CX

Since I've seen this assertion over and over again I thought we could discuss the similarities or lack thereof between Mithras, the god of the Roman Cult of Sol Invicti which is often referred to as Mithraism and Jesus. Before we start I should preface my comments by saying that I have no particular objection to the idea of Xian borrowing from Paganism as I think practically every religion must incorporate some of the cultural context it develops in and human ideas have a way of jumping around, getting reformulated and becoming part of a new belief system.

That being said the regular claim that Xianity borrowed extensively from Mithraism is ill-conceived. In order to properly frame this discussion it is crucial first to understand what Mithraism was and what it was not. Roman Mithraism was a popular cult primarily among members of the Roman legion stationed in the Eastern part of the empire during the 1st three centuries of the Common Era. Consequently, it's development and practice did grow along side that of Xianity. The Roman Mithraists, as best we can tell, worshipped Mithras along side the sun god Sol. We should recall that there are no surviving texts related to Mithraism so everything we know comes solely from archaeological evidence in the form of inscriptions, stone reliefs and various Mithraeum throughout the Roman Empire.

The name mithras is a Romanization of the Indo-Iranian god known as Mitra among the Hindus and Mitras among the Persians. In the context of these two older cultures Mitra/Mitras was a minor deity who is hardly mentioned in the Vedas or the Avesta. In any case there is no evidence that early Zorostrians or Hindus worshipped Mitra/Mitras independently of other more prominent gods in their respective pantheons. Roman Mithraists took Mitra/Mitras an equated him in some sense with their sun god in order to give the Cult of Sol Invicti an ancient mythology. Such practice was not uncommon in the period in question. Very much as centuries later American University students would create secret orders based on ancient greek and european figures and mythos in the form of the the so-called "Greek" system of fraternities and sororities.

In Zoroastrianism, Mitras was a minor deity usually associated with the sky, the heavens or the rising sun and was under the One God, Ahura Mazda and not even in his inner circle of 7 other deities.

Based on what little we know about Mitras/Mithras, he was born from a rock under a tree by a river and lived in a cave (Roman Mithraeum are typically constructed to have a cave like appearance). The central dogma of Mithraism is Mithras' defeat and sacrifice of a bull. Ahura Madza unleashed a wild bull on earth. Mithras' pursuit, struggle and dragging of the bull back to his cave symbolizes man's struggle through life. In reliefs Mithras is depicted as wearing typically Roman clothing (i.e. Tunic, trousers etc.) brandishing a dagger which he plunges into the bull's throat. According to the myth he drags the bull back to his cave but it escapes and Ahura Mazda sends a crow to instruct Mithras to slay the bull which he does and the blood and semen that flows from the Bull creates the plants and animals that populate the earth. There upon man is created and is beset with troubles by the primary seat of evil Ahriman. Mithras battles with Ahriman and saves mankind at which point he has a "last supper" with Helios-Mithras, which is variously conceived as Mithras' double or his father and his companions, and is taken into heaven in a fiery chariot from which vantage point he protects mankind.

It is sometimes asserted that shepherds watched the birth of Mithras, but this is not supported by the archaeological evidence we have and in fact is anachronistic since according to the mythology Mithras was born before the creation of life on earth.
What then are the similarities between the story of Mithras and the story of Jesus as it's presented in the Gospels?

We are told by AMt and ALk the Jesus is born of a virgin through some miraculous work of the holy spirit. While women being impregnated by gods is not an especially unusual event in mythological contexts, this does not factor into the story of mithras at all since he is born from a rock before mankind is even created. I think any attempts to connect these two are a stretch. Jesus' birth was allegedly attended by Magi which are priests of the Zoroastians and shepherds figure prominently in the story as well. The former is obviously a literary device to show that Jesus birth was recognized as very important by pagan religious mystics. As previously mentioned any claims that the birth of mithras was attended by shepherds (or anyone else) are apocryphal since Mithras was apparently born before the creation of mankind.

Next there's the issue of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the "blood of the lamb" sacrifical motif. It is suggested that this is analogous to Mithras slaying of the bull, but frankly I'm not sure how this is so. Certainly sacrifice to the gods has been an integral part of human religious ideas since very early in human religious development, but it seems to me there is virtually no similarity between Mithras killing a bull and it's blood and fluids creating life on earth and Jesus being killed by the authorities on the cross. Rather I'd say the more parsimonious explanation is that Jesus was actually executed and early Xian theologians had to come up with a way to handle that rather embarassing fact about their alleged savior and god-man.
Before Jesus is killed, he has a last supper with his disciples and (at least according to the NT) establishes a ritual eucharist wherein the wine and bread consumed represent (or in the case of Catholic dogma actually become) the body and blood of Christ. In Mithraic mythology, mithras battles with Ahriman, defeats him and firmly establishes mankind on earth whereupon he has a celebratory meal with his father/double and gets wisked away to the heavens in a fiery chariot. The only point of similarity here seems to be the notion of a last meal. The context and nature of these meals is wholly different however and point more to the universal idea of a last meal (which is a central point of all human experience) than either religion borrowing from the other.

Finally much is made of the fact that Mithras was called "mediator" in his capacity acting as an agent for Ahura Mazda on behalf of mankind just as Christ is said by Xians to be a mediator between god and man. It seems clear that this similarity is far too vague and general to be significant. Most mythos have some agent operating between God in heaven and man down on earth often times a sort of half-man half-god hybrid of some kind who, by virtue of comprising the essential natures of both god and man, has the unique position of being able to interact directly with both. While this idea certainly informs both religions it is a tenuous claim at best to say there is any connection between the two.

Finally we need to recall that Roman Mithraism, borrowed Mithras from an older mythos, but the religion as a whole began and developed around the same time as Xianity. Likewise Xianity borrowed or co-opted the older history of Israel, but began and developed in the 1st century of the common era. Consequently one would be hard pressed to say, assuming that borrowing was going on between the two, who borrowed from whom and in fact as I think I've already shown there doesn't to appear to be any really clear cases of overt and direct borrowing on either side but rather some rather general similarities we can attribute to most religious ideologies that derive, probably, from human beings common experiences from which religious ideas derive to being with.

Ultimately Xianity doesn't need to borrow from paganism since it is predicated on borrowing the Israelite mythos in toto already. And the hyperbolic claims to the effect that Xianity is basically just Mithraism repackaged are totally unjustified since if there even were significant borrowing I'm at a loss to see how one could establish a direction of dependence barring an a priori bias against one or the other. Finally we all need to remember that although the supposed uniqueness of Xianity is vitally important to Xians and within that worldview a key evidence for it's truth, even if the Xian myth were completely unique and unprecedented that would not have any bearing on its truth value. I'm sure I could come up with an original and soteriological myth that was unlike any other but it would be no more true than Xianity.

[ December 13, 2002: Message edited by: CX ]</p>

Jayhawker Soule

Thanks for the fine introduction. If you have not done so already, you might wish to pick up

• <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0415929784/reviews/qid=1039811829/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1673080-7427126" target="_blank">The Roman Cult of Mithras : The God and His Mysteries by Manfred Clauss</a>

Any thoughts on how much Constantine's 'conversion' was a function of Licinius marching under the banner of Sol Invictus?

[ December 13, 2002: Message edited by: ReasonableDoubt ]</p>

David Bowden

Thank you, CX; that was a wonderful rundown which helped to put the Freke-Gandy material in a more complete perspective for me.

-David

Vorkosigan

Hi CX! Fine post.

Just a small nit. Mithras is probably not Persian in origin. That's the old theory. See the work of Ulansey.

<a href="http://www.well.com/user/davidu/hypercosmic.html" target="_blank">http://www.well.com/user/davidu/hypercosmic.html</a>

Ulansey's homepage:
<a href="http://www.well.com/user/davidu/" target="_blank">http://www.well.com/user/davidu/</a>

Ulansey's article explaining the origin of Mithraism:
<a href="http://www.well.com/user/davidu/mithras.html" target="_blank">http://www.well.com/user/davidu/mithras.html</a>

"There were, however, a number of serious problems with Cumont's assumption that the Mithraic mysteries derived from ancient Iranian religion. Most significant among these is that there is no parallel in ancient Iran to the iconography which is the primary fact of the Roman Mithraic cult. For example, as already mentioned, by far the most important icon in the Roman cult was the tauroctony. This scene shows Mithras in the act of killing a bull, accompanied by a dog, a snake, a raven, and a scorpion; the scene is depicted as taking place inside a cave like the mithraeum itself. This icon was located in the most important place in every mithraeum, and therefore must have been an expression of the central myth of the Roman cult. Thus, if the god Mithras of the Roman religion was actually the Iranian god Mithra, we should expect to find in Iranian mythology a story in which Mithra kills a bull. However, the fact is that no such Iranian myth exists: in no known Iranian text does Mithra have anything to do with killing a bull."

Ulansey locates the origin of Mithra in Greek science rather than Persian myth.

"I think I've already shown there doesn't to appear to be any really clear cases of overt and direct borrowing on either side but rather some rather general similarities we can attribute to most religious ideologies that derive, probably, from human beings common experiences from which religious ideas derive to being with."

This is how I see it too. Difficult to prove overt borrowing.

Vorkosigan

[ December 13, 2002: Message edited by: Vorkosigan ]</p>

lpetrich

There is an interesting theory to the effect that Mithraism was inspired by the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes; the idea was there must be some powerful force that had caused the stars' motion to change.

Mithraism had had lots of constellation symbolism in it, and it had had seven levels of initiation in it, one for each "planet".

And Mithras being born from a rock may certainly qualify as a miraculous conception, even if it is not a result of divine impregnation.

By comparison, the New Testament is very short on astronomical/astrological symbolism; similarities with Mithraism must be a result of sharing common religious beliefs and practices, like miraculous conceptions and sacred meals.

Marduk

“The central dogma of Mithraism is Mithras' defeat and sacrifice of a bull. Ahura Madza unleashed a wild bull on earth.”

I guess we could also claim that Mithra was based on Gilgamesh, a part human part divine character who slayed the Bull of Heaven that was sent by the god Inanna.

Jayhawker Soule

This is also the position put forward the the Clauss book cited above. Specifically, he writes:

Eudaimonist

How do you guys evaluate the information at the following resource?

<a href="http://www.innvista.com/scriptures/religion/mithra.htm" target="_blank">Christianity -- Mithra's Contributions</a>

Fiach

When I was in the British Army units stationed in Egypt I had opportunity to visit the Temple Murals of the Holy of Holies in Luxor. I was with a French tour group. My French is not perfect. But the murals showed the God Atum sending his messenger God Knepf to announce to a virgin girl that she was to bear his child. The next one shows her pregnant and guarded by Kneph and vulture headed goddesses. The final one shows the god-man born. He is in a basket or manger with Shepherds in attendance. Knepf (the Holy Spirit) looks on the god-man.

I know that there are components of the Christian myth in many older religious systems. Even Mithraism, 200 years or so older than Christianity, may have borrowed heavily from the Egyptian Trinity of Atum (Father), Horus or Aten (Son), and Kneph or Re or Ra (Holy Spirit).

The sad thing is that the paintings already 4000 years old are eroding from natural forces. And fanatical muslims are a threat to demolish them as evil Pagan cult images.

I think that parts of several different traditions are sewn together in Christianity. The redeemer who will atone for our supposed fall, the Trinity (three is more magical than one), the virgin birth, the god-human who is sacrificed and resurrects. I think that Paul, the Gospel writers, Tertullian and others built the composite religion out of the most exciting parts of the old Pagan religions. The simple minded war god of the Hebrews had very little to do with the final product. Christianity succeeded where Judaism failed in the Empire because Christianity had the Trinity, virgin birth, god-man hero, the sacrifice of the god-man, and his resurrection. They took the best of Paganism with lip service to Judaism, and it worked. Christianity is the supreme example of sycretism in religion. It is the composite of multiple Pagan cults.

Fiach

Geoff Hudson

I was pleased to read CX's point of view in opposition to the Jesus Mysteries brigade.

My view is that there was a universalistic development of Judaism in a pure form with a theological basis in the OT. That development involved belief in the Spirit of God who could purify and make a person acceptable to God. This early movement was in effect hijacked and the pagan elements referred to above were grafted in, probably in two stages.

Geoff