CX

Hopefully over the holidays I'll ahve some time to write a comprehensive essay on the Roman Cult of Mithras that addresses the common questions, but here are my thoughts in a nutshell:

1)Modern Mithraic scholars do not see any dependence between the Roman Cult of Mithras and Xianity in either direction.

2)Most of the information surrounding the Roman Cult of Mithras is either based on the 100 year old scholarship of Franz Cumont or is just flat out made up. Look for a book by Manfred Klauss for up to date scholarship on Mithraism. Take David Ulansey with a grain of salt.

3)Modern Scholars see no link between the Roman Mithras and the Persian Mitra save the appropriation of the name. Many cults in the Roman Empire in the period took names or superficial ideas from ancient eastern religions to give the mark of antiquity (and thus authenticity) to their cult. One of the biggest objections to Xianity by Roman pagans was that it was "new".

4)Some confusion comes from the syncretistic nature of religion in the period in question. Roman Mithras is not the same as Sol Invictus. Sol Invictus was the official religion of the empire until well after the rule of Constantine and his progeny. Some imagery from archaeological sources shows how Roman Mithras and Sol Invictus were sometimes conflated as either the same deity or related deities. Consequently facts which should be attributed to Sol Invictus are attributed to Mithras. For example, December 25th was the traditional celebration of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti or "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun". It is no coincidence that a Post-Nicene Church Father picked December 25th for the celebration of Christ's Mass. It was a matter of expediency and not a result of the belief that Jesus was born December 25th nor that Xians were borrowing from Pagan theology.

If there are any specific questions about alleged similarities between Xianity and Mithraism I'd be happy to address them.

greyline

Are there alleged similarities between Christianity and any other religions or cults from the same era, or earlier?

andrewcriddle

There are alleged similarities between Christianity and various pagan cults, particularly rhe worship of Adonis Attis and Osiris.

One major problem is how far the relevan material accurately depicts practices as old as the origins of Christianity.

Some of the material comes in sources from the 4th century CE and may occasionally involve influence of Christianity on late paganism.

Most modern scholars (eg AD Nock JZ Smith) are doubtful about direct pagan influence on 1st century CE Christianity.

Andrew Criddle