24 September: Mithras

On this date in 1954, a Roman temple to the god Mithras was found near Mansion House in London. Setting out to research Mithras, what I mostly found was references to a Roman cult associated with him, rather than much information about the god himself. So here are ten facts about Mithras and his cult.

1. The Roman cult is thought to have been inspired by the Persian religions which worshipped a god with a similar name. The name could come from Sanskrit and the word "mitra" means "Friend" or "friendship", "contract" or "covenant".
2. There isn't much in the way of written information about Mithras or his followers. However, a lot of his story has been inferred from carvings, reliefs and other archaeological evidence at the sites of temple like the one found in London. He was born out of a rock, and emerges as a youth or a young man, naked but already carrying a dagger. He is usually shown wearing a Phrygian cap (a symbol of freedom). Sometimes other gods such as Oceanus the water god, Sol the sun god and Saturn are present as well as various types of animal.
3. Every temple to Mithras thus found has a centrepiece called a tauroctony. It's as ubiquitous as a crucifix in a Christian church. It will be a carving or relief showing Mithras killing a bull. (The Persian god of the same name is not associated with killing bulls). A Dog and a Snake are waiting to drink the Blood and Mithras is looking over his shoulder at Sol, the sun god. Other carvings found show Mithras and Sol feasting on the bull.
4. The cult is called Mithraism, or the Mithraic mysteries, and about 420 temples have been found throughout the reach of the Roman Empire. Historians estimate there would have been about 680 temples to Mithras in Rome alone.
5. So it was popular, then. Who with? Some inscribed membership lists have been found, suggesting a lot of the members were soldiers. Merchants, customs officials and minor bureaucrats were also represented. None of the lists so far found include any female names, so it seems likely it was a boys' club of some kind.
6. In fact, having recently watched a documentary on modern Freemasonry, there seem to be a lot of similarities between the two. Men only, and secret initiation ceremonies to various levels or degrees involving the candidate reciting something and answering set questions with set answers. Members of a temple even referred to themselves as syndexioi (those united by the handshake)! A new member would shake hands with a senior member which was meant to symbolise the fact that Mithras shook hands with Sol. Whether there was anything unusual or secret about the handshake isn't known. There are also suggestions that it wasn't a religion as such and members were free to worship whichever gods they liked in their free time and could transfer with their grades from one Mithraeum to another. Masonic rituals are always followed by a meal, and Mithraic ones were, too - evidence of feasting has been found in the temples.
7. Talking of which - some sources state Mithras celebrated his birthday on December 25 (which leads to comparisons with Jesus - more later) but this has been questioned, because the sites where the biggest feasts were held yielded a lot of cherry stones, suggesting they took place in the summer, around the Solstice, when Cherries would be in season.
8. Another characteristic of a Mithraic temple would be the figure of a naked man with a Lion's head with two serpents wrapped around him and four wings. He may be standing on a globe inscribed with a diagonal cross and holding a key and a sceptre. While there are a lot of gods in various pantheons, in particular Egyptian, with animal heads, there doesn't seem to be a parallel to this figure in any mythology. Inscriptions give him the name Ahriman – a demonic figure in the Zoroastrian pantheon. However, it has been suggested the figure doesn't represent a god or a demon at all, but the spiritual state of the Mithraic adept.
9. Lion is the name given to one of the levels of initiation, so there could be some truth in that. Other levels are Raven/Crow, bridegroom, soldier, Persian, sun-runner and father.
10. Mithraism pre-dated Christianity by about six centuries, but historians have been quick to point out the similarities between Mihtras and Jesus. Not only did they possibly share the same birthdate, Mithras has twelve companions - although his represented the signs of the zodiac, not the tribes of Israel. Mithras performed miracles - striking a rock with a sword and producing Water was one and this has been compared with baptism by some. Mithraic feasts have been compared to the Eucharist and there's even a belief that Mithras died, was buried in a cave and was resurrected and taken to paradise.