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In Rome, Mithras had appeal to both the foot soldier and his ranking officers. Mithraism was a macho religion for men only-no women allowed. After baptismal rites had been conducted, the rugged legionnaires passed through graded ranks, such as Crow, Soldier, Lion, Courtier of the Sun, and, ultimately, Father.

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QUESTION: Did the ancient Romans believe in an afterlife?

ANSWER:

Yes, the ancient Romans did believe in an afterlife. They believed in the immortality of the soul and had a complicated belief system about life after death. The ancient Romans believed that when one died, one was met by Mercury, the messenger god and son of Jupiter and taken to the river Styx, that flowed nine times around the underworld. There they paid the ferryman, Charon, a fee to cross the river where they were met and judged by Minos, Aenaeus, and Rhadymanthas.

However, the ancient Romans did not believe in eternal damnation. Therefore, after one was judged he was sent either to the Fields of Elysium, if one was a warrior or other type of hero, or to the Plain of Asphodel, if one was an ordinary citizen. However, if one was judged to have committed a crime against society, one would have been sent to Tartarus to be tortured by the Furies until such time as one's debt to society was deemed to have been paid in full. At that time, one was released. All three areas of the underworld were ruled over by Pluto, brother of Jupiter.

In order to prepare the deceased for the afterlife, the ancient Romans buried their loved ones with a variety of artifacts. Of most importance was the inclusion of a coin on the body with which the soul would pay Charon, the ferryman, for passage across the river Styx. Other objects entombed with the deceased could include food, cosmetics, and jewelry. The sarcophagus was usually decorated with images of the deceased. The ancient Romans believed that it was very important that their loved ones have a proper burial for if they did not they would be denied entrance into the underworld and spend eternity in a purgatory-like existence.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

- We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, " Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

What is your response?

Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus

Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus

I still have questions

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QUESTION: Did the ancient Romans believe in an afterlife? ANSWER: Yes, the ancient Romans did believe in an afterlife. They believed in the immortality of the soul and had a complicated belief system about life after death.

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As nouns the difference between senator and patrician

is that senator is a member, normally elected, in the house or chamber of a legislature called a senate the legislatures of the united states and canada have senators while patrician is originally, a member of any of the families constituting the populus romanus, or body of roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the senior class of romans, who, with certain property, had by right a seat in the roman senate.

As a adjective patrician is

of or pertaining to the roman patres (fathers) or senators, or patricians.

Alternative forms

* senatour ( obsolete)

Noun

()

A member, normally elected, in the house or chamber of a legislature called a senate. The legislatures of the United States and Canada have senators.

* 2003 , Olga Gardner Galvin, The Alphabet Challenge, Page 31

It was disbanded when Derrick was only six, after that grouchy old ultra-Libertarian senator Timothy de Illy

(historical) A position in government held in ancient Rome by experienced, elder officials as advisors or consultants for younger, less experienced functionaries.

A member of the king's council.

Alternative forms

* patritian ( obsolete)

Noun

()

(antiquity) a member of any of the families constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the senior class of Romans, who, with certain property, had by right a seat in the Roman Senate.

A person of high birth; a nobleman.

One familiar with the works of the Christian Fathers; one versed in patristic lore or life.

Adjective

()

Of or pertaining to the Roman patres (fathers) or senators, or patricians.

Of, pertaining to, or appropriate to, a person of high birth; noble; not plebeian.

* Sir Walter Scott

born in the patrician file of society

* Addison

his horse's hoofs wet with patrician blood

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Senator vs Patrician - What's the difference?

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As nouns the difference between senator and patrician is that senator is a member, normally elected, in the house or chamber of a legislature called a senate the legislatures of the united states and canada have senators while patrician is originally, a member of any of the families constituting the populus romanus, or body of roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the senior class of romans, who, with certain property, had by right a seat in the roman senate.

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JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

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How traditional practices reinforce the Pax Deorum:

Significance of Roman Cults to ordinary Citizens:

Foreign cults fulfill the needs of those who practise them?:

(Compared to other cults):

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In the eyes of the Romans the gods demanded prayers, rituals, sacrifices and, above all, respect. The gods did not expect you to like them, much less love them, nor did they expect piety from their believers (and indeed 'Pietas' in Classical Latin means more something like 'dutifulness' than spiritual devotion). For that reason the Romans put much stress on the external forms of worship, neglecting completely all form of spiritual revelation.

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Latin for 'The Peace of the Gods'. This term is the essence of faith in Roman eyes. According to this perception of belief, Gods and Man have a treaty, ...

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Lucius Septimius Severus was born on 1 April AD 145 at Lepcis Magna in Tripolitania. His family was of African descent. His paternal great-grandfather, who had moved from Lepcis Magna to Italy and become an equestrian, was most likely of Punic origin and his mother, Fulvia Pia, was from a family which had moved from Africa to Italy.

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Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well received by the Roman people during his reign. He believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules, and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator. His outrageous tactics, such as slaying the crippled and slaughtering wild beasts in the arena, brought much negative attention, and were believed to have played a role in his eventual assassination. His tumultuous reign as Emperor was the starting point for a period of Roman history that is viewed as having been filled with chaos and decline.

Commodus was born on August 31, 161 AD in Lanuvium, 14 miles southeast of Rome. His father was Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and his mother was Faustina the Younger. Faustina was the daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, and was Aurelius' first cousin. Commodus was the tenth of fourteen children born to Aurelius, and was ultimately the only surviving son. His twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antonius, died at age four.

Aurelius' physician, Galen, was tasked with looking after Commodus to ensure that he stayed healthy and well. Every illness was treated to ensure he remained strong and hale. From all angles, Commodus was groomed to succeed the throne. In addition to Galen's medical attention and treatment, Commodus was also highly educated intellectually, with little focus on military training. According to Aurelius, Commodus received his educational training with "an abundance of good masters."

Aurelius pushed for Commodus to be a leader from a very young age. It is of particular interest that Aurelius so craved succession by one of his sons, as there hadn't been an Emperor who had been succeeded by his own son since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. It appears that Aurelius was desperate to have a son of his own bloodline succeed him. Aurelius himself, and the four Emperors that had preceded him, had all been adopted. In 166, at the age of five, Commodus was made Caesar, along with his younger brother Marcus Annius Verus. (It was three years later that Verus died, leaving Commodus as the only surviving son). Bestowing the imperial title of Caesar upon Commodus at such a young age further shows Aurelius' desperation for Commodus to be viewed and treated as royalty.
A bust of Commodus as a youth. 180-192 AD. Wikimedia,
As the years went by, it is believed that Commodus was actually a disappointment to his father due to his lack of work ethic and disinterest in government life. To some, this was a sign that Commodus was not actually the biological child of Aurelius, and that his mother had conceived him while engaging in an affair. This rumor was further fueled by Commodus' love for engaging in gladiator battles as an adult, which led to speculation that his father was indeed a gladiator with whom Faustina had an affair.

Disappointment aside, Aurelius continued to promote Commodus through the ranks. Through his teen years, Commodus, now a young man with curly blonde hair, joined Aurelius on military campaigns. On November 27, 176, Aurelius promoted 15-year old Commodus to the rank of Imperator, which some say is a role similar to commander. The following year, Commodus became Aurelius' co-Emperor, and they reigned together from then until Aurelius' death in 180. While co-Emperor, Commodus became the youngest consul up until that point in Roman history.
MORE
Upon his father's death in 180, Commodus became the sole Emperor. He is viewed as having been an inept Emperor, his megalomaniac tendencies leading to odd behaviors which frustrated and upset the Roman people. It appeared that he had no interest in being a leader, and only wanted to take advantage of his leadership powers to fulfill his own wants and desires.

Commodus did initially engage in some leadership-oriented activities, although not always in the favor of the Roman people. He negotiated a peace settlement in Rome's favor. He also devalued Roman currency, reducing the weight of the denarius and reducing the purity of silver. But it didn't take long for him to delegate his leadership responsibilities to others so that he could engage in activities in which he enjoyed. In the famous words of noted historian Dio Cassius, Commodus's lack of interest in political affairs was the starting point for the decline of the Roman Empire, leaving Commodus responsible for initiating Rome's decline "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust."

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Commodus - the Outrageous Emperor who Fought as a Gladiator

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Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well received by the Roman people during his reign. He believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules, and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator.

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2nd century:
First Dacian War (101-102)
The First Dacian War took place from 101 A.D. to 102 A.D. The kingdom of Dacia, under king Decebalus, had become a threat to Roman supremacy and had defeated several of Rome's armies during Domitian's reign (81-96). The emperor Trajan was set on ridding this threat to Rome's power and in 101 set out determined to defeat Dacia. After a year of heavy fighting, king Decebalus came to terms and surrendered. When he broke these terms in 105, the Second Dacian War began.

Second Dacian War (105-106)
The Second Dacian War was fought in 105 to 106 because the Dacian king Decebalus had broken his peace terms with the Roman emperor Trajan from the First Dacian War. Now Trajan set out to Dacia with total conquest in his sights. At the end of the war the Romans had gained the province of Dacia, but it would not be held forever. In 272 AD the Romans would lose the province of Dacia to the invading Gothic tribes.

Kitos War (115-117)
The Kitos War is the name given to the second of the Jewish-Roman wars. The name comes from the Mauretanian Roman general Lusius Quietus.

Bar Kokhba's revolt (132-135)
Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire was a second major rebellion by the Jews of Iudaea and the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars.

Marcomannic War (166-180)
In the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni entered into a confederation with other peoples including the Quadi, Vandals, and Sarmatians, against the Roman Empire. This was probably driven by movements of larger tribes, like the Goths. According to the historian Eutropius, the forces of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius battled against the Marcomannic confederation for three years at the fortress of Carnuntum in Pannonia. Eutropius compared the war, and Marcus Aurelius' success against the Marcomanni and their allies, to the Punic Wars. The comparison was apt in that this war marked a turning point and had significant Roman defeats; it caused the death of two Praetorian Guard commanders. The war began in 166, when the Marcomanni overwhelmed the defences between Vindobona and Carnuntum, penetrated along the border between the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum, laid waste to Flavia Solva, and could be stopped only shortly before reaching Aquileia on the Adriatic sea. The war lasted until Marcus Aurelius' death in 180. It would prove to be only a limited success for Rome; the Danube river remained as the frontier of the Empire for its duration.

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Around mid-2nd Century AD
-Time of shared imperial power.
-Fights and battles (Cult of Mithras is into imperial power and was chosen by a multitude of soldiers).

- Perhaps during the ruling of Antoninus Pius (restored status of the Senate without compromising the imperial power).

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Mithra & Mithraism - The Fall of Mithras - (CAIS)

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Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK, Iran & Iranian Art & Civilisation & Archaeology & Anthropolgy & Society& Race& History & Culture , Iranian Tehran Persian Iranian History web site, news culture, music archaeological news sport, Iran news

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Mithraism is a Roman mystery religion that flourished in the 2nd through 4th centuries CE. Much is still unknown about this secretive sect, but it involved the worship of the Persian god Mithras in caves, a communal meal, and initiation through seven stages of an astrologically-themed hierarchy.

Evidence and Sources

Mithraism is known almost entirely from physical artifacts and dedicatory inscriptions. In total, over 400 archaeological find-spots related to Mithraism have been uncovered, along with about 1,000 dedicatory inscriptions and 1,150 pieces of sculpture.

There are very few contemporary written sources, and most of those that survive are outsider perspectives. References to Mithraism can be found in the following texts:

Plutarch, Life of Pompey 24

Porphyry, On the Cave of the Nymphs 6, 15-16, 17-18, 24-25

Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Foods 4.16

Tertullian (c.200), On the Soldier's Crown 15

Origen (240s), Against Celsus 6.22

The lack of good written sources on Mithraism is largely due to its status as a mystery religion, in which the meaning of its iconography and rituals was a secret known only to initiates. Insiders did not record details of their religion and outsiders did not know much about it. This obviously makes things difficult for historians, so there is much about Mithraism that is still not known.

History

The origins of Mithraism as a Roman cult are not fully understood. It clearly derives from ancient Persia in some way, but scholars are divided on whether the Roman cult is a westernized Persian religion or an essentially western religion with Persian trimmings.

The time period in which Mithraism flourished is better known, thanks to the archaeological evidence. The cult of Mithras appears suddenly in the 2nd century CE: hundreds of inscriptions begin appearing after 136. It then died out with the rest of Greco-Roman paganism after the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century.

Mithraism's sudden emergence in the Roman world has not been explained. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,

The most plausible hypothesis seems to be that Roman Mithraism was practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius who may have lived as late as c. 100 CE and who gave the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become acceptable to the Roman world.

Archaeological finds indicate the extent of Mithraism included most of the Roman Empire, from Rome to Turkey to Britain. It was especially concentrated in Rome (35 Mithraic temples found) and its port of Ostia (15 temples).

The cult was supported by several emperors, including Commodus (180-92), Septimius Severus (193-211), and Caracalla (211-17). As part of an effort at renewing the Roman empire, Diocletian dedicated an altar to Mithra in Carnuntum (on the Danube near Vienna) in 307, designating the god patron of their empire ( fautori imperii sui).

Most followers of Mithraism were Roman soldiers, minor government employees like customs officials, imperial freedmen or slaves. It was also adopted by the pagan aristocracy of 4th-century Rome, as part of a conservative movement in opposition to the new Christian empire based in Constantinople.

Mithraism and Christianity

Mithraism is frequently said to have been a great rival to early Christianity, especially in popular books written by non-specialists. According to most academic sources, however, the archaeological evidence does not support this claim.

Although it was widespread in terms of geography, Mithraism never had great numbers. (Christianity was not terribly large or influential in this period, either.) A few hundred temples of Mithras have been discovered across the Roman empire, but they are all very small. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion:

Even if all were in service contemporaneously they would accommodate no more than 1 percent of the population - scarcely the great rival to Christianity that inflated views of the cult have sometimes made it.

Whether or not they were rivals, it is certainly possible that these two contemporary communities had some influence on each other. In at least one area, it is clear that Christianity adopted an aspect of Mithraism - the celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25, a tradition that began in the 4th century. A Christian writer admitted this in 320, explaining:

We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of him who made it.

December 25 was also the birthday of the more popular Roman god known as the "Unconquered Sun" (with whom Constantine identified himself before his conversion to Christianity), who was closely associated with Mithras.

In considering claims for Mithraism's influence on Christianity, it is important to remember that Mithraism was a very secretive, initiatory cult whose beliefs, practices and imagery were not known to the outside world. So it would not have been as easy for Christianity to borrow ideas from it as one might assume.

It is also worth noting that two faiths developing in the same area of the world at the same time are likely to have similar ideas and practices, regardless of their level of interaction. Ritual communal meals and the theme of sacrifice for salvation, for instance, were common not only to Mithraism and Christianity but much of the ancient world.

Beliefs and Iconography

Because of the lack of written sources, little is known about the beliefs of Mithraism. But they clearly centered on the god Mithras, who was based on the pre-Zoroastrian Persian god Mithra. Mithra was the most important god in Persian polytheism.

The Persian Mithras was a god of contracts (which is the literal meaning of his name) and all things associated with contracts: justice, friendship, cattle-herding and the sun (which beholds all things and thus can ensure the keeping of oaths). Zoroaster (6th century BC) specifically denounced the sacrifice of the bull, suggesting this was a ceremony of the ancient worshippers of Mithras.

In a Roman context, Mithras was a sun god (called sol invictus, "the invincible sun"), a "bull-slayer," "cattle-thief" and the savior of initiates of his cult. He was probably also the god of kings and of war (which explains the religion's popularity among soldiers).

Mithras Slaying the Bull

The image of Mithras killing a bull is central to nearly all Mithraic temples, and thus provides an important (but difficult) clue to the beliefs and concepts of Mithraism. Mithras is shown dressed like a Persian, including a distinctive cap. He stands astride a bull, plunging a dagger into its flank. The bull's tail becomes an ear of wheat at the end. The scene takes place in front of a cave.

Mithras is shown accompanied by a dog, snake, scorpion and raven, as well as two minor deities who are also dressed in Persian attire. Each carries a torch (one pointed up, one down) and their names are known from inscriptions: Cautes and Cautopates. Above the scene are images of Sol and Luna (Sun and Moon).

This intriguing iconography continues to fascinate and frustrate scholars. The act clearly represents a sacrifice, but for what purpose? Scholars have suggested that the sacrifice creates or ends the world (an idea found in Zoroastrian sources) or somehow saves the world or the initiates of the cult. In a Mithraic temple in Rome, an inscription reads, et nos servasti... sanguine fuso: "and who saved us with the shed blood." If this is the meaning of the bull-slaying image, it still remains unclear what "salvation" meant to followers of Mithras. One must be careful to avoid reading Christian connotations into a non-Christian context.

Another intepretation of the bull-killing scene is that it is an astrological allegory, since elements in the scene correspond to a group of constellations. According to this view, astrology was central to Mithraism and it provided the specifics of the soul's celestial journey (descent to earth and ascent to heaven).

The Banquet and Other Scenes

Besides this central icon, there are other episodes of Mithraic myth depicted as well. These include MiIthras' birth from a rock, the hunt and capture of the bull, and a banquet celebrated with Sol (who is shown as a separate being on monuments despite Mithras' own designation as a sun god). The divine meal is laid on the hide of the bull killed by Mithras. The banquet scene is sometimes shown on the reverse of the bull-killing reliefs, as an apparent result of the sacrificial act.

Temples and Practices

Followers of Mithraism were organized into small autonomous groups of initiates. As in its Persian form, Roman Mithraism was a religion of loyalty, contracts and friendship between men, especially between officials and rulers. There are no known women followers of Mithraism.

Initiates met for fellowship and worship in small temples of distinctive design they simply called "caves." ("Mithraea" and "Mithraic" are modern terms.) The cave-temple was an "image of the universe" and Porphyry noted that the archetypal Mithraeum was designed as a kind of microcosmic model.

Mithraic temples were sometimes actual caves or set against rock faces; otherwise they were made to imitate caves by the use of dim underground rooms or special vaulting and decoration. They were in all cases the antithesis of the classical temple, entirely lacking in exterior decoration and grandeur for public ritual.

One unvarying feature of Mithraic temples is a pair of platforms flanking a central aisle. These furnishings were used for a communal meal. Based on the reliefs that show a feast between Mithras and the sun god, this ritual meal was the human counterpart of the divine banquet.

Another central ritual was initiation into seven successive levels. Contemporary sources indicate this included ablutions (or baptism), purifications, chastisements, fetters and liberation, and ceremonial passwords. Frescoes at Capua (Italy) show the initiates blindfolded and kneeling.

A simulated death and resurrection was probably part of the ceremony, as the ascent through the initiation grades was seen as prefiguring the ascent of the soul after death.

Mithraic initiates were ranked in a series of seven grades, each named and each under the protection of one of the planets:

1. Raven (Mercury)

2. Nymphus (Venus)

3. Soldier (Mars)

4. Lion (Jupiter)

5. Persian (Moon)

6. Heliodromus (Sun)

7. Father (Saturn)

These initiatory grades are known from frescoes in the Santa Prisca Mithraeum in Rome and the mosaic pavement of the Felicissimus Mithraeum in Ostia. But "Nymphus" (which translates to "male bride" or "bridgegroom") and "Heliodromus" are words of unclear meaning, and all the grades remain full of mystery.

The Christian author Tertullian sheds some light on intitiation to the third level, "Soldier," in a treatise about Christians refusing crowns in military service ( On the Soldier's Crown 15). He notes that a Soldier of Mithras, during his initiation in some gloomy cave, is presented with a crown at sword-point. He refuses it, saying that Mithras is his crown, and he never wears a crown after that.

It is probable that each Mithraic temple and community was presided over by one or more Fathers. But the initiates of Mithraism, even in the highest ranks, were not professional priests. Their monument attest that they remained active members of the secular world.

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Mithraism is a Roman mystery religion that flourished in the 2nd through 4th centuries CE. Much is still unknown about this secretive sect, but it involved the worship of the Persian god Mithras in caves, a communal meal, and initiation through seven stages of an astrologically-themed hierarchy.

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Description of the book Mystery Cults of the Ancient W by Bowden, H., published by Princeton University Press

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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October 2004

Citation

Department of Greek and Roman Art. "List of Rulers of the Roman Empire." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roru/hd_roru.htm (October 2004)

© 2000-2020 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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List of Rulers of the Roman Empire | Lists of Rulers | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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"A chronological list of the emperors of ancient Rome, covering the Julio-Claudian, Flavian, Antonine, and Severan dynasties; the Gallic, Palmyrene, and Eastern Roman empires; and the Constantine period."

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The Attitude of Ancient Rome toward Religion and Religious Cults on JSTOR

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Elmer Truesdell Merrill, The Attitude of Ancient Rome toward Religion and Religious Cults, The Classical Journal, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Jan., 1920), pp. 196-215

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The imperial cult
The imperial cult
Another element in the Roman state religion was what is generally referred to as the imperial cult. This cult regarded emperors and members of their families as gods.

On his death, Julius Caesar was officially recognised as a god, the Divine ('Divus') Julius, by the Roman state. And in 29 BC Caesar's adopted son, the first Roman emperor Augustus, allowed the culturally Greek cities of Asia Minor to set up temples to him. This was really the first manifestation of Roman emperor-worship.

While worship of a living emperor was culturally acceptable in some parts of the empire, in Rome itself and in Italy it was not. There an emperor was usually declared a 'divus' only on his death, and was subsequently worshipped (especially on anniversaries, like that of his accession) with sacrifice like any other gods.

Emperor-worship was a unifying factor in the Roman world, practiced not only by army units spread throughout the empire but also by individuals in the provinces, where there were collective imperial cult centres at places such as Lyons (Gaul), Pergamon (Asia) and (probably) Colchester (Britain).

The imperial cult helped to focus the loyalty of provincials on the emperor at the centre of the empire, and in some regions (such as Gaul), there is evidence that Roman authorities took the initiative in setting it up, presumably for that very reason.

The image shown here is that of a sculpted relief from the base of the column of the emperor Antoninus Pius, probably to be dated to AD 161. It shows the apotheosis (transformation into gods) of Antoninus Pius and his wife Faustina.

They are shown by the portrait busts at the top of the frame, flanked by eagles - associated with imperial power and Jupiter - and were typically released during imperial funerals to represent the spirits of the deceased.

Antoninus and Faustina are being carried into the heavens by a winged, heroically nude figure. The armoured female figure on the right is the goddess Roma, a divine personification of Rome, and the reclining figure to the left - with the obelisk - is probably a personification of the Field of Mars in Rome, where imperial funerals took place.

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The imperial cult Another element in the Roman state religion was what is generally referred to as the imperial cult. This cult regarded emperors and members of their families as gods. On his death, Julius Caesar was officially recognised as a god, the Divine ('Divus') Julius, by the Roman state.

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Roman Gods - Early Pantheism
Roman gods originated in the ancient "village" of Rome as the faceless and formless deities that supported farmers in their efforts with the land. The large number of Roman gods can most likely be explained by the pantheistic belief of "numen," which holds that gods and spirits inhabit places, objects and living things. The early Romans believed that everything in nature was inhabited by numina.

Even though the early Romans placed little importance on the personalities of their gods, they did care about their functions. The early Romans integrated their worship of gods into all aspects of their personal and public lives. Nothing better exhibits the extent of this worship in every day life as in the household cult of the Dii Familiaris. In this system, every family had a guardian spirit known as the Lar Familiaris. This spirit was honored at all family functions, including sacrifices at funerals. The creative force that engenders an individual and allows him or her to grow, learn and act morally was known as the Genius for men and the Luna for women. This spirit stayed with an individual until death. The worship of Roman gods in Dii Familiaris went as far as to assign a protector spirit to different areas of the house. For instance, Forculus protects the door, Limentinus the threshold, Cardea the hinges, and Vesta the hearth.

Roman Gods - Later Expansion
Roman gods began taking on the forms that we would recognize today during the dynasty of the Etruscan kings that ruled the city of Rome in the 6th century BC. During this period, the Romans adapted a group of three Etruscan gods as the focus of state worship. These gods were worshiped at the grand temple on the Capitoline Hill, and, as such, became known as the Capitoline triad. The triad consisted of Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera), and Minerva (Athena). Once the rule of the Etruscan dynasty ended in 509 BC, Rome became a republic. The Roman Republic was ruled by two chief magistrates, each of whom was elected to a one-year term. During this period, the Capitoline temple became the focus of public worship.

As Rome's power grew and its sphere of influence expanded, the Roman Empire encountered the older and richer religious beliefs of the Greeks. The Romans also came into contact with the beliefs of other eastern Mediterranean Sea cultures. As a result, Romans began to adopt various foreign gods and religious customs. In many cases, gods and heroes from foreign cultures were given temples in Rome. The acceptance of Greek gods had the biggest influence on Roman religion. The earliest Greek gods adopted by the Romans were Castor and Polydeuces in 484 BC. Later in the 5th century BC, the Greek god Apollo was introduced. Apollo would eventually symbolize Roman virtue and austerity. Other Roman gods that took on Greek characteristics included Diana (Artemis), Mercury (Hermes), Neptune (Poseidon), Venus (Aphrodite), and Vulcan (Hephaestus).

As Rome continued to expand its political and geographic influence, Rome continued to assimilate a wider variety of religious beliefs and customs. In some cases, the assimilation of a foreign god was done to fit a particular role in Rome's expansion. This was the case for the goddess Cybele, whose worship was the direct result of the threat that Hannibal posed towards Rome. Even though Hannibal was eventually defeated, the worship of Cybele continued. The Romans also began to assimilate the belief in savior-gods from so called "mystery" religions. One of these was the Persian religion of Mithrasism. The Persian god Mithra (god of light and wisdom) offered salvation through the belief in an immortal soul. These religions became popular since they offered a greater sense of community than strict pantheism.

Roman Gods - Divine Emperors
The nature of Roman gods expanded again as the Roman Empire came into contact with the belief of divine kingship. At first, the Romans rejected the idea that a human ruler should be worshiped as a god. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar permitted a statue of himself with the inscription, "The unvanquished god," and declared himself dictator for life. That same year, Julius Caesar was killed by citizens who wanted to see Rome return to its earlier republican ideas. Caesar's heir, Octavian (Augustus), made himself the first emperor of Rome. However, he avoided any claim to being divine. In fact, the notion that the emperor was divine was ridiculed throughout much of the 1st century AD.

However, as the government of the Roman Empire became more autocratic and gave rulers almost unlimited power, emperors eventually accepted divine honors. This belief in the emperor's divine authority eventually led to the requirement of a sacrifice to the emperor as a sign of loyalty. The requirement of a sacrifice to the emperor became a significant source of conflict with early Christians. Christians refused to worship the emperor as god, and therefore, would not sacrifice to him. This led to persecution of the Christians by the Roman political authorities that enforced the practice. The period of worshiping Roman emperors as gods continued until the 4th century AD, when Emperor Constantine the Great became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. In 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

- We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, " Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

What is your response?

Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus

Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus

I still have questions

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Roman Gods - Early Pantheism Roman gods originated in the ancient "village" of Rome as the faceless and formless deities that supported farmers in their efforts with the land. The large number of Roman gods can most likely be explained by the pantheistic belief of "numen," which holds that gods and spirits inhabit places, objects and living things.

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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Mystery Cults in the Greek and Roman World | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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"A pendant to the official cults of the Greeks and Romans, mystery cults served more personal, individualistic attitudes toward death and the afterlife."

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Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith.

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This page provides an overview of Zoroastrian beliefs, which can be summed up by 'Good thoughts, good words, good deeds'.

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Links of Mithras and the Cosmic themes - seven initiation stages to the seven planets?

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Cosmic Mysteries of Mithras | Mithraism | Ancient Religion

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Franz Cumont had responded to this problem by focusing on an ancient Iranian text in which a bull is indeed killed, but in which the bull-slayer is not Mithra but rather Ahriman, the force of cosmic evil in Iranian religion.

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(Forthcoming in The Ancient World)

In the Barberini mithraeum in Rome (CIMRM* 390), a serpent-entwined figure standing on a globe is depicted floating in the center of a zodiac which arches above the bull-slaying scene. Or, to be more precise, the globe on which the figure is standing is located in the zodiac, while the figure's body extends above the zodiac into the region just beyond it (see Figs. 1,2,3).

Fig. 1: Barberini tauroctony (CIMRM 390)

Fig 2: The lion-headed figure in the Barberini tauroctony with zodiac
and fire-altars (detail) Fig 3: The lion-headed figure in the Barberini tauroctony (detail)
Although his head is unfortunately damaged, this figure is undoubtedly the famous Mithraic leontocephaline or lion-headed figure, who is always depicted with a snake winding around him. His position here precisely at the level of the zodiac and just beyond is intriguing, for it suggests that there is a special connection between the leontocephaline and the region of the zodiac. This connection is confirmed by the fact that the body of the leontocephaline is often decorated with the zodiac (e.g., CIMRM 545 and 879; see Fig. 4) or stands on a globe representing the sphere of the fixed stars, on which of course the zodiac is located (CIMRM 382, 390, 543, 551, 1051, 1705, 2320; see Fig. 5).
Fig. 4: Torso of lion-headed figure with zodiac (CIMRM 879) Fig. 5: Lion-headed figure standing on cosmic sphere
and holding key in right hand (CIMRM 543)

This connection between the leontocephaline and the zodiac can be clarified by noticing that in Origen's Contra Celsum, Celsus describes a Mithraic symbol consisting of a ladder with seven gates, each associated with one of the seven planets, while at the top there is an eighth gate associated with the sphere of the fixed stars and leading to the region beyond that sphere (VI:22). The leontocephaline, as is well-known, almost always holds a key (according to Maarten Vermaseren he does so in the Barberini painting, although it is difficult to see [1]), and this key is reasonably identified as the key to the celestial gates described by Celsus. However, since the leontocephaline is never linked in Mithraic iconography with any of the planets, but is clearly associated with the zodiac, it seems likely that he has a special connection with Celsus' eighth gate-- that of the sphere of the fixed stars and the realm beyond it-- since it is on that sphere that the zodiac lies.

In addition, the painting at Barberini depicts the region outside of the zodiac-- into which the leontocephaline's body extends-- in a specific way: above the zodiac is an arch containing a row of six altars with fires burning on them (see again Figs. 1,2,3). Scholars have often assumed that these fires represent the planets.[2] However, there are two decisive arguments against this explanation. First, the fires are depicted as lying beyond the zodiac, which is of course contrary to all Greco-Roman astronomy, in which the planets are understood as being closer to the earth than is the sphere of the fixed stars on which the zodiac is located. And second, of course, there are only six fires, while the planets are always seven in number. In response to the problem of there being only six fires, it has been suggested that the leontocephaline either hides or substitutes for a seventh fire.[3] However, this suggestion is untenable, since in CIMRM 368, a Roman relief from the Esquiline remarkably resembling the Barberini painting, there are clearly only six fire-altars above Mithras (see Fig. 6). In fact, there also exist tauroctonies in which there are nine fire-altars (CIMRM 1128) or four fire-altars (CIMRM 1816) above Mithras, indicating that the specific number of altars was not fixed.
Fig. 6: Esquiline Tauroctony (CIMRM 368)

The comparison between the Esquiline relief and the Barberini painting reveals two interesting facts. First, the comparison makes absolutely certain that the Mithraists understood the cave in which Mithras kills the bull as symbolizing the cosmos, since in the Esquiline relief the arch separating Mithras from the six fires above is the roof of the cave, while in the Barberini painting exactly the same position and role are filled by the arch of the zodiac.

Second, the Esquiline relief also includes a second set of fire-altars, this time indeed numbering seven, at the very bottom of the image. Most scholars are now agreed that the animal figures in the bull-slaying icon represent a series of constellations located on the sphere of the fixed stars. Thus the seven fires placed in the Esquiline relief below the bull-slaying -- that is, below the sphere of the fixed stars-- are in the proper astronomical location for the planets. Thus the lower set of fires agrees both in number and position with the planets, and thus most likely does represent the planets, while the upper set of fires does not fit with the planets either in number or in position.

But if the six upper fires in the Esquiline relief and the Barberini painting do not represent the planets, what do they represent? An obvious answer to this question is immediately apparent if we merely take seriously the fact that the fires in the Barberini painting are clearly located outside of the zodiac, and hence beyond the sphere of the fixed stars. For throughout antiquity there existed a widespread belief that the outermost region of the cosmos was occupied by a realm of fire.

Deriving from the experience of the light-giving quality of the stars and planets, the light- and heat-producing quality of the sun, and the upward-moving tendency of fire, the earliest Greek philosophers already identified the sky as a realm of fire. As Charles Kahn says, "Both Parmenides and Anaxagoras seem to have identified the aither or sky with elemental fire...." and Anaximander's cosmology seems to have placed a sphere of flame at the outer boundary of the universe.[4] The Pythagorean Philolaus appears to have held a similar opinion, since according to Aetius he said that in addition to the existence of a fiery "hearth" at the center of the universe there is "...again another fire at the uppermost place, surrounding the whole."[5]

Plato as well seems to have adopted the idea of fire as existing in the furthest region of the cosmos in Timaeus 62D-63E, since, as F.M Cornford notes in his commentary on this passage, for Plato the elements are here understood as arranged "in a definite order: fire around the circumference (where it is the chief constituent of the stars' bodies), next the spheres of air and water, and earth at the center."[6]

The idea of a fire at the outermost boundary of the universe later became a commonplace in Stoic thought. Cleanthes, for example, according to Cicero taught that "the most unquestionable deity is that remote all-surrounding fiery atmosphere called the aether, which encircles and embraces the universe on its outer side at an exceedingly lofty altitude."[7] Chrysippus, notes David E. Hahm, speaks of "the aether, which is the name he gives to the fire at the periphery of the cosmos."[8]

Among the Middle and Neo-Platonists there was also a widespread belief that the outermost region of reality was a fiery domain. Based on Plato's famous allegory of the cave and of the sun-filled realm outside of it, the doctrine arose that beyond the universe-- in the "place beyond the heavens" ( hyperouranios topos) of Phaedrus 247B-C-- there existed a hypercosmic sun or light (I have discussed this in detail in my article "Mithras and the Hypercosmic Sun"[9]). An early example is found in Philo's De Opificio Mundi VIII.31, where he speaks of

a star above the heavens, the source of those stars which are perceptible by the external sense, and if any one were to call it universal light he would not be very wrong; since it is from that the sun and moon, and all the other planets and fixed stars derive their due light....[10]

And a bit further on, in XXIII 69-71, Philo pictures a mind journeying through the world and then up through the heavenly spheres until it passes the outermost boundary of the universe, at which point "rays of divine light are poured forth upon it like a torrent, so as to bewilder the eyes of its intelligence by their splendour."[11]

Finally, an exact parallel to the picture in the Barberini mithraeum of a fiery realm outside the cosmos is found in the Chaldaean Oracles. In the Chaldaean cosmology the highest world is beyond the cosmic sphere ( hyperkosmios or hyperouranios)[12] and is called the fiery cosmos or the "Empyrean" realm ( kosmos pyrios or empyrios).[13]

Given all of this evidence for the ancient belief in the presence of a fiery realm at the outermost place in the universe, the depiction in the Barberini painting of fires just outside the boundary of the cosmos makes perfect sense. Indeed, additional support for a connection between the leontocephaline and the aetherial cosmic fire can be found in the fact that the Mithraic leontocephaline, as is well known, is frequently associated with fire-symbolism in a variety of ways, extending even to the existence of statues of the leontocephaline apparently designed so that fire could be sent shooting out of its mouth.[14]

However, an additional factor in the Barberini painting may help us gain further clarity about the significance of the Mithraic leontocephaline. It is notable that the placement of the leontocephaline at Barberini seems designed to emphasize the concepts of boundary and boundary-crossing. The globe on which the figure stands is located exactly on the arching zodiacal boundary of the universe, while the figure itself extends beyond that boundary as a kind of incarnation of the process of boundary-crossing.

If the leontocephaline, as I would like to suggest, does have a connection with the idea of a cosmic boundary, then crucial pieces of his cryptic symbolism take on a new importance. Perhaps most obvious is the key that he almost always holds, for the key is one of the most appropriate of all symbols of boundaries and boundary-crossing. Thus the goddess Hekate, mistress of boundaries and crossroads, was from Hellenistic times on often associated with the symbol of the key.[15] And in his work On the Genius of Socrates 591 A-C, Plutarch describes how the three Fates guard the thresholds between cosmic realms, each of them holding a key. Significantly, the first of these cosmic thresholds, presided over by the Fate Atropos, is that which separates what is outside the cosmic sphere from what is inside it.[16]

The key held by the Mithraic leontocephaline, then, indicates his role as a type of boundary guardian: specifically, as we have seen, the Barberini symbolism shows that he is associated with the boundary between what is inside and what is outside the cosmic sphere. But what could be the significance of this boundary such that the Mithraists were motivated to personify it in the form of a powerful divine being?

An answer to this question can be found in the fact that the Mithraists were surprisingly not alone in the seemingly peculiar act of personifying the cosmic boundary. For in the Chaldaean Oracles (where, as we saw earlier, it is taught that there exists beyond the universe a realm of fire) the boundary between the cosmos and what is beyond was personified in the figure of the goddess Hekate, a central divinity in the Oracles' religious system.[17]

The figure of Hekate in the Chaldaean Oracles derives ultimately from speculations on Plato's description of the World-Soul in his dialogue Timaeus. There, Plato says that the Demiurge-- the creator of the universe-- as part of the process of creation made a soul for the cosmos as a whole. Plato says that the Demiurge set this "World-Soul" in the center of the cosmos "and caused it to extend throughout the whole and further wrapped [the body of the cosmos] round with soul on the outside...."[18]

The World-Soul of Plato became the object of extraordinarily complex and far-reaching speculations in subsequent Platonic and other Greek philosophy, but it always retained its role as the boundary of the cosmos and the mediator between the cosmos and the realm beyond. The fact that in the Chaldaean Oracles this abstract entity became personified as the goddess Hekate shows that it is at least plausible that the Mithraic leontocephaline could represent a similar personification of the cosmic boundary. And, we should note, this plausibility is strengthened significantly by the fact that the Chaldaean Hekate, like the Mithraic leontocephaline, is constantly associated with an array of symbols involving fire.[19]

But the key piece of evidence supporting our hypothesis that the leontocephaline is a symbol of the cosmic boundary, and that he is linked, like the Chaldaean Hekate, to the Platonic World-Soul, lies in the most consistent of all of the attributes of the leontocephaline: namely, the snake that is almost always shown wrapped around him.

Many explanations for the presence of the snake wrapped around the leontocephaline have been offered, focusing on the snake as a solar symbol, as a symbol for cosmic time, or as a symbol of the celestial ascent of the soul.[20] However, the connection between the leontocephaline and the cosmic boundary and World-Soul that we have been tracing here suggests an additional factor: for there exists solid evidence that the World-Soul in its role as boundary of the universe was sometimes symbolized as a serpent.

This evidence is found in Origen's Contra Celsum, immediately following his discussion of the Mithraic eight-gated ladder. In Book VI, chaps. 24ff., Origen discusses the teachings of the Gnostic sect of the Ophites or serpent-worshippers as expressed in certain diagrams of theirs. In one of these diagrams, he says, was "a drawing of ten circles, which were separated from one another and held together by a single circle, which was said to be the soul of the universe and was called Leviathan."[21] Origen goes on to explain that this Leviathan is a great serpent, symbolizing the soul that permeates the universe. That this serpent specifically represents Plato's World-Soul is proven by the fact that according to Origen the diagram showed Leviathan twice, once in the center and once around the circumference, just as in the Timaeus Plato said that the World-Soul was placed in the center of the cosmos and also wrapped around the outside. Other Gnostic systems also made use of this symbol of a serpent wrapped around the outside of the universe: according to the Pistis Sophia, "The outer darkness is a great dragon, whose tail is in his mouth, outside the whole world and surrounding the whole world."[22]

Here we see the Platonic World-Soul as boundary of the cosmos symbolized by an encircling serpent. The parallel with the Mithraic leontocephaline as the serpent-entwined symbol of the cosmic boundary is, of course, compelling. But there is one final piece of evidence that is, I think, decisive. For there is in Mithraic iconography another figure besides the leontocephaline who is depicted as entwined by a serpent: namely, the god Oceanus. Oceanus is often depicted in the tauroctony beside the image of Mithras ascending in the chariot of the sun, and is easily identifiable by associated watery symbols such as waves, a boat, an oar, a vase, or a sail (see Fig. 7).[23] However, a number of times the figure beside the image of Mithras in the chariot is depicted as entwined by a serpent in exactly the same way as the leontocephaline (see Fig. 8).[24] As Manfred Clauss and M.L. West have noted, this serpent-entwined figure must also be Oceanus.[25] But why is he entwined by a snake exactly like the leontocephaline?
Fig. 7: Oceanus (on right) with waves and holding sail over head (CIMRM 2244) Fig. 8: Oceanus (on right) entwined in serpent (CIMRM 1958)

Our discovery of the leontocephaline's connection with the boundary of the cosmic sphere provides an obvious answer to this question, for of course the most important function of Oceanus in antiquity was as a symbol of the outermost circular boundary of the world.[26] The fact that both the leontocephaline and Oceanus are identically entwined by a serpent, therefore, makes perfect sense: the serpent around each of them symbolizes their roles as ultimate boundaries. And, conversely, the fact that in Mithraic iconography Oceanus-- the boundary of the world-- is entwined by a serpent provides remarkable support for my claim that the serpent-entwined leontocephaline also symbolizes the cosmic boundary-- and hence the Platonic World-Soul-- as indicated by the Barberini painting.

One last piece of evidence in this connection is worth noting. In the Acts of Thomas, the same text that includes the famous Gnostic Hymn of the Pearl, the apostle Thomas is confronted by a serpent. The serpent speaks to him, and at one point says, "I am son of him who girds the sphere about; and I am kinsman of him who is outside the ocean, whose tail is set in his own mouth."[27] Here, exactly as in the Mithraic evidence, we find an enclosing serpent related simultaneously to the world-containing ocean and to the boundary of the cosmic sphere.

I will close by noting that if the leontocephaline did indeed function partly as a symbol for the ultimate boundary of the universe, this would be in complete harmony with the theory I proposed in my book The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries[28] that Mithraism began as a religious response to Hipparchus's discovery of the precession of the equinoxes. For if Mithras represented the force responsible for moving the entire cosmic sphere in the way revealed by Hipparchus's discovery, then he must have been understood as being a divinity whose essential power lay in the hypercosmic realm. As a result, it is easy to see how a symbol for the division between the cosmic and hypercosmic realms would have come to play an important role in the iconographical repertoire of his worship.

-- Notes --

*CIMRM refers to Martin Vermaseren, Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1956, 1960) 2 vols.

[1] M.J. Vermaseren, Mithriaca III: The Mithraeum at Marino (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982) p. 85.

[2] See Roger Beck, Planetary Gods and Planetary Orders in the Mysteries of Mithras (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1988) s.v. index I.A.1, #390.

[3] Ibid., p. 32.

[4] Charles H. Kahn, Anaximander and the Origins of Greek Cosmology (Philadelphia: Centrum Philadelphia, 1985) pp. 90-91.

[5] DK A16 (=Aetius 2.7.7), trans. Carl A. Huffman, Philolaus of Croton (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993) pp. 237-8.

[6] F.M Cornford, Plato's Cosmology (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1937) p. 265.

[7] De Natura Deorum I.37, trans. H. Rackam, Cicero: De Natura Deorum (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1933) p. 41.

[8] David E. Hahm, The Origins of Stoic Cosmology (Ohio State Univ. Press, 1977) p. 158.

[9] David Ulansey, "Mithras and the Hypercosmic Sun" in John R. Hinnells, Studies in Mithraism (Rome: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1994) pp. 257-64.

[10] Trans. C. D. Yonge, The Works of Philo (Hendrickson Publ., Inc., 1993) p. 6.

[11] Ibid., p. 11.

[12] Hans Lewy, Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy (Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 1978), p. 151 nn. 311-313, p. 328 nn. 57-8.

[13] Ibid., pp. 77 and n. 40, 137 and n. 270, 201-3, 430-1.

[14] For the fire-breathing of the leontocephaline see Howard Jackson, "The Meaning and Function of the Leontocephaline in Roman Mithraism," Numen 32.1 (July, 1985) p. 28; CIMRM 383 shows the leonotocephaline igniting a fire altar with his breath while holding a torch in each hand. For other fire symbols associated with the leontocephaline see CIMRM 103, 383, 589 (torches); 312 (thunderbolt, hammer and tongs); and 1123 (fire shovel).

[15] See Sarah Iles Johnston, Hekate Soteira (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990), pp. 39-48.

[16] See Phillip H. De Lacy and Benedict Einarson, trans., Plutarch's Moralia (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1959) vol. VII, p. 467 note d; John Dillon, The Middle Platonists (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1977) p. 215.

[17] For a complete discussion of Hekate's role as boundary between the cosmic and the hypercosmic, and of the relationship between the Chaldaean Hekate and the Platonic World-Soul, see Johnston, Hekate.

[18] Timaeus 34B, trans. Cornford, Cosmology, p. 58. Emphasis mine.

[19] See Johnston, Hekate, pp. 64, 119-120, 126-127, 160.

[20] See Jackson, "Meaning," p. 20 and n. 13; J.R. Hinnells, "Reflections on The Lion-Headed Figure in Mithraism," Monumentum H.S. Nyberg (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975) vol. 1, pp. 356-7; Beck, Planetary Gods, pp. 54-7; David Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, revised paperback, 1991), p. 120. Interestingly, the Arles leontocephaline torso (CIMRM 879-- see Fig. 4 above) makes it difficult to argue that the snake symbolizes the path of the sun, since the snake here moves backwards through the zodiac. However, notice that this backwards movement through the zodiac is the same direction as that of the precession of the equinoxes, the discovery of which, I have argued in Origins, was the catalyst for the creation of the Mithraic mysteries.

[21]VI:25, trans. Henry Chadwick, Origen: Contra Celsum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953) p. 340; see also VI:35 (Chadwick, p. 351). Cf. Lewy, Oracles, p. 354.

[22] Trans. G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia (London: John M. Watkins, 1963) p. 265.

[23] CIMRM 693, 1975, 2034, 2038, 2202, 2244, 2272, 2310, 2338.

[24] CIMRM 1935, 1958, 1972, 2166, 2171, 2291.

[25] Manfred Clauss, The Roman Cult of Mithras (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 2000) p. 152; M.L. West, Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1971) p. 45 and Plate III.

[26] For complete discussion see James S. Romm, The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992) pp. 12-26.

[27] Acts of Thomas 32; trans. in Edgar Hennecke, New Testament Apocrypha (Lutterworth Press, 1965) p. 460.

[28] Ulansey, Origins.

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The Eighth Gate: The Mithraic Lion-Headed Figure and the Platonic World-Soul

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(Forthcoming in The Ancient World) In the Barberini mithraeum in Rome (CIMRM* 390), a serpent-entwined figure standing on a globe is depicted floating in the center of a zodiac which arches above the bull-slaying scene.

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Mithra—the Lord of vast green pastures—we do praise,
To “First Celestial God” our voices raise.
Before the sun shines from hilltops, indeed,
The everlasting sun, Mithra will proceed.
It is the first being with ornaments of gold,
That from mountaintops the earth does behold.
And from there, the powerful Mithra will
Watch the abode of the Magi calm and still.
- page 8
BASED ON KASHANI’S PERSIAN FOLK SONGS,
FROM AN AVESTAN INVOCATION TO MITHRA

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The oldest known representative of the tauroctony scene is CIMRM 593 from Rome, a dedication of a certain Alcimus, slave steward/bailiff ( servus vilicus) of T. Claudius Livianus, who is identified with T. Iulius Aquilinus Castricius Saturninus Claudius Livianus, the praetorian prefect under Trajan. It dates to the first quarter of the 2nd century.

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TOPIC:

Cult of Mithras- the Persian god of light and sun
-Strict moral code "honesty and honour"

ROMAN RELIGION:
-Multiple gods - to different 'themes' of life
-Prayer, divination, and sacrifice
-Controlled Roman lifestyle
-Will of the gods (if you pray to for something and it doesn't happen then you didn't pray enough; gods weren't happy enough)

NON-ROMAN RELIGION:
Cult of Mithras
-Persian god of light and sun
-'All-male' cult
-Rituals- held in underground vaults w/h sculpture of god slaying bull
-Initiation ceremony- drenched in blood of sacrificed animals
-Strict moral code of "honesty and honour"
-Mentioned good AND evil spirits
-Associated w/h imperial officials/governor
-Acceptable up until Constantine
-IN favour of Imperial Power
-Secret

FATHER'S PERSPECTIVE:
BENEFITS of RR:
-In touch w/h gods

REASONS AGAINST NRR:
-Cult is all male
-Foreign God

SON'S PERSPECTIVE:
BENEFITS of NRR:
Holds values only a man could hold - had a good moral code
-Still encourages the worship and loyalty of the king/emperors
-Close group of friends

REASONS AGAINST RR:
-Not taught of evil spirits - (NRR) gives reasons instead of blaming themselves

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"A series of five frescos at the Mithraeum of ancient Capua (today Santa Maria Capua Vetere in Campania) depict what may be the rituals for some of the grades of initiation. They are very damaged and hard to interpret. The first shows a blindfolded naked man; in the second he is also kneeling and his hands are bound behind him; in the third he is no longer blindfolded and is being crowned; in the fourth he is being restrained from rising; in the fifth he is lying on the ground as if dead."

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The Mithraic Mysteries, also known as Mithraism, were a mystery cult in the Roman world where followers worshipped the Indo-Iranian deity Mithras (Akkadian for "contract") as the god of friendship, contract and order. The cult first appeared in the late 1st century CE and, at an extraordinary pace, spread from the Italian Peninsula and border regions across the whole of the Roman empire.

The cult, like many others, was a secret one. Votaries (i.e. followers of the cult) worshipped Mithras in temples often built into caves and hidden away from the public. This was done so as to create the feeling of being part of a special group, just like a close group of friends that does not share secrets with outsiders. However, the secrecy of the cult was tolerated by the authorities, especially by the Roman emperors, because it was in favour of imperial power. Over 200 Mithras temples have been found, stretching from Syria to Britain, but finds are concentrated mostly in Italy, on the Rhine, and the Danube. After the crisis of the 3rd century CE and the establishment of Christianity, the Mithras Mysteries diminished in importance as temples were walled up or destroyed by Christians. However, some temples remained in use until the early 5th century CE.

The most important element of the myth behind the Mithraic Mysteries was Mithras' killing of a bull.

The most important element of the myth behind the Mithraic Mysteries was Mithras' killing of a bull; this scene is also known as "tauroctony". It was believed that from the death of the bull - an animal often seen as a symbol of strength and fertility - sprung new life. Rebirth was an essential idea in the myth of Mithraic Mysteries. The sacrifice of the bull established a new cosmic order and was also associated with the moon, which was also associated with fertility.

The relief of Mithras

What is special about the Mithraic Mysteries is its visuality. The sacrifice of the bull was depicted in a stone relief that had a central place in nearly every cult temple. In the relief, Mithras is often shown as he wrangles the bull to the ground and kills it. Being a Persian god, Mithras wears what Romans believed to be typical "Persian Chic": the Phrygian cap and pants, which Romans did not wear. Around 650 of these stone reliefs have been found, and they are all strikingly similar.

In a typical example, such as the celebrated sculpture from the Roman-Germanic Museum in Cologne, Mithras looks away from the dying bull, up to the moon. In addition, Mithras has a few helpers that assist him in taking the bull's fertility: A dog and a snake drink from the bull's blood, and a scorpion stings the bull's scrotum. Also, a raven sits on the bull's tail that typically ends in ears of grain. The raven could have played the role of a mediator between Mithras and the sun god Sol invictus, with whom Mithras will share the meat of the bull.

The bull sacrifice relief was typically placed at the end of the temple, which was essentlly built like a stretched-out Roman dining room - an aisle flanked by two broad, raised benches. However, the sacrifice of the bull was rarely enacted by the worshippers themselves. Worshippers did imitate how Mithras shared the bull's meat with Sol, as fragments of dishes and bones of animals that have been found in these temples testify. High-quality pork, chicken and a large quantity of wine were consumed in high-spirited cultic feasts that connected the worshippers to each other and to Mithras.

The Seven Degrees of Intiation

The Mithraic Mysteries were not just about fun and games, however. There were strict rules as to how the feasts were organised, for example, regarding hygiene. What is more, there were seven degrees of initiation, ranging from "corax" (raven) to "pater" (father), of which each had its own type of clothing. The other degrees were "nymphus" (bridegroom), "miles" (soldier) , "leo" (lion), "perses" (Persian), and "heliodromus" (sun-runner). Each degree of initiation had a different task to fulfill, e.g. a "raven" had to carry the food, while the "lions" offered sacrifices to the "father". Also, the initiates had to take part in tests of courage. The paintings in the temple of Mithras at Santa Maria Capua Vetere show us different scenes of this ritual. An initiate, blindfolded and naked, is led to the ceremony by an assistant. Later, the initiate has to kneel before the "father", who holds a torch or a sword in his face. Finally, he is stretched out on the floor, as if he had died. This probably was a ritual "suicide" in which the initiate was "killed" with a non-lethal theatre-sword, and was then reborn.

Other important elements of the cult were self-denial and a moral questioning of the self. For example, as the Christian author Tertullian tells us around 200 CE, a crown was placed on the initiate's head, which he had to reject, saying "Mithras is my (true) crown" (Tertullian, De corona milites 15). This too was thought of as a ritual of reincarnation, which started a new life for the initiate. The earliest documented followers of Mithras were soldiers and officers of the Roman army, but with the rising popularity of the cult, the majority of votaries were successful, freed slaves of the cities. Women, however, were excluded.

Why would a Roman soldier, or anyone, go through these troubles to become a member of a Mithras Mystery? First, as mentioned earlier, the cult supported the emperor, unlike other cults, such as the Bacchanalia. Second, the cult was based on mutual interest, friendship, and intimacy. The temples accommodated only small groups. It is understandable that members of the military were attracted by these aspects that guaranteed some sort of stability in an otherwise dangerous profession.

DEBATE On The CUlt's origins

There are three different views on how the Mithras Mysteries became a cult in the Roman and Hellenistic world. Roman and Greek historians of the 2nd and 3rd century CE thought that the cult had originated "in Persia" or "with the Persians", and early research often followed this interpretation. However, the archeological findings do not substantiate this view: most Mithraic temples have been found in Italy and the provinces of the Danube, not Persia. What is more, the cultic reliefs depict Mithras display what Romans thought of as typical oriental clothing, but show little originality. This is comparable to modern stereotypes of all Germans wearing leather pants, or all Americans wearing cowboy hats.

A second view is that the original, oriental Persian Mithraism mixed with Roman- Hellenic culture to transform into a new form of cult. While this theory of transformation is tempting, the problem remains that in the border region between the Roman-Hellenic and the Persian world where this merging would have taken place, there are little findings of Mithraic worship.

In recent years, a radical new theory has been established which says that the Mithraic Mysteries did not originate in the east, but in Italy. The cult was founded by an unknown person, or "genius", who borrowed a few things from the Persian world to give his Mithraic Mysteries an exotic touch. The problem here is that this person is never mentioned as the founder even by its votaries, and there is no evidence to support the "invention-theory" other than the greater number of Mithraic temples in Italy, and the lack thereof in other regions. (Cf. Witschel 2013: 209)

The bottom line is that there are too little sources to form a certain explanation of the cult's origin, and there are many blank spots. Besides the many visual artifacts of the Mithraic Mysteries, little written sources remain. There are only descriptions written by Christian authors, who, perhaps, were not exactly fond of the Mithraic competition. In the eyes of church father Hieronymus, for example, Mithras temples were places that were best destroyed. No written sources by members of the Mithras Mysteries survive, but this makes sense, keeping in mind that it was a secret cult. Perhaps the focus should not be so much on finding a single root of the cult. Rather, we should take a dynamic approach. Figuratively speaking, we should take a close look at the different branches of the Mithraic Mysteries at different places, and the different periods of time, or "seasons", at which this fascinating cult existed. (Cf. Witschel 2013: 209)

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The Mithraic Mysteries, also known as Mithraism, were a mystery cult in the Roman world where followers worshipped the Indo-Iranian deity Mithras (Akkadian for "contract") as the god of friendship, contract and order. The cult first appeared in the late 1st century CE and, at an extraordinary pace, spread from the Italian Peninsula and border regions across the whole of the Roman empire.

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The temples of Mithras were always an underground cave, featuring a relief of Mithras killing the bull.

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It is certain that Mithras is born from a rock. He is depicted in his temples hunting down and slaying a bull in the tauroctony (see section below). He then meets with the sun, who kneels to him. The two then shake hands, and dine on bull parts.

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-Considered the most important of gods in the Polytheistic religion of Persia.

"The Greeks and Romans considered Mithra as a sun god. He was probably also the god of kings. He was the god of mutual obligation between the king and his warriors and, hence, the god of war. He was also the god of justice, which was guaranteed by the king. Whenever people observed justice and contract, they venerated Mithra."

- most important ceremony/ritual was sacrifice of bull.

"On the Roman monuments, Mithra reluctantly sacrifices the white bull, who is then transformed into the moon."

"There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from the year 136 ce onward, there are hundreds of dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra."

"Roman Mithraism was practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius who may have lived as late as c. 100 ce and who gave the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become acceptable to the Roman world."

"... a religion of loyalty to the king"

"It seems to have been encouraged by the emperors, especially Commodus (180–192), Septimius Severus (193–211), and Caracalla (211–217). Most adherents of Mithra known to us from inscriptions are soldiers of both low and high rank, officials in the service of the emperor, imperial slaves, and freedmen (who quite often were very influential people)—persons who probably knew which god would lead them to quick promotion."

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Mithraism , the worship of Mithra , the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre- Zoroastrian Iran . Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce, this deity was honoured as the patron of loyalty to the emperor. After the acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, Mithraism rapidly declined.

History

Before ancient religious reformer Zarathustra (Greek name Zoroaster) gained influence in the region during the 6th century bce, the Iranians had a polytheistic religion , and Mithra was the most important of their gods. First of all, he was the god of contract and mutual obligation. In a cuneiform tablet of the 15th century bce that contains a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni , Mithra is invoked as the god of oath . Furthermore, in some Indian Vedic texts the god Mitra (the Indian form of Mithra) appears both as "friend" and as "contract." The word mitra may be translated in either way, because contracts and mutual obligation make friends. In short, Mithra may signify any kind of interpersonal communication and whatever establishes good relations between people. Mithra was called the Mediator. Mithra was also the god of the sun , of the shining light that beholds everything, and, hence, was invoked in oaths. The Greeks and Romans considered Mithra as a sun god. He was probably also the god of kings . He was the god of mutual obligation between the king and his warriors and, hence, the god of war. He was also the god of justice, which was guaranteed by the king. Whenever people observed justice and contract, they venerated Mithra.

The most important Mithraic ceremony was the sacrifice of the bull . Opinion is divided as to whether this ceremony was pre-Zoroastrian or not. Zarathustra denounced the sacrifice of the bull, so it seems likely that the ceremony was a part of the old Iranian paganism. This inference is corroborated by an Indian text in which Mitra reluctantly participates in the sacrifice of a god named Soma, who often appears in the shape of a white bull or of the moon. On the Roman monuments, Mithra reluctantly sacrifices the white bull, who is then transformed into the moon. This detailed parallel seems to prove that the sacrifice must have been pre-Zoroastrian. Contract and sacrifice are connected, since treaties in ancient times were sanctioned by a common meal.

Beginning with Darius the Great (522-486 bce), the Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty were Zoroastrians. But Darius and his successors did not intend to create political difficulties by attempting to eradicate the old beliefs still dear to the heart of many nobles. Thus, the religion of Zarathustra was gradually contaminated with elements of the old, polytheistic worship. Hymns (the Yashts ) were composed in honour of the old gods. There is a Yasht dedicated to Mithra, in which the god is depicted as the all-observing god of heavenly light, the guardian of oaths, the protector of the righteous in this world and the next, and, above all, as the archfoe of the powers of evil and darkness-hence, the god of battles and victory.

In the mixed religion of the later Achaemenid period, however, the Zoroastrian aspects clearly dominate the heathen aspects. The sacrifice of the bull, abhorred by every Zoroastrian, is never mentioned. When Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire about 330 bce, the old structure of society appears to have broken down completely, and about the worship of Mithra in Persia no more is heard.

Local aristocrats in the western part of the former Persian empire retained their devotion to Mithra. The kings and nobles of the border region between the Greco-Roman and the Iranian world still worshipped him. When Tiridates of Armenia acknowledged the Roman emperor Nero as his supreme lord, he performed a Mithraic ceremony, indicating that the god of contract and of friendship established good relations between the Armenians and the mighty Romans. The kings of Commagene (southeast of Turkey) venerated Mithra. Mithradates VI of Pontus may have been a worshipper of the god, and his allies, the Cilician pirates, are known to have performed Mithraic ceremonies (67 bce). The worship of Mithra, however, never became popular in the Greek world, because the Greeks never forgot that Mithra had been the god of their enemies the Persians.

There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from the year 136 ce onward, there are hundreds of dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra. This renewal of interest is not easily explained. The most plausible hypothesis seems to be that Roman Mithraism was practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius who may have lived as late as c. 100 ce and who gave the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become acceptable to the Roman world.

Roman Mithraism, like Iranian Mithraism, was a religion of loyalty toward the king . It seems to have been encouraged by the emperors, especially Commodus (180-192), Septimius Severus (193-211), and Caracalla (211-217). Most adherents of Mithra known to us from inscriptions are soldiers of both low and high rank, officials in the service of the emperor, imperial slaves, and freedmen (who quite often were very influential people)-persons who probably knew which god would lead them to quick promotion.

Mithraic sanctuaries and dedications to Mithra are numerous at Rome and Ostia , along the military frontier, in Britain , and on the Rhine , the Danube , and the Euphrates . Few dedications are found in peaceful provinces; when they do occur, the dedicator is usually a provincial governor or an imperial official. Within a few generations, the Roman world had completely assimilated the Persian god. When Diocletian attempted a renewal of the Roman state and religion, he did not forget Mithra. In 307 ce, in a dedication from Carnuntum (at the Danube, near Vienna), Diocletian and his colleagues dedicated an altar to Mithra as the patron of their empire ( fautori imperii sui).

But in 312 Constantine won the battle at the Milvian Bridge under the sign of the cross . Instantaneously, the dedications to Mithra ceased, even though there was no immediate public interdiction of Mithraic ceremonies. The worship seems to have collapsed quite suddenly when imperial favour ceased to be with the Mithraists. Dedications to Mithra appear again between about 357 and 387, but only at Rome. The dedicators all come from the old pagan aristocracy of the city of Rome, which in this period was in open opposition to the new Christian emperor at Constantinople. In these inscriptions, however, Mithra is only one of many traditional pagan gods. The Mithraic mysteries had gradually faded long before. And when the Roman opposition was defeated, pagan worship was suppressed altogether.

Mythology and theology

The creation of the world is the central episode of Mithraic mythology. According to the myths , the sun god sent his messenger, the raven, to Mithra and ordered him to sacrifice the bull. Mithra executed the order reluctantly; in many reliefs he is seen turning aside his face in sorrow. But at the very moment of the death of the bull, a great miracle happened. The white bull was metamorphosed into the moon; the cloak of Mithra was transformed into the vault of the sky, with the shining planets and fixed stars; from the tail of the bull and from his blood sprang the first ears of grain and the grape; and from the genitals of the animal ran the holy seed which was received by a mixing bowl. Every creature on earth was shaped with an admixture of the holy seed. One Mithraic hymn begins: "Thou hast redeemed us too by shedding the eternal blood." The plants and the trees were created. Day and night began to alternate, the moon started her monthly cycle, the seasons took up their round dance through the year, and thus time was created. But, awakened by the sudden light, the creatures of the dark emerged from earth. A serpent licked the bull's blood. A scorpion tried to suck the holy seed from the genitals. On the reliefs a lion often is also seen. With the bull's death and the creation of the world, the struggle between good and evil began: thus is the condition of human life. The raven symbolizes air, the lion fire, the serpent earth, and the mixing bowl water. So the four elements (air, fire, earth, and water) came into being, and from them all things were created. After the sacrifice, Mithra and the sun god banqueted together, ate meat and bread, and drank wine. Then Mithra mounted the chariot of the sun god and drove with him across the ocean, through the air to the end of the world.

The myth was interpreted by the Roman Mithraists in terms of Platonic philosophy. The sacrifice took place in a cave, an image of the world, as in the simile of the cave in Plato's Republic. Mithra himself was equated with the demiurge , or creator, of the : he was called "demiurge and father of all things," like the Platonic demiurge. The four elements, the mixing bowl, the creation of time, and the attack of the wicked animals upon the newborn creature are well-known features of the Timaeus. The Mithraic doctrine of the soul is intimately linked with the myth of creation and with Platonic philosophy. As in the Timaeus, the human soul came down from heaven . It crossed the seven spheres of the planets, taking on their vices (e.g., those of Mars and of Venus), and was finally caught within the body. The task of human life is to liberate one's divine part (the soul) from the shackles of the body and to reascend through the seven spheres to the eternal, unchanging realm of the fixed stars. This ascent to the sky was prefigured by Mithra himself, when he left the earth in the chariot of the sun god.

Worship, practices, and institutions

The Mithraic sanctuaries were subterranean caverns, which presented obvious limitations of size. None of the many excavated shrines could receive more than a hundred persons, most even fewer. All ceremonies were of necessity enacted in artificial light. The cavern always contained a well. Access to the cavern often consisted of a system of subterranean passages, which were used in the initiation ceremonies. Men only were admitted to this religion of soldiers, and no organizational hierarchy seems to have existed.

The initiates were organized in seven grades: , Raven; , Bridegroom; Soldier; Lion; Persian; Courier of (and to) the Sun; Father. To each rank belonged a particular mask (Raven, Persian, Lion) or dress (Bridegroom). The rising of the Mithraist in grade prefigured the ascent of the soul after death. The series of the seven initiations seems to have been enacted by passing through seven gates and climbing a ladder of seven steps. Each grade was attributed to one of the seven planetary gods. The zealous Mithraist gradually passed the spheres of these minor deities and finally reached the region of the fixed stars.

Little is known about initiation ceremonies. Ancient texts refer to ablutions (baptism) and purifications and chastisements, to fetters and liberation, and to certain ceremonial passwords. Frescoes at Capua (Italy) show the initiates blindfolded, kneeling, and prostrated. A simulated death and resurrection was probably part of the ceremony. Tertullian , the 2nd-century North African Christian theologian, describes the test of courage to which the miles was subjected. Weapon in hand, he had to force his way-probably by a sham duel-to a wreath. When he had succeeded, an officiant offered to crown him with the wreath. But the candidate had to decline, saying that Mithra alone was his wreath, and throughout the rest of his life he never again bore a wreath.

The Mithraic caverns were decorated with frescoes, reliefs, and statues of minor deities and of the planetary gods. A narrow aisle was flanked on both sides by a broad, raised bench on which the worshippers kneeled or reclined. At one end of the aisle (often apselike ) there was always a relief or fresco representing the sacrifice of the bull. Sometimes the relief could be turned on a pivot; the back of the stone represented the repast of Mithra and the sun god. While it is unlikely that the ceremony of the bull's sacrifice was frequently performed, the common meal of the initiates was a regular feature of Mithraic worship.
Reinhold Merkelbach The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica

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Mithraism , the worship of Mithra , the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre- Zoroastrian Iran . Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce, this deity was honoured as the patron of loyalty to the emperor.

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Women's rights and ideologies in Ancient Rome

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Women's rights and ideologies in Ancient Rome

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"there was always a limit, even for the emperor's daughter"

Women before the law were not considered equal to men (unlike Egypt...). However, around the 1st Century they had an awful lot more freedom.

"However wealthy they were, because they could not vote or stand for office, women had no formal role in public life. In reality, wives or close relatives of prominent men could have political influence behind the scenes and exert real, albeit informal, power.In public, though, women were expected to play their traditional role in the household. They were responsible for spinning and weaving yarn and making clothes. These were usually made from wool or linen, although wealthy women (whose servants made their clothes) often dressed in expensive, imported fabrics, like Chinese silk or Indian cotton."

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Social Order. Women | PBS

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The Roman Empire Republic to Empire Age of Augustus Years of Trial Empire Reborn Emperors Social Order - Patricians - Senators - Equestrians - Plebians - Slaves & Freemen - Soldiers - Women - On The Frontiers Life in Roman Times Writers Enemies and Rebels Religion

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- How traditional practices reinforce the pax deorum
-The significance of the foreign cults to the ordinary citizens of Rome
- how to success of Rome as a whole is affected by the pax deorum
-How foreign cults fulfil the needs of those who practice them
-How traditional practices are affected by newer religious innovations, such as philosophy or mystery cults

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Remember to include both primary and secondary sources.

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Come up with a layout for the letters, and an idea of what the letters include.

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Due 21st June

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Checkpoint 2: Aspects to be analysed/beginning to write up

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Checkpoint 2: Aspects to be analysed/beginning to write up

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Due 14th June

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Due 23rd June

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Choose the dates so that it compliments with the cult/ideology.