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A
powerful deity called
Mithras was at the
center of a secretive and
exclusively male religion practiced
throughout the Roman Empire from
the late 1st century to the 4th
century ce. He bore the imposing
title, Deus Sol Invictus Mithras
(“Mithras God of the Invincible
Sun”), yet his temples were always
underground in caves.
Mithras was a savior who
rescued earthly creation from a
deadly drought. At his birth, he
burst forth from a rock, already ayouth, holding a dagger in one hand
and a torch in the other. These two
implements foreshadow his
greatest achievements: the
bringing of light by means of the
sun, and the bringing of life by
means of slaying a bull. At his birth
he was attended by a serpent, dog,
and raven, and by two torchbearers,Mithras kills the bull in a
2nd-century ce Roman fresco from
Marino, south of Rome. The size of his
two torchbearers, in relation to him,
emphasizes his strength.IN BRIEF
THEME
RenewalSOURCES
Thebaid, Statius, ca. 80 ce;
De antro nympharum
(On the Cave of the Nymphs),
Porphyry, ca. 234–305 ce.SETTING
The cosmos.KEY FIGURES
Mithras A god of the
cosmos; ruler of time.Cautes and Cautopates
Torchbearers present at the
birth of Mithras.Sol The sun god.A cosmic bull The mythical
beast central to the myth.MITHRAS IS
THE LORD OF
GENERATION
MITHRAS AND THE BULL
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See also: Theseus and the Minotaur 76–77 ■ The founding of Rome 102–05 ■
The Hero Twins 242–45ANCIENT ROME
Cautes and Cautopates. Mithras
then shot an arrow into a rock,
causing a spring to gush forth to
water the parched land. Yet the
world was still under threat. Via his
raven messenger, Sol, the sun god,
told Mithras to hunt down and
sacrifice the cosmic bull, which
was associated with the moon, the
ultimate source of moisture.
Mithras tracked down the bull
and, seizing it by the horns, rode it
until the beast was subdued. He
dragged it back into a cavern, then
seized it by its muzzle and plunged
his dagger into its neck. At its
death, wheat and fruitful vines
sprang from the wound, showing
that the sacrifice of the cosmic bull
had resulted in world regeneration
and fecundity.Master of the cosmos
Sol and Mithras feasted together on
the bull’s flesh, but the mythology
suggests a rivalry. Both were sun
gods, but it was Mithras who was
titled “invincible.” In temples to
Mithras, the moon goddess Luna
is often positioned over his left
shoulder, with Sol over his right.Mithras and his helpers are also
often depicted wearing Phrygian
caps—most likely an attempt
to distinguish the cult of Mithras
from other religions of its day.
Two scenes at the Hawarte
sanctuary in Syria show Mithras
conquering evil, too—standing
over a fettered devil and attacking
a city of demons.
Images of the signs of the
zodiac in Mithraic scenes further
reinforce the cosmic symbolism of
the myth. In the seven-day week
standardized in ancient Rome, and
based on the names of planets, the
worship of Mithras on Sundays
supports the idea that Mithras
was viewed as the sun at the
center of the cosmos.
Every sanctuary, or mithraeum,
included the essential bull-slaying
scene (a “tauroctony”). Throughout
these scenes, Mithras is always
depicted looking back over his right
shoulder in the same way that the
hero Perseus did when he beheaded
Medusa. In this way, some scholars
believe that Mithras represents the
constellation of Perseus, which, in
its astronomical location above that
of Taurus, is said to “slay” the bull,
and bring in a new age. ■The cult of Mithras
The name Mithras is Persian,
but scholars debate how
closely the Roman cult and a
similar Greek mystery religion
are related to the older cult of
Mithra, the Persian god of
light, the sun, and war. The
almost total lack of written
evidence has led to a reliance
on archaeological findings to
support divergent theories. It
is generally accepted that in
Rome the cult first arose in the
1st century bce and appeared
to have some parallels with
later Christian belief, such as
the promise of new life after
death; this appealed especially
to soldiers, who were among
its first recorded followers.
Initiates worshipped in
underground temples known
as mithraea, which Porphyry
described. As all initiates
were sworn to secrecy, it is
only from surviving carvings
and frescoes that the central
myth in which Mithras slew
a bull in a symbolic act of
renewal can be reconstructed.
The images celebrate his
cosmic power in shaping the
universe and heralding in the
spring equinox.He who beneath the
rocks of the Persian
cavern twists the
horns of the stubborn
bull: Mithras!
ThebaidThe Sanctuary of the Mithraeum
of Dura, in Syria, is renowned for
its well-preserved stone reliefs
dating from the 3rd century ce.Hail, O Master of the water!
Hail, O Founder of the earth!
Hail, O Ruler of the wind!
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