albion
11-08-2004, 05:26 AM
http://www.mystae.com/images/mithras.jpg Mithras, the soldier's god
Mithras, God of the Morning,
Our trumpets waken the Wall!
Rome is above the Nations,
but Thou art over all!
Rudyard Kipling
Mithras was the soldiers' god and his cult began about 4000 years ago in Persia. He was known through Europe and Asia by the names Mithra, Mitra, Meitros, Mihr, Mehr, and Meher.
The faith spread east through India to China, and reached west throughout the entire length of the Roman frontier-- from Scotland to the Sahara Desert, from Spain to the Black Sea. Sites of Mithraic worship have be
n found in Britain, Italy, Romania, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Persia, Armenia, Syria, Israel, and North Africa.
it was Roman imperial policy to remove troops as far as possible from their country of origin and Roman soldiers, complete with their religious affiliations, were frequently transferred to garrisons in a foreign station.
The vast extent of the Roman colonies formed links between Persia and the Mediterranean and caused the diffusion of the Mithraic religion into the Roman world and Mithraism became a military religion under the Romans. The many dangers to which the Roman soldiers were exposed caused them to seek the protection of the gods of their foreign comrades in order to obtain success in battle or a happier life through death. The soldiers followed Mithras for his emphasis on victory, strength, and security.
According to Persian traditions, Mithras was incarnated into the human form of the Saviour expected by Zarathustra. He was the son of Anahita, an immaculate
virgin mother once worshipped as a fertility goddess.
Mithras remained celibate throughout his life, and valued self-control, renunciation and resistance to sensuality. He represented a system of ethics in which brotherhood was encouraged in order to unify against the forces of evil.
He was worshipped as guardian of arms, and patron of soldiers and armies. The handshake was developed by those who worshipped him as a token of friendship and as a gesture to show that you were unarmed. This handshake gesture was imported throughout Europe by Roman soldiers.
Mithras was known as "the Light of the World", symbol of truth, justice, and loyalty, mediator between heaven and earth and a member of a Holy Trinity. Sundays were held sacred, and the birth of the god was celebrated annually about 23 December. After the earthly mission of this god had been accomplished, he took part in a Last Supper with his companions before ascending to heaven, to forever protect the faithful from above.
Recommended Reading :
The only general account of Mithraism available in English has been the 1903 translation of Franz Cumont's The Mysteries of Mithra. After a century much of Cumont's book is hopelessly out of date - to say nothing of his style and manner. So the translation from the popular German study by Manfred Clauss is most welcome.
Clauss examines the Iranian background, the religious situation of the Roman empire, the development, adherents, the temple and its furnishings, and then with the cult myth itself. Clauss makes interesting use of pottery, lamps and other small finds in discussion of ritual. Organisation and ethical teaching are included with an account of the other gods of the Mithraic pantheon.
Recommended. The Roman Cult of Mithras : The God and His Mysteries
http://myths.allinfoabout.com/myth8.html
Mithras, God of the Morning,
Our trumpets waken the Wall!
Rome is above the Nations,
but Thou art over all!
Rudyard Kipling
Mithras was the soldiers' god and his cult began about 4000 years ago in Persia. He was known through Europe and Asia by the names Mithra, Mitra, Meitros, Mihr, Mehr, and Meher.
The faith spread east through India to China, and reached west throughout the entire length of the Roman frontier-- from Scotland to the Sahara Desert, from Spain to the Black Sea. Sites of Mithraic worship have be
n found in Britain, Italy, Romania, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Persia, Armenia, Syria, Israel, and North Africa.
it was Roman imperial policy to remove troops as far as possible from their country of origin and Roman soldiers, complete with their religious affiliations, were frequently transferred to garrisons in a foreign station.
The vast extent of the Roman colonies formed links between Persia and the Mediterranean and caused the diffusion of the Mithraic religion into the Roman world and Mithraism became a military religion under the Romans. The many dangers to which the Roman soldiers were exposed caused them to seek the protection of the gods of their foreign comrades in order to obtain success in battle or a happier life through death. The soldiers followed Mithras for his emphasis on victory, strength, and security.
According to Persian traditions, Mithras was incarnated into the human form of the Saviour expected by Zarathustra. He was the son of Anahita, an immaculate
virgin mother once worshipped as a fertility goddess.
Mithras remained celibate throughout his life, and valued self-control, renunciation and resistance to sensuality. He represented a system of ethics in which brotherhood was encouraged in order to unify against the forces of evil.
He was worshipped as guardian of arms, and patron of soldiers and armies. The handshake was developed by those who worshipped him as a token of friendship and as a gesture to show that you were unarmed. This handshake gesture was imported throughout Europe by Roman soldiers.
Mithras was known as "the Light of the World", symbol of truth, justice, and loyalty, mediator between heaven and earth and a member of a Holy Trinity. Sundays were held sacred, and the birth of the god was celebrated annually about 23 December. After the earthly mission of this god had been accomplished, he took part in a Last Supper with his companions before ascending to heaven, to forever protect the faithful from above.
Recommended Reading :
The only general account of Mithraism available in English has been the 1903 translation of Franz Cumont's The Mysteries of Mithra. After a century much of Cumont's book is hopelessly out of date - to say nothing of his style and manner. So the translation from the popular German study by Manfred Clauss is most welcome.
Clauss examines the Iranian background, the religious situation of the Roman empire, the development, adherents, the temple and its furnishings, and then with the cult myth itself. Clauss makes interesting use of pottery, lamps and other small finds in discussion of ritual. Organisation and ethical teaching are included with an account of the other gods of the Mithraic pantheon.
Recommended. The Roman Cult of Mithras : The God and His Mysteries
http://myths.allinfoabout.com/myth8.html