The Mysteries of Mithras – The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World
The Mysteries of Mithras The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World
An overview of Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion popular in the Roman Legions
• Provides a comprehensive history of Mithraism, including its influence on Christianity and Islam
• Includes rituals, meditations, and teaching tales for readers who wish to follow the Mithraic path
• Studies the evolution and divergence of the Eastern (Persian) and Western (Roman) forms of Mithraism
The Mysteries of Mithras presents a revival of the magical practices and initiatory system of Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion that was immensely popular in the Roman Legions from the late second century B.C. until A.D. 400 and was taken to every corner of the Roman Empire. As the last pagan state religion in Europe, it was the most important competitor to early Christianity and heavily influenced Christian doctrine and symbolism. The parallels between Christianity and ancient Mithraism are striking–for example, the god Mithra was born of a virgin in a cave on December 25.
Payam Nabarz reveals the history, origins, and spiritual and philosophical tenets of Mithraism and its connections to Christianity, Islam, and Freemasonry. He also describes the modern neo-pagan practice of Mithraism in evidence today and for readers who wish to adopt the Mithraic path, he includes seven of its initiatory rituals and meditations, as well as orations and teaching tales, that open the door to the seven Mithraic grades of passage.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars value depends on your needs
Payam Nabarz, according to the author bio, is a sufi and practicing dervish, a druid, a member of the Golden Dawn, and a revivalist of the temple of Mithras. In other words, his interest in the subject of Mithras comes from the side of mystery religion, ritual, and for lack of a better word an occult approach, versus looking at the subject from the point of view of say a religious archaeologist. There is nothing invalid in his approach; you just need to note it to understand the book and evaluate its value to you as a reader.
The first half of the book is fairly rough going, as the author discusses the origins of first the Persian Mithra religion, according to some antedating Zoroastrianism but later folded into it; then addresses the worship of Mithras in the Roman world (roughly 100 BC to 400 AD). There is some good writing on key Mithraic iconography, with discussion of the tauroctony, the figure of the leontocephaline, the creation myth according to Mithraic tradition, complete with the major characters in that story. This might be the most informative part of the book.
There is then presented the seven initiatory rites and grades of Mithras, with symbols and connections to the creation myth or symbolism made clear. Additional material shows the leaking of Mithraism into Yezidi and Christian tradition. A traditional Persian fairy tale is recounted and analyzed from a Mithraic point of view, its symbolism and story laid bare. That takes us up to page 85 or so.
The second half of the book is somewhat more fanciful. As stated, the author is active in the revival of Mithraism, and he has written meditations and initiation ceremonies for each of the seven grades, for use as solo practitioners or in group practice. This and further suggestions for practical worship take up the second half of the book. He writes that it took him on average a year to write each of the seven. Apparently there is extremely little actually existing historical record of the actual ritual or procedure used in ancient Mithraea, and so this forces the revivalist to come up with his own workings. As I have not attempted to work these rituals I have no idea as to the efficacy thereof; they are heavy on guided visualization, chanting, and to a certain degree autohypnosis and appear totally harmless.
Finally, on a positive note, the author has compiled an excellent bibliography of book written and online work, modern Mithraic groups and internet resources. Although the focus of this book is less on historical inquiry than in a fanciful reconstruction, and thus is very different from the work of serious historians such as Cumont, it is nonetheless a valuable resource for those interested in the subject.
2 Stars Mithras lite
This book offers an excellent introduction into the modern resurgence of this religion and its practices.
Scholastically however, it is found wanting by not relating the body of work to the title. If one is looking for the relationship between Mithraism and Christianity evidence will not be found here. There is reference to many parallels and similarities but this is not evidence that Mithraism shaped Christianity.
4 Stars The source of modern religions
I read this book during my quest for the source of religious beliefs, as in Christianity. There are many traditions in Mithraism that mirror Xianity, if it is not the source of; for example the holidays like December 25 and Easter come from the birthday of Mithra. Mithra was the son of God, born as a human to help us out here. Plus he's a very cool guy. I am not conveying this correctly, you have to read the book. Something very interesting: Mithra comes from the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia, or Iran if you will. Apparently the Jews got many ideas from there when they were in Babylon, as slaves. Think about it.
5 Stars Mithras reborn!
There once was a religion whose savior god was born of a virgin on December 25th and whose baptized followers partook of a Eucharist of bread marked with a cross and of wine symbolizing his holy blood every Sunday. However, this was a very long time before Jesus. The Persian Mithra, Roman Mithras and Vedic Mitra is the patron of several of history's oldest mystery cults, influencing Zoroastrians, Hindus, Christians, Sufis, Yezidis, Gnostics, Freemasons, the legions of the Roman Empire, Celtic Britain and the Golden Dawn. The author covers a vast amount of uncharted history, iconography, literature, practice and belief, exploring the rituals and grades of initiation, related gods, goddesses (notably Anahita) and myths, and a wide range of contemporary and magical revivals. An important element is the ancient text known as the Mithras Liturgy, and the author also reconstructs a series of self-initiations and a useful festival calendar. There are some great illustrations, including an altar cleverly designed with piercings representing constellations lit from below, and both ancient and modern temple sites. There is also a guide to resources including both print and the internet. This is an excellent, wide-ranging and thoughtful book connecting both scholarly and pagan-revival perspectives, linking a whole series of religious traditions to the roots of a complex tree. Highly recommended! ~Shade
4 Stars KNOWLEDGE AND INTUITION
I am impressed by the author's knowledge and intuition. A good book for the basics of mithraism.
Related posts:
- The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun
- The Mysteries of Mithra
- Mithras Mysteries and Inititation Rediscovered
- Correlations Between Mithraism and Christianity
- The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries – Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World
- Lord of the Cosmos – Mithras, Paul and the Gospel of Mark
- The Jesus Mysteries – Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God
- Mithraic Mysteries Restored and Modernized – A Drama of Interior Initiation
- Christ, Mithras and Christmas
- Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras – The Drug Cult that Civilized Europe
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