Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

MITHRAISM

Mithraism, the cult mainly embraced by the Roman legions, centered around the worship of the god Mithras and the Mithraic mysteries. This deity that originated from the Indian-Persian god Mithra, who was worshipped by four religions: in Hinduism (as Mitra), in Zoroastrianism (as Mithra), in Manichaenism (as Mithra), and the Roman Mithraic mysteries (as Mithras).

The cult was first evident toward the end of the first century AD. Being popular among the military its locations were seen in the frontier regions around the Danube, the Rhine, and Hadrian's Wall in Northern England. However, there were also civilian temples, notably in Italy, especially in Ostia, the port city of Rome.

The cult eclipsed in the 5th century due to the rise of Christianity. It is difficult to reconstruct the Mithraic belief and practice because no specifically Mithraic texts survived, only inscriptions and accounts by outsiders such as Porphyry. The major source of evidence is hundreds of excavated temples (Mithraea) and their statuary. The cult explicitly claimed to have been founded by Zoroaster and became known as the Persian mysteries.

There were seven grades of initiation, each under the protection of a planet: Raven (Mercury), Bride (Venus), Soldier (Mars), Lion (Jupiter), Persian (moon), Runner of the Sun (sun), Father (Saturn). Progression through the grades was thought to reflect the soul's progress through the planetary spheres, and it probably reflected deeper esoteric knowledge.

The main cult relief (tauroctony) depicted Mithras slaying the bull, a scene thought to have soteriological significance, understood - at least in part - in astrological terms. Other scenes depicted Mithras and Sol banqueting in what was the mythic prototype of the community ritual meals of bread and wine.

The death of the bull and the ritual meal were depicted as occurring in a cave, and the temple structure were commonly made cave-like to emphasize the cosmological significance of the acts within. Side scenes of the temple show Mithras being born from a rock, (he was known as Mithras Petrogenes).

Some of the popular texts state that the cult included the rite of Taurobolium in which an initiate descended into a pit over which a bull was slain and in whose blood the initiated bathed. This could not have been practiced in Mithraism, because virtually all known temples were too small for a bull to enter. The death of the bull, therefore, appears to have been thought of as a unique inimitable act of the god himself, who is described in one inscription as having saved the initiates by the shedding of the eternal blood. Mithraism appears from the inscriptions to have been a very disciplined, Ascetic and arduous life.

The cult is interesting in and of itself, as a mystery cult, and because of some of the concepts that it shared with emerging Christianity.

OTHER RESOURCES:
WAS THE NEW TESTAMENT INFLUENCED BY PAGAN RELIGION? in the ARTICLES Section of this Site

RESOURCES FROM OTHER CHRISTIAN SITES:
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DID CHRISTIANITY STEAL FROM MITHRAISM? at Come Let Us Reason Together Ministries

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc