The Archaeological Evidence For Mithraism In Imperial Rome

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The Archaeological Evidence For Mithraism In Imperial Rome

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Author : Alison Bond Griffith
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1993

The Archaeological Evidence For Mithraism In Imperial Rome written by Alison Bond Griffith and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1993 with Mithraea categories.

The Mysteries Of Mithras

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Author : Charles River Charles River Editors
language : en
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date : 2018-02-20

The Mysteries Of Mithras written by Charles River Charles River Editors and has been published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-02-20 with categories.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts describing Mithras *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "It is as though the living tradition and written records of Christianity had disappeared from the world for fifteen hundred years, and there remained to us only a few hundred monuments and the ruins of some three-score churches. What could we glean from these of the doctrines of the faith? How, from such meagre remains, could we reconstruct the story of the God, the saving doctrines, the rituals, the liturgies?" - G.R.S. Mead, The Mysteries of Mithra In the early Roman Empire, as Christianity struggled to gain a foothold and survive in the polytheistic pool of Roman theology, its greatest rivals weren't the Caesars or the Roman aristocracy but rather the faith and devotion of the common Roman legionary. The faith of these men was centered on the god Mithras, who, they believed, led them to victory upon the field of battle and had done so for nearly four centuries Despite this widespread belief among soldiers, the cult of Mithras was not a creation of the Romans, although they would eventually add their own rituals and mysteries to the ancient religion. In fact, the Mithraic religion was an Indo-Persian creation, a theology which managed to travel from India and back into the Hellenic and Roman world by way of Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire. Eventually, the cult of Mithras would spread across the ancient world, and Mithras would be worshiped from the mountains of India to the coasts of Spain. As a result, the cult of Mithras could ultimately be found in every corner of the Roman Empire. The Mithras cult was one of the many "mystery religions" that the Romans adopted, several of which came from cultures outside of Rome. Isis, an Egyptian goddess, and Cybele, an Anatolian goddess, were both popular with Roman women, while Mithras, which was a variation of the name of the Zoroastrian demigod Mithra, was popular with Roman soldiers and the political elite for over 400 years. Since the Mithras cult, like all of the Roman mystery cults, was esoteric in nature, the exact nature of the influence other cultures had on the cult remains unknown, but some archaeological evidence has led modern scholars to make educated deductions. Some believe that the conscription of Persian soldiers into the Roman army and continued contact between the Parthians and Romans led to some members of the ever-eclectic Roman society adopting the cult directly from the Parthian/Zoroastrian religion (Clark 2001, 157). This seems like the most plausible explanation, but others have argued that the Mithras cult was actually a Roman religion that was given a Parthian faade to make it appear more exotic in order to attract Romans who were enthralled with eastern spirituality (Clark 2001, 157). The best evidence to determine the origins of the Mithras cult can be found in the many temples throughout Europe that the Romans erected to the god. These temples, known as mithraea, were subterranean chambers where the secret rituals of the cult took place. The best evidence from extant mithraea are the reliefs on the altars, which depict a graphic mythological story. The altar reliefs usually depict the god slaughtering a bull and often accompanied by a leaping dog (Clark 2001, 158). The references to Zoroastrian theology are unmistakable; the bull slaughter is similar to an account from a Zoroastrian text (the Bundahishen), while dogs were viewed as asha animals in Zoroastrian theology and an important part of the funerary ritual (Clark 2001, 158). The detailed iconography on the Mithras altars suggests that the inventors of the Mithras cult had more than just a superficial knowledge of Zoroastrianism, which in turn indicates a provenance of the religion somewhere in Persian or Parthia.

Roman Cult Of Mithras

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Author : Manfred Clauss
language : en
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Release Date : 2019-06-01

Roman Cult Of Mithras written by Manfred Clauss and has been published by Edinburgh University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-06-01 with History categories.

Since its publication in Germany, Manfred Clauss's introduction to the Roman Mithras cult has become widely accepted as the most reliable, as well as the most readable, account of its elusive and fascinating subject. For the English edition the author has revised the work to take account of recent research and new archaeological discoveries. The mystery cult of Mithras first became evident in Rome towards the end of the first century AD. During the next two centuries, carried by its soldier and merchant devotees, it spread to the frontier of the western empire from Britain to Bosnia. Perhaps because of odd similarities between the cult and their own religion the early Christians energetically suppressed it, frequently constructing churches over the caves (Mithraea) in which its rituals took place. By the end of the fourth century the cult was extinct.Professor Clauss draws on the archaeological evidence from over 400 temples and their contents including over a thousand representations of ritual in sculpure and painting to seek an understanding of the nature and purpose of the cult, and what its mysteries and secret rites of initiation and sacrifice meant to its devotees. In doing so he introduces the reader to the nature of the polytheistic societies of the Roman Empire, in which relations and distinctions between gods and mortals now seem strangely close and blurred. He also considers the connections of Mithraicism with astrology, and examines how far it can be seen as a direct descendant of the ancient cult of Mitra, the Persian god of contract, cattle and light. The book combines imaginative insight with coherent argument. It is well-structured, accessibly written and extensively illustrated. Richard Gordon, the translator and himself a distinguished scholar of the subject, has provided a bibliography of further reading for anglophone readers.

The End Of Paganism In The North Western Provinces Of The Roman Empire

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Author : Eberhard Sauer
language : en
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
Release Date : 1996

The End Of Paganism In The North Western Provinces Of The Roman Empire written by Eberhard Sauer and has been published by British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1996 with History categories.

The decline of Mithraism in the fourth century AD is used as a case-study for understanding the end of other classes of `paganism' in the Roman western provinces. The author reviews epigraphic and numismatic evidence to date the final uses of Mithraea. He then discusses examples of wilful damage to Mithraic monuments. Drawing all this archaeological evidence into a historical framework, Sauer argues that rather than losing its social function as the Roman army became splintered, Mithraism was a healthy religion with active shrines until the very late fourth century. Rather than fading away, its desecrated monuments indicate that the religion was the victim of a sustained Christian attack which was also directed at other established faiths in the western provinces.

The Roman Cult Of Mithras

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Author : Manfred Clauss
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2000

The Roman Cult Of Mithras written by Manfred Clauss and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000 with Mithraism categories.

Since its publication in Germany, Manfred Clauss's introduction to the Roman Mithras cult has become widely accepted as the most reliable, as well as the most readable, account of its elusive and fascinating subject. For the English edition the author has revised the work to take account of recent research and new archaeological discoveries. The mystery cult of Mithras first became evident in Rome towards the end of the first century AD. During the next two centuries, carried by its soldier and merchant devotees, it spread to the frontier of the western empire from Britain to Bosnia. Perhaps because of odd similarities between the cult and their own religion the early Christians energetically suppressed it, frequently constructing churches over the caves (Mithraea) in which its rituals took place. By the end of the fourth century the cult was extinct.Professor Clauss draws on the archaeological evidence from over 400 temples and their contents including over a thousand representations of ritual in sculpure and painting to seek an understanding of the nature and purpose of the cult, and what its mysteries and secret rites of initiation and sacrifice meant to its devotees. In doing so he introduces the reader to the nature of the polytheistic societies of the Roman Empire, in which relations and distinctions between gods and mortals now seem strangely close and blurred. He also considers the connections of Mithraicism with astrology, and examines how far it can be seen as a direct descendant of the ancient cult of Mitra, the Persian god of contract, cattle and light. The book combines imaginative insight with coherent argument. It is well-structured, accessibly written and extensively illustrated. Richard Gordon, the translator and himself a distinguished scholar of the subject, has provided a bibliography of further reading for anglophone readers.

The Mind Of Mithraists

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Author : Luther H. Martin
language : en
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date : 2014-11-20

The Mind Of Mithraists written by Luther H. Martin and has been published by Bloomsbury Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-11-20 with Religion categories.

The Roman cult of Mithras was the most widely-dispersed and densely-distributed cult throughout the expanse of the Roman Empire from the end of the first until the fourth century AD, rivaling the early growth and development of Christianity during the same period. As its membership was largely drawn from the ranks of the military, its spread, but not its popularity is attributable largely to military deployments and re-deployments. Although mithraists left behind no written archival evidence, there is an abundance of iconographic finds. The only characteristic common to all Mithraic temples were the fundamental architecture of their design, and the cult image of Mithras slaying a bull. How were these two features so faithfully transmitted through the Empire by a non-centralized, non-hierarchical religious movement? The Minds of Mithraists: Historical and Cognitive Studies in the Roman Cult of Mithras addresses these questions as well as the relationship of Mithraism to Christianity, explanations of the significance of the tauroctony and of the rituals enacted in the mithraea, and explanations for the spread of Mithraism (and for its resistance in a few places). The unifying theme throughout is an investigation of the 'mind' of those engaged in the cult practices of this widespread ancient religion. These investigations represent traditional historical methods as well as more recent studies employing the insights of the cognitive sciences, demonstrating that cognitive historiography is a valuable methodological tool.

Trac 2014

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Author : Tom Brindle
language : en
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Release Date : 2015-04-02

Trac 2014 written by Tom Brindle and has been published by Oxbow Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015-04-02 with History categories.

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at TRAC 2014, as well as some invited contributions. In keeping with the aims of TRAC, several papers make make innovative use of interdisciplinary theory: in humanistic geography, philosophy and archaeology; social psychology; and the cognitive science of religion in the study of Roman monuments, military social history and religion. Other papers share a common theme: the critical interpretation of archaeological evidence. A more careful consideration of non-grave good pottery sherds from graves suggests that these often disregarded items potentially shed light on funerary rites which are usually considered to be invisible; the potential importance of plant remains, particularly of exotic and rare species, in ritual deposits is examined and a new perspective on the negative aspects of Roman conquest of Northern Gaul presented. New approaches towards our understanding of space and landscape in the Roman world comprise an examination of the suburbs of ancient Rome and preliminary results of an ongoing project exploring the relationship between wetland landscapes and domestic settlements, presenting a case study from Spain.

The Archaeology Of Religious Hatred

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Author : Eberhard Sauer
language : en
Publisher: Tempus Publishing Limited
Release Date : 2003

The Archaeology Of Religious Hatred written by Eberhard Sauer and has been published by Tempus Publishing Limited this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2003 with History categories.

Sauer explores how destruction and pressure was used in the late Roman period and in the early Middle Ages to achieve for Christianity what persuiasion alone could not attain.

The Mysteries Of Mithra

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Author : Franz Cumont
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2018-12-14

The Mysteries Of Mithra written by Franz Cumont and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-12-14 with Religion categories.

First published in 1956, this seminal study, by the great Belgian scholar Franz Cumont, remains the definitive coverage of a great ideological struggle between the West and the Orient in the first centuries of the Christian era. Mithraism, a mystery religion originating in Persia, spread rapidly through the Roman Empire, and achieved such strength that Europe almost became Mithraic. Dr. Cumont, the world’s’ greatest authority on aspects of classical religions, here discusses the origins of this colourful oriental religion, and its association with the Roman army. Then utilizing fragmentary monuments and texts, in one of the greatest feats of scholarly detection, he reconstructs the mystery teachings and secret doctrines, the hidden organization and cult of Mithra. This volume includes 70 illustrations.

Images Of Mithra

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Author : Philippa Adrych
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Release Date : 2017-03-23

Images Of Mithra written by Philippa Adrych and has been published by Oxford University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-03-23 with Art categories.

With a history of use extending back to Vedic texts of the second millennium BC, derivations of the name Mithra appear in the Roman Empire, across Sasanian Persia, and in the Kushan Empire of southern Afghanistan and northern India during the first millennium AD. Even today, this name has a place in Yazidi and Zoroastrian religion. But what connection have Mihr in Persia, Miiro in Kushan Bactria, and Mithras in the Roman Empire to one another? Over the course of the volume, specialists in the material culture of these diverse regions explore appearances of the name Mithra from six distinct locations in antiquity. In a subversion of the usual historical process, the authors begin not from an assessment of texts, but by placing images of Mithra at the heart of their analysis. Careful consideration of each example's own context, situating it in the broader scheme of religious traditions and on-going cultural interactions, is key to this discussion. Such an approach opens up a host of potential comparisons and interpretations that are often side-lined in historical accounts. What Images of Mithra offers is a fresh approach to the ways in which gods were labelled and depicted in the ancient world. Through an emphasis on material culture, a more nuanced understanding of the processes of religious formation is proposed in what is but the first part of the Visual Conversations series.