Mithraism

Mehr or Mithra is often said to be the name of one of the ancient gods in whom many people believed, among different nations and at different times. The name of Mithra was first seen by archeologists, in the past century, in the Achaemenian inscriptions dating back to 5^th century BC. According to researchers this religion was transferred from Persia to Europe by Cilician pirates in 67 BC, and found many followers there, and within a century it became widespread.

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. In the year 66 AD, he converted Nero to this religion and it was about the 3^rd century that it turned into a powerful religion and spread all over the Roman Empire . It was accepted by a large number of Romans, and became a strong rival for Christianity.

Mithraism originated from the Aryan Mithra, but in the course of time the belief and its traditions went through many changes. Mithraism is the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran . Herodotus, the Greek historian, in his writings called Mithra the “Heaven’s God”. Mehr is called Mithra in Avesta and Mitra in Pahlavi.

The Yashts, hymns that make a part of the Avesta, and which were added to it in the course of time, were composed in the honor 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 arch-foe of the powers of evil and darkness – hence, the god of battles and victory.

Ahura Mazda, the great god, the god of truth and brightness, considered Mithra as his partner in battles against Ahriman or Evil. Mithra’s life reached its climax when he fought a bull and killed him. When the bull’s blood shed on the ground, it became fertile. The bull also gave the holy seed and every creature on earth was shaped with an admixture of the holy seed. In honor of this event, the followers of Mithraism created stonereliefs on their altars and in their religious centers.

When Christianity flourished and became widespread, it adopted many customs and rituals from Mithraism. The followers of Mithraism believed that Mithra was born from a virgin and just a few shepherds had witnessed the event. Some people believed that Mehr had appeared to the shepherds with a shining face, in a cave.

Considering Mithra as the god of the sun, the Romans held Sunday as a holy day and called it “the Lord’s Day” before the advent of Christianity and this tradition too the Christians adopted.

Mithraists held celebrations on the 25^th of December and chimed bells. They celebrated the eve of yalda (the longest night of the year), which is still a night of celebration and joy for Iranians . According to some scholars, Mithraism lasted three centuries, and as Christianity spread those who followed Mithraism gradually converted to Christianity while they kept performing Mithraic rites, rituals and ceremonies in the name of Christianity. For instance the similarities of the eucharistic rituals and baptism in Mithraism, with some rituals in Christianity indicate how much Christianity adopted from Mithraism. The words “path”, “truth”, “brightness”, “life”, “Son of God”, “good shepherd” can also be found in the thinking of both religions.  The Cross and the chiming of bells for prayers, also seem to be among those traditions that passed on from Mithraism to Christianity.

In Mithraism initiates were organized in seven grades: corax, Raven; nymphus, Bridgegroom; miles, Soldier; leo, Lion; Perses, Persian; heliodromus, Courier of (and to) the Sun; pater, Father. To each rank belonged a particular mask (Raven, Persian, Lion) or dress (Bridegroom).

The rising of the Mithraist in grades 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.

To pass from one stage to another, a special washing ritual was necessary, like the ceremonial baptism later practiced by Christians. In Mithraism, which is aimed at reaching perfection in the human being, the follower should pass each stage through hard physical exercise and sports, up to the level of the Persian. From this stage on, the tranquility of the spirit and soul becomes the main aim. The follower must pass these stages under the supervision of a leader. (Zoroastrians also have the same stages but with different names.)

Converting to Mithraism required special ceremonies and rituals. Little is known about initiation ceremonies, but ancient texts refer to ablutions (baptisms) and purifications and chastisements, to fetters and liberations, and to certain ceremonial passwords. This religion aimed at finding human conscience, taking him closer and closer to perfection and recognizing the essence of the human being and the world’s realities.

After passing the seven stages, the beginner was named “Brother”. Mehr is the preemptor of the human being on the Day of Judgment. Mithraists believed that the source of existence was a unique, immense, eternal, invisible and immortal power.

Some scholars hold that Mithra was not actually a god but a heavenly being that, for a time, acquired the appearance of a human.

According to Mithraism all people across the world have to be united with each other, and the Cross, indicating the four essential directions of the world, is the sign of this alliance. The most important point in Mithraism is the use of mehrabeh, which is a rectangular hall with an altar at its end. The paintings on the walls of the mehrabeh illustrate the scene of killing of the bull by Mithra.

Mithraism is a mysterious religion that uses many symbols. The water lily which grows on the surface of water is one of the prominent symbols of Mehr. The Courier of Mehr is depicted in stonereliefs standing on the water lily with the sun radiating around his head. Some paintings in mehrabehs show Mehr rising from the water lily.

One of the most important sign used in Germany during the reign of the Nazi party and the Third Reich, who called it the swastika, was in fact first found in Khouzistan by Professor Herzfeld who called it the Revolving Sun, and it dates back to 5000 BC. It was later adopted by Mithraists, in the pre-Christian era.

Furthermore, a piece of cloth found in an ancient graveyard where in the Parthian period the dead were buried in earthenware barrels, situated in the present East Azerbaijan, bears the same figure. Also a piece of earthenware found in the same place and again related to the Parthian era, bears this symbol very clearly.

A golden cup with the figure of a lion – an animal respected by the Aryans – and above its foot the sign of the Revolving Sun, was found in excavations at Kelardasht, north of Iran . Besides, in the 1960s, the same sign was seen on another golden cup found in Urumiyeh, West Azerbaijan . Earthenware, necklaces and hundreds of other samples found in excavations have the Revolving Sun symbol, which reveals that this sign belongs to millenniums ago and was not initiated by the Germans. Furthermore, in the book titled “The Great Religions of the World” there is a picture of Buddha’s sole with the sign of the Revolving Sun on his four toes.

As time passed, however, this religion of perfection and purity disappeared, perhaps because it neglected women, being a religion for fighters and victories. But the faith remains in stonereliefs, mehrabehs and archeological findings in many countries including France , Germany and Britain , and in the writings of numerous researchers.

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