Introduction
Understanding Roman Mithraism
Roman mithraism was a mainly male initiatory religion, well-attested among soldiers, officials, traders and freemen. Its iconography is abundant, but its secret teachings have almost never reached us in the form of internal texts.
The name Mithra comes from the Indo-Iranian world, but it would be simplistic to consider Roman worship as an unchanged import of Persia.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Roman mithraism was a mainly male initiatory religion, well-attested among soldiers, civil servants, traders and freedmen.
- The name Mithra comes from the Indo-Iranian world, but it would be simplistic to consider Roman worship as an unchanged import of Persia.
- The initiates shared ritual meals and probably progressed through seven grades bearing names like Raven, Soldier, Lion and Father.
- mithraism proposed an initiatory fraternity and a symbolic reading of the cosmos, much of which remains enigmatic.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
The name Mithra comes from the Indo-Iranian world, but it would be simplistic to consider Roman worship as an unchanged import of Persia.
Historical developments
It developed in the multicultural context of the Empire and spread along military and commercial routes.
Ritual life and teachings
The initiates shared ritual meals and probably progressed through seven grades bearing names like Raven, Soldier, Lion and Father.
Seed and rediscovery
Shrines usually welcomed a few dozen people around a room evoking a cosmic cave.
History and development
The name Mithra comes from the Indo-Iranian world, but it would be simplistic to consider Roman worship as an unchanged import of Persia. It developed in the multicultural context of the Empire and spread along military and commercial routes.
Shrines usually welcomed a few dozen people around a room evoking a cosmic cave.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
The initiates shared ritual meals and probably progressed through seven grades bearing names like Raven, Soldier, Lion and Father. Taurotonia combines bull, dog, snake, scorpion, Sun, Moon and Zodiac signs.
It seems to express a cosmic and salvatory vision, but no interpretation makes consensus. Mithra is also shown to be a bankant with Sol.
Texts, symbols and transmission
Few doctrinal texts remain: inscriptions, reliefs, lamps, altars and the arrangement of shrines are the main sources.
Symbols: Phrygian cap, torches of Cautès and Cartopates, zodiac, cave and bull.
What research can and cannot say
The similarities sometimes invoked with Christianity were often exaggerated. Both religions coexisted in the same world and shared certain cultural languages, but the idea of a direct copy is not demonstrated.
References