Cult of Mithras Explained

The Cult of Mithras was a thriving religion in the Roman Empire. But by the 5th century....it was gone. What do we know about the Cult of Mithras? And what was its relationship with Christianity?

Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry

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Bibliography:

Clauss, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras.

Beck, Roger. The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire.

Photo attributions:

Mithraeum of Seven Spheres:

[sallybubbles]

I got lost in a Croatian forest once, near Dubrovnik, and found a Mithras cave covered up by roots and foliage. One striking feature on the carved rock was the scorpion attacking the bulls testicles. What the hell is that all about ?!

[anubis]

Mithraism almost sounds like it wasn't even a religion but was more like the masonic lodge of its day, loving symbols and hidden knowledge. And being secret would inspire fear and suspicion among people outside of the group.

[AstralMarmot]

It's always a delight to stumble across someone on YouTube who is so sincerely passionate about dispelling misinformation. Not to mention that watching someone who cites their sources is refreshing in these times. Thank you for being you.

[annwood]

Thank you for putting this together. I'm tired of Bill Maher's complete butchery of this subject. It's not like he couldn't afford to hire someone to actually open a couple of books to find out the truth.

[bekimbal]

Wow, my history professor in college taught about Mithras coming into being on December 25. I have spent my entire adult life unlearning falsehoods I have learned in school. I just discovered another one here. Thank you.

[Keylontic]

"...He also appears a whit a snake, a dog, a raven, and a scorpion as he stabs a bull..." 6:55. All of these animals are astrological representations of the zodiac. Each are either a major star sign or a decon of a major star constallation. Which is understandable with a group that worship the Sun.

[SchoolOfAlchemy]

It sounds like a breakfast club, not the movie but literally a place where people gather to eat and talk about astrology. Its a meetup.

[eckelstein]

I gotta say that I really appreciate the positivity of the comments for this channel's videos. I feel like the overall objectivity of this channel really does a good job or warding off some of the extremely unpleasant interactions that can (Unfortunately and unjustly) arise during discussions of comparitive religion. It really is refreshing!

[Joe-poxn]

Secret Mithraic Initiation Ritual:

"Welcome to our club! Welcome to our club! Welcome Squidward! Welcome Squidward! Welcome Squidward! Welcome Squidward!"

[semiiov]

About Mithra in Zoroastrianism: you have made a mistake. Mithra is not a god of light who wages war against darkness(personified by Angra-Mainyu, The Evil(Angry) Spirit), but the yazata of trust, credibility and contracts. The God, Eternal Source of Light, Truth and Good, is Ahura Mazda(can be translated as "The Master of Wisdom", or as "The God who named Wisdom"), or Spenta-Mainyu("Holy Spirit). Mithra is a guardian of all contract, as it is said in Mehr-yasht: "Don't break the contract with a person that is good and with the one that bad." In Zoroastrian religion(which I follow) there is a belief in hierarchy of yazatas(which influenced judeo-christian belief in angels a lot), who are the personifications of good personality traits, with God Himself on the top. Yazatas, and Ameshaspentas, the most important of yazatas, are emmanations of Ahura Mazda, like candles, clamped from one fire. And for every yazata there is a symbolical association in physical world, for example, Kshatra Vairya, the Ameshaspenta of masculinity and will to order things, is associated with metals. And Mithra is associated with the Sun.
Sorry for my English if it is bad. You can find more information in various Zoroastrian texts which are presented on avesta.org

[PFR]

I've heard that the slaying of the bull was a symbol of the passing from the Age of Taurus to the Age of Aries.

[alexanderrahl]

I came here because I'm a fan of Conan the Barbarian and Mithra is seen as a "good god" compared to the others and I always wondered what his inspiration was.
Then while playing as Palmyra in Rome Total War 2, I saw "The Cult of Mithras" appear in some of my towns with some nice benefits, so I let them grow. But then it got my brain gears really turning.

Now that I know how mysterious the Mithraic cult is, and how little we know, I now understand exactly why Howard put it into Conan

[martintabony]

I used to pass a Temple of Mithras everyday. It's in the middle of a housing estate in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne. But then what's left of Hadrian's Wall runs through the city.

[spynae]

I really appreciate this video a lot. I was one of the people who bought into the "Jesus was modeled after Mithras" notion for a long time, and it's nice to have my own misconceptions dispelled when I'm not even aware they were misconceptions.

[Kenmoos]

ive been studying so intensely the last few days that I can tell which books and articles this information comes from. what is my life becoming

[johnd.]

Almost all rocks are virgins, technically.

Almost.

[thekylemarshall_]

I'm not religious in the slightest, but I do love these videos. I like approaching religion as a academic pursuit. There's some fascinating stuff to learn. And it definitely informs history. Thanks for the hard work!

[lillydee]

Bill Maher is a complete joke. You can't him remotely seriously, he's almost always completely wrong, not to mention not funny. Thank you for spilling the facts.

[shydawghanbowski]

I would say the slaying of the bull has to do with the zodiacal signs like mitra representing the sun moving from Taurus to a new zodiac house. The same way jesus feeds the people with two fish then tell his followers to walk with the guy with the water pitcher into his house symbolizing the sun moving at the end of the age from pisces to aquarius zodiac signs.

[AnyaChuri]

In India, we chant the name Mithra while worshiping the Sun and while performing Surya namaskar yoga!