MITHRAS AND MITHRAISM

Mithra (in Greek, Mithras) was an ancient Indo-Iranian god. In the Vedas, as well as in a list of gods appended to a treaty concluded in the 14th century b.c. between the Hittite king and the king of Mitanni, he is coupled with Varuna. In Iran also, he appears in union with Ahura—probably another name for the outmoded Varuna. His name means "contract," but this designation does not account for all his characteristics. Despite his importance as a major divinity, Mithra is conspicuously absent from the Gāthās. As he was the greatest rival of Ahura Mazda, whom Zoroaster wished to make the supreme god, the prophet probably did not dare to oppose him openly but preferred to ignore him in his hymns. Mithra, at this early date, may have been connected with bull-sacrifices, as he was in Roman times. But, when after the death of Zoroaster Mithra was readmitted into the religion of his followers, he did not exhibit any such connection. On the other hand, he is associated with the sun; the Yasht (see avesta) devoted to him depicts him rising in the morning behind the Eastern mountains and crossing the sky from East to West in his chariot drawn by white horses. His standing epithet, "with broad pastures," means that he gives protection and grazing rights over large territories, and this at least is clearly in accord with his character as a god of the contract.

The Development and Spread of His Cult. In western Iran he is first mentioned, in addition to Ahura Mazda, in the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II (404–358 b.c.). His popularity in Parthian and Hellenistic times is proved by the frequency of personal names, like Mithridates, and by his presence, immediately after Ormazd, in the inscription of Antiochus of Commagene on the Nimrud Dagh (c. 50 b.c.). In that, Mithra is further identified with three different Greek gods, namely, Apollo, because of his solar and juridical character; Helios, as a sun-god; and Hermes, as a mediator between gods and men. In eastern Iran during the same period, he was by far the most prominent god, superior even to Ormazd, in the religion of the Kushans. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Iranian religion, which in Hellenistic and Roman times spread throughout the West, should have had Mithra, and not Ormazd, as its principal god, and should have been called Mithraism.

The Greco-Oriental mystery cult of Mithras is known, apart from a few meager literary texts, almost exclusively from archeological monuments and a few short inscriptions. The Mithraic monuments are scattered throughout the Roman Empire, but are found especially at the frontiers. Mithraism was essentially a soldiers' religion. Renan was guilty of exaggeration when he said that had not the world turned Christian, it would have turned Mithraic. Christianity had the advantage of having the historical God-Man, Jesus Christ, as its founder and of addressing itself to women as well as men—and women played a decisive part in its diffusion.

Mithraism or the Cult of Mithras. The ceremonies of the mysteries of Mithras were performed in caveshaped, usually subterranean buildings, imitating the vault of the sky, which Mithras spanned daily. These temples, or Mithraea, were adorned with reliefs, the most important of which show Mithras, wearing a Phrygian cap, in the act of killing a bull. An ear of wheat sprouts from the tail of the animal. The relationship between these representations and the myth, attested in later Pahlavi writings, of Ahriman killing the primeval bull, is far from clear. The Pahlavi documents, moreover, are as late as the 9th century a.d., whereas the monuments of the mysteries date from the 2d to the 4th [see ahura mazda (ormazd) and ahriman]. But the fact must be stressed that Mithras, in the mysteries, had taken over the role of other gods or heroes, notably of Saturn, as god of a new golden age; of Time, as god of destiny; and Phaethon, as author of the final conflagration of the world. Therefore, it may well be that he took over an exploit usually assigned to Ahriman.

The birth of the infant Mithras was celebrated on December 25, i.e., just after the winter solstice, when the power of the sun was at its lowest. This undoubtedly contributed to the adoption of December 25 as the date for Christmas. But the importance of Mithraism in the development of early Christianity should not be overestimated. For instance, the thesis that the Iranians, prior to the birth of Jesus, believed in and waited for the imminent advent of a divine child who would save the world, is devoid of proof.

There were seven degrees of initiation into which the faithful were successfully admitted, each with its own symbols, and each connected with a planet. They were: the Corax, or Raven; the Nymphus, or Bridegroom; the Miles, or Soldier; the Leo, or Lion; the Perses, or Persian; the Heliodromus, personifying the sun's daily course; and the Pater, or Father, who was the chief of a Mithraic community.

The ritual comprised oaths, banquets of bread and wine, and a formal baptism through water and blood. In these ceremonies, reminiscent of the Christian Eucharist and Baptism, some early Christian writers (Justin Martyr and Tertullian) saw imitations of the Christian Sacraments. It may well be that they were at least partly right.

Mithras, though the most important god in the mysteries, was not the supreme one. This is in accord with Plutarch's statement that he was a mediator. In fact, the numerous bas-reliefs representing various stages in his career give the impression not so much of a god as of a demigod or hero, a sort of Hercules. The connection is sometimes obvious. Thus, when Mithras, having captured the bull, pulls him into the cave, he seems to be repeating the exploit of Hercules and Cacus. Accordingly he performs all his feats in honor of some other god. In regard to the identity of this god, there is no definite answer. Perhaps the question should not be raised at all. In an age when syncretism was so dominant, gods such as Aion, Sarapis, Zeus, Helios, Mithras, Hades, and Ahriman could all be identified as one. It suffices to recall the syncretism of Ormazd-Jupiter-Caelus. However, it should be noted that, even when called summus exsuperantissimus, this god was not exterior to the world like Yahweh, or the "Father of Greatness" of Gnosticism, but a cosmic god.

After death, the followers of Mithras were promised access, through seven successive planetary spheres, to a heaven that was beyond these spheres, beyond all things.

Bibliography: f. cumont, Textes et monuments relatifs aux Mystères de Mithra (Brussels 1896–99), outdated, but not fully replaced by m. j. vermaseren, Corpus monumentorum et inscriptionum religionis Mithriacae, 2 v. (The Hague 1960). a. d. nock, "The Genius of Mithraism," Journal of Roman Studies 27 (1937) 108–113, excellent. k. prÜmm, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 7:488–490. h. s. jones, j. hastings, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics 13 v. (Edinburgh 1908–27) 8:752–759. m. j. vermaseren, Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart 4:1020–22; Mithras, The Secret God (New York 1963). j. duchesneguillemin, La Religion de l'Iran ancien (Paris 1962) 172–175, 248–257. i. gershevitch, The Avestan Hymn to Mithra (Cambridge, Eng. 1959).

[j. duchesne-guillemin]