 29, 2008, 2:34 AM

http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Mithraic_ Mysteries# Mithraism_ and_Christianity Mithraism and ChristianityFurther information: Christianity and Paganism, Christianised rituals, and Jesus and comparative mythologyEvaluation 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.[ 21] This led to a picture of rivalry between the two religions, which Ernest Renan set forth 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,"[22] Although as remarked above, little was actually known about

Mithras in 1882.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.[23][edit] Iconographical similarities with Christian art in late antiquityThe examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints.Please improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page. (June 2008)The Jewish faith provided no precedent for pictorial representation on which the Early Christians could base their imagery. Consequently early Christian scenes tend to make use of pagan imagery.According to Franz Cumont, after the triumph of the church over paganism, artists continued to make use of stock images originally devised for Mithras in order to depict the new and unfamiliar stories of the bible. The way in which Mithras was depicted shooting

arrows at rocks causing fountains to spring up was adapted to represent the biblical story of Moses striking Mount Horeb with his staff to release drinking water, according to Cumont. Likewise the Heavens, the Earth, the Ocean, the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, signs of the Zodiac, the Winds, the Seasons, and the Elements appear on sarcophagi, mosaics, and miniatures in the fourth to fifth centuries using the same sort of iconography used for Mithras earlier. The "strangehold of the workshop" meant that the first Christian artworks were heavily based on pagan art, and "a few alterations in costume and attitude transformed a pagan scene into a Christian picture".[24]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. 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. 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.[25]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."[26] 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. 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. Deman 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. [26][edit] Other similarities with ChristianitySome authors have drawn parallels between the circumstances of Mithras' and Jesus' birth: Joseph Campbell described it as a virgin birth,[27] and Martin A. Larson noted that Mithras was said to have been born on December 25, or the winter solstice.[28] This theory is in contradiction to the traditional understanding of Mithras' birth. In Mithraic Studies it stated that Mithras was

born as an adult from solid rock, "wearing his Phrygian cap, issues forth from the rocky mass. As yet only his bare torso is visible. In each hand he raises aloft a lighted torch and, as an unusual detail, red flames shoot out all around him from the petra genetrix."[29] David Ulansey speculates that this was a belief derived from the Perseus' myths which held he was born from an underground cavern.[30][edit] ReferencesA statue of the tauroctony (of unknown date) in the Vatican Museum.1. ^ David, Jonathan (2000), "The Exclusion of Women in the Mithraic Mysteries: Ancient or Modern?", Numen 47 (2): 121–141, doi:10.1163/ 156852700511469 , at p. 121.2. ^ Beck, Roger, The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire, London: Oxford University Press , p. 85-87.3. ^ Meyer, Marvin W. (1976) The "Mithras Liturgy".4. ^ Ulansey, David (1989). The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries.

Oxford University Press. (1991 revised edition)5. ^ Michael P. Speidel, Mithras-Orion: Greek Hero and Roman Army God, Brill Academic Publishers (August 1997), ISBN 1090040605536. ^ Beck, Roger (2000). "Ritual, Myth, Doctrine, and Initiation in the Mysteries of Mithras: New Evidence from a Cult Vessel". The Journal of Roman Studies 90 (90): 145–180. doi:10.2307/ 300205. 7. ^ Merkelbach, Reinhold (1995). "Das Mainzer Mithrasgefäß". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (108): 1-6. 8. ^ a b c Beck, Roger (2002). "Mithraism". Encyclopædia Iranica. Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 9. ^ Clauss, Manfred (2001). in Gordon, Richard (trans.): The Roman cult of Mithras. Routledge. 10. ^ Ware, James R.; Kent, Roland G. (1924). "The Old Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions of Artaxerxs II and Artaxerxs III". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 55: 52.

doi:10.2307/ 283007. pp. 52-61.11. ^ Boyce, Mary (2001). "Mithra the King and Varuna the Master". Festschrift für Helmut Humbach zum 80 (Trier: WWT). pp. 243,n.1812. ^ Beck, Roger B. (2004), Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works With New Essays, Aldershot: Ashgate , p. 4.}}13. ^ Martin, Luther H. (2004), "Forward" in Beck, Roger B. (2004), Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works With New Essays, Aldershot: Ashgate , p. xiv.14. ^ Sundermann, Werner (1979). "The Five Sons of the Manichaean God Mithra". Mysteria Mithrae: Proceedings of the International Seminar on the Religio-Historical Character of Roman Mithraism. Ed. Bianchi, Ugo. Leiden: Brill. 15. ^ Boyce, Mary. (1962) On Mithra in the Manichaean Pantheon. In Henning, Walter B. and Yarshater, Ehsan (eds.). A Locust's Leg: Studies in Honour of S. H. Taqizadeh. 16. ^ Sundermann, Werner (2002). "Mithra in Manicheism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Costa

Mesa: Mazda Pub. 17. ^ Kriwaczek, Paul (2002), In Search of Zarathustra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson , p 120.18. ^ "As Mithraism passed as a Phrygian cult it began to share in the official recognition which Phrygian worship had long enjoyed in Rome.Mithraism". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. 19. ^ Loeb (1932). Scriptores Historiae Augustae: Commodus. pp. IX.6.20. ^ Cumont, Franz (1903). in McCormack, Thomas J. (trans.): The Mysteries of Mithra. Chicago: Open Court. pp. 206.21. ^ Martin (1989), p. 2.22. ^ Renan (1882), p. 579.23. ^ Martin (1989), p. 4f.24. ^ Cumont, Franz (1956). in McCormack, Thomas K. (trans.): The Mysteries of Mithras. Dover Publications. pp. 227-8.25. ^ Vermaseren, M.J (1963). Mithras: The Secret God. Chatto & Windus. pp. 104-6.26. ^ a b Deman, A. (1971). in Hinnells, John R.: "Mithras and Christ: Some

Iconographical Similarities, " in Mithraic Studies, vol. 2. Manchester University Press. pp. 510-7.27. ^ Campbell, Joseph (1964). The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. Viking Press. pp. 260-61.28. ^ Martin A. Larson, The Story of Christian Origins (1977), p.470.29. ^ Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies. Manchester U. Press, 1975, p. 17330. ^ Ulansey, David. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. New York: Oxford U. Press, 1989[edit] Further reading* Legge, Francis. Forerunners and 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.* 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)* Malloch, D.K, Christ and the Taurobolium - Lord Mithras in the genesis of Christianity, Lochan Press, 2006[edit] External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to:Mithraism* Cumont's The Mysteries Of Mithra is now in the public domain: site 1, site 2* L'Ecole Initiative: Alison Griffith, 1996. "Mithraism" A brief overview with bibliography.* Cross-references to Mithras in classical works* David Ulansey's article "The Cosmic Mysteries of Mithras" from Biblical Archaeology Review,

summarizing his book The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries (Oxford Univ. Press, 1989)* Mithraism in History and Archaeology* Third-century mithraeum in the Circus Maximus, Rome: Illustrated introductory article.* The mithraeum at Carrawburgh (University of Newcastle Mithras website)* The mithraeum at Riegel, Baden-Wurtemburg: plan and photos (French).