youngalexander

Per the editorial review:
"In his own writings, Paul draws from Mithraic vocabulary and symbolism."

That's interesting, considering the earliest Roman mention of Mithras was by Statius (ca. 80-92 AD) and modern scholarship places the earliest known Roman Mithraic bull-slaying monument to ca. 100 AD (see Richard Gordon, "The date and significance of CIMRM 598 [British Museum, Townley Collection]", JMS 2, 1977-8, 148-74) and Paul was dead by then.

Perhaps, but Marcion wasn't!

I have read Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun by Beck and now know that;
'MITHRAS THE BULL-KILLER' means 'SUN IN LEO'

torchbearer on right means Taurus, torchbearer on left means Scorpius
and much else besides. You may note that Cautes (torch up) and Cautopates (torch down) may be on either the right or left depending upon the location of the 'Star-Talk' - Rhine or Rome. And so it goes. A few too many degrees of freedom I fancy.

I have been in several Mithraeum and Beck's imagery of the initiate visualising the earth at the cross-axis of the universal cave from his vantage point of the fixed stars in conjunction with his fellow mithraists is an intriguing and powerful one. Yet Beck's exegesis leaves a great deal to be realised. Thus p194
Since for the last quarter of a century I have devoted much of my research to the astral explication of the Mithraic tauroctony and its symbolic structure ... and refers to (amongst other refs) Beck on Mithraism
This is a trifle expensive for my taste - has anyone perchance perused this tome? Care to comment?

Clivedurdle

Or "Paul"'s letters may postdate Mithraism? :devil1: