WN@TL - Reconstructing the Roman Mystery Religion of Mithras. Matthew McCarty. 2019.05.29
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- This week (May 29) we have the special treat to welcome Matthew McCarty, Assistant Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of British Columbia.
The title of his talk is "Between Trench & Lab: Reconstructing the Roman Mystery Religion of Mithras."
Here’s how he describes it:
How do we reconstruct a “mystery religion” practiced two thousand years ago? Contemporary with the rapid spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire, another “new” religion attracted droves of worshippers from Britain to Syria in the second and third centuries CE: the cult of the Persian god Mithras.
Our modern understanding of Mithraism, though, depends largely on a few short (and very problematic) literary mentions, mostly written by the cult’s Christian rivals.
This talk explore how new archaeological evidence and techniques can paint a much more robust picture of ancient Mithras-worship. You will get to take an archaeological tour of a newly discovered temple to Mithras, located on the edges of the Roman Empire in modern Transylvania, and see how the smallest piece of trash excavated there can shed new light on a religion shrouded in darkness.
About the Speaker:
Matthew McCarty is Assistant Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of British Columbia. His research explores the practice of ancient religion in the context of Roman colonial power, from child sacrifice in Roman Africa (the subject of his forthcoming book) to the worship of the Persian god Mithras.
From 2013 to 2017, he directed the Apulum Mithraeum III Project, an international research excavation of a Roman temple to Mithras in Alba Iulia (Romania).
In 2018, he began a new excavation project funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada exploring the processes of incorporation into and disincorporation from the Roman Empire on a rural villa site in Transylvania.
He holds a DPhil from Oxford, and before joining the faculty at UBC, he taught at Yale and Princeton.
Mithra is alive. In Iran, in modern Persian and other Iranian languages we call it "Mehr" and the 7th month of the Iranian Calender named on his/her name. Mehr in persian means love and Kindness, so the kind one is Mehr-ban, means the guardian of the Mehr.
After Islam, Mehr (and its other name: "Ishk", related to english word "wish" in their indo-european roots) continued his/her existance dominantly in Iranian litriture, Iranian mysticism and religion as something beyond and fundamental to any religion or belief.
As Molana (Rumi) says: I belong to no religion. My religion is love (Ishk). Every heart is my temple.
Even Great lately Iranian Islamic scholar Allame Tabatabai says in his poem:
-I have said many times, and I will say again:
-My cult is Mehr of beloveds
-Worship is about drunkenness in the cult of Mehr
- and the Conscious one is out of this tribe
Every single Iranian mystic poem is about Mehr, and we breathe it in every breath in our culture. so Mithra it is not something forgotten, deprated or unknown.
When talking of the Roman god Mithras, not Mithra, the only evidence is in artifacts. So yes, Mithra is not forgotten. Mithras, sadly, is.
Nupuqi Om-Re Khonectics chamber degrees will guide you
@@sebastian122 they both are same
Hey samin can we talk a bit ?
@@abhinavchauhan7864 Really? Where is there an image of Mithras slaying the bull in a non-Roman area?
This speaker is dismissive of the idea that Mithraism contained astronomical ideas, specifically relating to various constellation & the precession of the equinoxes. It is the most logical explanation & should not be sneered at.
🧞♂️💯
All religions are based on Astro theology, its duality these gods are real but everything has a double nature, as above so below
Jason Jorjani has entered the chat.
So the common denominator of all of these places of worship is the image of Mithras killing a bull. There was a brilliant theory that Mithras represents the force that allows the precession of the equinoxes. Thus, killing the bull represents Mithras helping usher in the new astrological age (Aries) by eliminating the old one (Taurus). So in order for this guy to offer something truly pithy, he would have to explain what the central image MEANS in relation to the communal meal. I mean, come on.
A Jason Reza Jorjani fan!
@Leslie Fish "... If you've heard the whole story..." Where can us unenlightened viewers hear the whole story? This speaker certainly did NOT supply the whole story.
@Leslie Fish Those seem like other somewhat ancillary speculations which may have merit, and are certainly compelling, but that tells us more about the lasting power of the symbols/images involved than what they likely meant for the ancient cultists in context.
Edit: I don't mean to dismiss any of what you said, these deeper meanings could have been present somewhere in the ancient's minds whether conscious expressions or not.
I think this guy assumes an awful lot. “Opening day festivity?” How do you know they didn’t gather once a week for a potluck 😂
Regardless of delusional apologetics, Roman Mithraism clearly has roots in Persian Mithraism. They don't just "share the name" (that would seem quite pointless). Mithraism is older than Zoroastrianism, and represented essentially the the arbitrator; the judge between Zoroastrian god of good (Mazda) and the god of evil Ariman. In that sense, Mithra transcends good and evil and is the god of TRUTH and CONTRACT. Romans mysteries of the Mithras is by all means an adaptation of ancient (possibly prehistorical) primordial Iranian beliefs. Other than the obvious fact the name was borrowed, the Romans themselves held that their cult was from Persia, the Romans dressed as Persians (with Pants and Phrygian caps), and their rituals included the "Persian" rite.
European cave art also depicts mithra symbols all together. Its a pre-historical cult
@Fguire ti uto Yes! Fully agree.
why does he speak like he is talking to a group of five year olds?
His information is similarly childish.
Mithras celebrated the precession of the equinox - hence the mention of the ‘transit of the god’. This had nothing to do with earthy customs points, and everything to do with the precessional transit of the constellations.
In reality, the Mithraic image of the bull-killing represents the precessional image of the constellation of Orion killing the constellation of Taurus - which happened in 1750 BC when the Great Month of Taurus changed to the Great Month of Aries (this is a real astronomic event). The image is flanked by the Sun and Moon, in the same manner as the Freemasonic 1st degree tracing-board.
This is an old religion, as it is the same story as Gilgamesh killing the Bull of Heaven. Both Gilgamesh and Mithras are representations of Orion as the ring-master of the astrological Cosmos.
In addition, Arthurian history tells us how this religion arrived in Rome. Pompey the Great was sent to fight the Pontus Pirates, and then to fight Mithradates VI in the Mithraic War. It was Pompey who brought Mithraism from Pontus to Rome, and the name was derived from the Pontus king, Mithridates. (Mithras has nothing really to do with Mithras in Persia).
See book: ‘The Grail Cypher’.
Ralph
They're Americans
@@RalphEllis That's an interesting theory, but it does not explain the similarities of the indo-european law-war gods to Mithras. It's a clear continuation.
So if future archeologists find BBQ pits and grills at churches they shouldn't look at the art and crosses to conclude what the religion is about but just conclude that worshipers were going there for picnics, potlucks and so on? Sounds legit.
Thank you for this interesting lecture.
I would like to notice, that:
-a very specific and conservative symbolism is present in all mithraic temples;
-communal feasting does not explain this symbolism (scenes like Tauroctony or Petra Genetrix);
-the dating is representative to this site only, it's not representative for all cult places (we don't know how it looked in other temples);
-communal feasting seems to correspond with a scene when Mithras feasts with Sol;
Athanaeus was the author of The Deipnosophistae (dinner-table philosophers); according to Timocrates, Athanaeus was attacked by angry peasants who believed that his writings directly contradicted their personal beliefs of the Mithras cult. Maybe the title of the book seemed offensive to them? (just a humouristic remark).
A lot of what he said was speculation and he ignored a lot of existing theory on the cult.
Nupuqi Om-Re Khonectics chamber degrees will guide you
20 minutes in and he hasn't said jack shit yet...
This was a great lecture, glad I finally got to it. It was, as it often is, difficult to hear/understand the audience questions. But I’m so thankful for this lecture series, don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything!
The way the dude talked made the lecture annoying
Please watch youtube videos on Jason regarding jorjani for more details mithra and the history of oldest Persian religion. Also there are 240 temple of mithra around the roman empire !!
Here because of Raised by Wolves... watch this video at 2x speed will save u a lot of time
I found this video looking for more info on Mithras and I was surprised to find out that you found a Mithraeum in my country, I had no idea. And I was in Alba Iulia few month ago too, I wish I knew about it then.
You can read the studies of Csaba Szabó, several studies on this topic on Mitrhas in Roman Dacia ;)
if interested..The youthful God Mithra (right) symbolizing the Glorious Rays of the Sun. From Mount Nemrut Pantheon of Armenian Gods (sometimes called the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World) erected by King Antiochus Theos (86-38 BCE) of Commagene.In the Armenian heathen Pantheon Mihr (Mithra or Mithras in Latin) was considered a supreme deity. Mihr was the personification of the Illuminating Rays of the Sun. The Grand Temple of Mihr/Mithra was located in the town of Bagaharich in the county of Derjan of the Upper Armenia province of Greater Armenia. The earliest mentioning of the worship of Mithra has been recorded in the Armenian Kingdom of Hurri-Mitanni. It was found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the Hittite capital Hattusa during the 1907 archaeological excavations. The Hittite cuneiform inscriptions mentions some of the notable Armenian Gods and Goddesses that made up the Armenian pantheon of Gods in the Mitanni Kingdom. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma (reigned between 1344 to 1322 BCE) ordered the recording of a peace treaty between himself and the Armenian king Šattivaz (reigned ca. 1350-1320 BCE), who represented the Hittite and Armenian kingdoms respectively. Suppiluliuma swears upon the great deities of Armenia and specifically calls upon Mithra to bless and protect the treaty of friendship and peace between the kingdoms of Hatti and Mitanni.As was noted, this treaty was made in the 14th century BCE, and this is the earliest recorded inscription that mentions Mithra as one of the supreme Gods of Armenia. This is roughly one thousand years before the God Mithra is mentioned in the Iranian inscriptions and the Indian Vedas. Some Indo-Iranian scholars have wrongly attributed Mithra as an Iranian or Indian deity, however as we have seen, the oldest inscription that sites Mithra as a God comes from the above noted 14th century BCE inscription that mentions Mithra as an native Armenian deity that occupied a very special place in the Armenian national Pantheon of Gods.owever, what these scholars fail to realize is that in the Gathas, the earliest sacred Zoroastrian texts attributed to Zoroaster himself, Mithra is not mentioned. Furthermore, Mithra also does not appear by name in the Yasna Haptanghaiti, a seven-verse section of the Yasna liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. Many scholars have noted that the lack of any mention (i.e. Zoroaster’s silence) of Mithra in these texts implies that Zoroaster in fact had rejected Mithra. This is supported by the fact that Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was because in fact in the earliest Avestan writings both Mihr-Mithra and the Armenian Matron Goddess Anahit are condemned as “daevas” or “false gods” or “daemons” that were not to be worshiped....t was only in the fourth century BCE, when we for the first time find the mentioning of Mithras in the Iranian context as a “positive’ deity of the very radiance of the Sun in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid king Xerxes II Mnemon. The Religion of Mithras or Mithraism as it became known in the West would soon spread beyond borders of Armenia, not only towards the East, towards Iran and India, but also that of the West. Mithraic temples known as Mithraea sprang up all over the Roman Empire. They were mostly promoted by Armenian aristocrats who already by this time were prominent generals in the Roman Army. Armenian King Tiridates III is a good example, who prior to his coronation was a prominent general in the Roman Army, it was Emperor Diocletian a close friend and fellow Mithraic devotee of Tiridates who asked the Armenian king to take the challenge of personal combat from a Gothic chief, Trdat successfully stood in for the Emperor and won the tournament....By the second century AD Mithraism was virtually the state religion of the Roman Empire and virtually all of the Roman Emperors during this time and prior to adoption of Christianity in the Fourth century CE were high initiates of the Mithraic mysteries. Most of the Mithraic rites along with the rituals and rites were simply taken over by the newly forming Roman Catholic Church...The traditional crown of the Armenian kings 8-rays/pyramids on top of the crown standing for the Sun’s rays (symbolizing Mithra) along with the 8-pointed star flanked by two eagles facing it (also Mithraic symbolism). The Sun King symbolized the physical incarnation of the Sun God in the world and the Armenian tiara symbolized the union of spiritual and material worlds symbolized by the crown and the leather silk portion of the diadem respectively (united by the sacred thread/headband of glory). Historic reconstruction of the bust of the Armenian King of Kings Tigranes II the Great (reigned 95-55 BCE) by the gifted artist Robert Hazarapetyan...The Mithraic mysteries that began in Armenia in the Second millennium BCE, through the Roman Empire left a lasting legacy on Western society and civilization in general. Many of the customs and norms are in fact taken directly from the Mithraic mysteries (just one notable example would be the handshake, which was specifically used by the devotees of Mithras and today has become common place greeting gesture all over the world). Many of the holidays that we come to celebrate (including Christmas on December 25) also come directly from Mithraism which were celebrated by the Roman emperors and later the Roman Catholic Church. Same is true of the Christian mass that is held very Sunday. The tradition of building churches right into the caves (where the Mithraic mysteries took place) continued by the Armenian Apostolic Church well into the Middle Ages as the surviving world renowned Geghard church attests to this great legacy...The only surviving Armenian National Mithraic Temple of the Sun God Mithra from First Century CE erected by the orders of King Tiridates I Arsacid (reigned 52-75 CE). There were 8 sacred heathen centers of the Armenian Gods and Goddesses throughout Greater Armenia with countless beautiful temples in every one of these 8 centers...- Excerpts from Pre-Christian Gods of Armenia (Glendale, 2007) by Hovik Nersisian (1921-2009). Nersisian is an author of many books and articles. He was a renowned scholar who in 1991, for his merits in Iranian Studies, most notably the study of the oldest surviving copies of the Avesta, became a full-member of New York’s Academy of Sciences.
Obrigado por acrescentar esse comentário extremamente esclarecedor.
Does anyone have a list of the dedication activities a devotee would have to perform to rise in the hierarchy of the cult. There are 7 levels. Were there activities performed to advance ?
Jason reza jorjani
Dr. Jason Reza Jorjani said that there are ~450 mithraic cave complexes in old Roman world.
Persian religion, not Roman. I recommend using a VPN to access full information about it, especially if you are living in the UK or USA...
I despise lecturers who think they're late night chatshow hosts. Just play it straight.
Bull sacrifice was normally to do with foundations,bull blood was mixed into clay for flooring to seal it.
I checked out when in he claimed no astronomical connections., The imagery has obvious blatant celestial connections to Leo, Corvus, and Canis Major. and Hydra which all can be seen around Leo in the sky. The summer solstice occurred in Leo roughly between 2000-4000BCE this was the sun at hit's most potent, highest in the sky and longest days. Taurus (the Bull) was the sign where the Vernal Equinox occurred and the length of the day was equal to the night. So it seems that the summer solstice would be an natural metaphor for Light conquering dark or slaying the Bull. I don't know, but there is no way that celestial metaphor is NOT part of this cult to some degree. Maybe they recalled the Sun/Leo connection but lost the reason for it's significance because by Roman times the Summer solstice was in Cancer. As we miss many celestial things baked into Abrahamic religions stories.
34:49 I think he's missing the fact that "Transit" is an astronomical/astrological term from that time. It's still used today to not astrological alignments.
I can't stand listening to the guest speaker's voice
Talking like everyone in the room is ten. I almost raised my hand for the bathroom......
don't listen. read the subtitles.
@@NaumRusomarov ...subtitles ? Great ! This guy can stop talking ....hahaha ...by the way ....what a boring lecture ! :-)
The claims that the cult was not about astrology or at least related to astrology seem entirely speculative and in the face of the surviving evidence. We don't know why or when the feasts played into this astrological aspect- in all probability these feasts could have been more important aspects of the cult in terms of their activity- but the degree to which he dismisses the overwhelming astrological imagery is pretty surprising. "Orthopraxy" is easier to determine using scientific means of archaeology but to so ignore what the images tell us about their possible "orthodoxy" seems willful and unconvincing.
Indeed there are Mitra stabbing bull inside Iran.
I applaud Mr. McCarty's efforts particularly reconstructing how the Mithraeum comes to us today through Archeology. As far as a "Cult", its alive and well, hidden within Christianity itself (practices, cultures, symbolism and traditions).
One of my favorite historical figures was undoubtedly a Mithraist; Arminius of the Cherusci. He was taken to Rome as a small boy and trained their in military tactics and skills along with the formal classical education of the time. He attained the rank of Eques and was personally knighted by Augustus for his valor and skill. Then he pulled a Prometheus and took the fire (knowledge) acquired from Rome (the Gods) and gave it to his people in the pursuit of liberation. Upon wiping out three full legions he looted all their goodies and gave the food and useable goods to the tribesmen to distribute as needed to their families and friends but then took the aesthetic goods (such as the Legionary Aquilas, which you should look up and take a gander at what they looked like historically {not the modern recreations} you can find an image on the Wikipedia page for ‘legionary Aquila’) and stew them about the Norwegian Spruce trees of the Teutoberg Forest (you should look up what kind of tree Rockefeller center uses as it’s annual Christmas Tree no more than 100 meters from their statue of Prometheus) including placing the Aquilas atop the 3 tallest spruces in the forest. I believe the reason why the heavy Mithraic Symbolism present in the Christmas celebration wasn’t eradicated when the CatholicChurch was trying to purge all things Persian was because of Northern European love for Arminius during that era and thus they clung tightly to and stubbornly (I mean that as a compliment) preserved those traditions that he gave them before he was stupidly assassinated by jealous chieftains of the various other tribes because all the tribesmen were flocking to support Arminius after his incredible triple crown victory (victory over three legions and taking their Aquilas as trophies. Symbolically the triple crown represents mastery of body, mind and spirit, which Arminius had displayed in that victory to drive Rome back across the Rhine and stop their expansion abruptly in it’s tracks.
Arminius is an amazing embodiment of Mithras in my opinion and he should be remembered forever as a hero of his people. Of my people. I’m proud to be descended from the culture that produced him.
Is he speaking to three year olds?
@46:00, if there was a group of believer/practitioners with any common rites then there was either a means of communication for those common or standardized (to a greater or lesser extent) rites including the foundation rite for establishing a mithraeum. Why extrapolate that one would only "see the foundation rite once in a lifetime" when obviously the Roman Legions moved around the empire to make war or garrison? A single leader type might establish several mithraeum during a long active life.
Good lecture, thank you. Love the archaeological angle.
I was surprised that the augurial significance of the boxes might not have been discussed regarding the foundation of the site of the "cave", or that the idea of an outoor meeting in a place where a fire pit for making coals and cooking (grilling, spit roasting or even covered baking) might continue to be in edification a popular gathering place for a fraternal meeting of men who identified with the architypical outdoorsman who was guide by example and in humble service of and in friendship with Apollo toward the cultivation of a noble and meaningful life in brotherly love.
Mithras birthday is December 25th.
No it is not.Stop spreading this insane stupidity.
The religion of Mithraism comes from Iran/Persia!
The way he is talking is making this really annoying . Talk normal dude
Mithras celebrated the precession of the equinox - hence the mention of the ‘transit of the god’. This had nothing to do with earthy customs points, and everything to do with the precessional transit of the constellations.
In reality, the Mithraic image of the bull-killing represents the precessional image of the constellation of Orion killing the constellation of Taurus - which happened in 1750 BC when the Great Month of Taurus changed to the Great Month of Aries (this is a real astronomic event). The image is flanked by the Sun and Moon, in the same manner as the Freemasonic 1st degree tracing-board.
This is an old religion, as it is the same story as Gilgamesh killing the Bull of Heaven. Both Gilgamesh and Mithras are representations of Orion as the ring-master of the astrological Cosmos.
In addition, Arthurian history tells us how this religion arrived in Rome. Pompey the Great was sent to fight the Pontus Pirates, and then to fight Mithradates VI in the Mithraic War. It was Pompey who brought Mithraism from Pontus to Rome, and the name was derived from the Pontus king, Mithridates. (Mithras has nothing really to do with Mithras in Persia).
See book: ‘The Grail Cypher’.
Ralph
if interested..The youthful God Mithra (right) symbolizing the Glorious Rays of the Sun. From Mount Nemrut Pantheon of Armenian Gods (sometimes called the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World) erected by King Antiochus Theos (86-38 BCE) of Commagene.In the Armenian heathen Pantheon Mihr (Mithra or Mithras in Latin) was considered a supreme deity. Mihr was the personification of the Illuminating Rays of the Sun. The Grand Temple of Mihr/Mithra was located in the town of Bagaharich in the county of Derjan of the Upper Armenia province of Greater Armenia. The earliest mentioning of the worship of Mithra has been recorded in the Armenian Kingdom of Hurri-Mitanni. It was found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the Hittite capital Hattusa during the 1907 archaeological excavations. The Hittite cuneiform inscriptions mentions some of the notable Armenian Gods and Goddesses that made up the Armenian pantheon of Gods in the Mitanni Kingdom. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma (reigned between 1344 to 1322 BCE) ordered the recording of a peace treaty between himself and the Armenian king Šattivaz (reigned ca. 1350-1320 BCE), who represented the Hittite and Armenian kingdoms respectively. Suppiluliuma swears upon the great deities of Armenia and specifically calls upon Mithra to bless and protect the treaty of friendship and peace between the kingdoms of Hatti and Mitanni.As was noted, this treaty was made in the 14th century BCE, and this is the earliest recorded inscription that mentions Mithra as one of the supreme Gods of Armenia. This is roughly one thousand years before the God Mithra is mentioned in the Iranian inscriptions and the Indian Vedas. Some Indo-Iranian scholars have wrongly attributed Mithra as an Iranian or Indian deity, however as we have seen, the oldest inscription that sites Mithra as a God comes from the above noted 14th century BCE inscription that mentions Mithra as an native Armenian deity that occupied a very special place in the Armenian national Pantheon of Gods.owever, what these scholars fail to realize is that in the Gathas, the earliest sacred Zoroastrian texts attributed to Zoroaster himself, Mithra is not mentioned. Furthermore, Mithra also does not appear by name in the Yasna Haptanghaiti, a seven-verse section of the Yasna liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. Many scholars have noted that the lack of any mention (i.e. Zoroaster’s silence) of Mithra in these texts implies that Zoroaster in fact had rejected Mithra. This is supported by the fact that Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was because in fact in the earliest Avestan writings both Mihr-Mithra and the Armenian Matron Goddess Anahit are condemned as “daevas” or “false gods” or “daemons” that were not to be worshiped....t was only in the fourth century BCE, when we for the first time find the mentioning of Mithras in the Iranian context as a “positive’ deity of the very radiance of the Sun in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid king Xerxes II Mnemon. The Religion of Mithras or Mithraism as it became known in the West would soon spread beyond borders of Armenia, not only towards the East, towards Iran and India, but also that of the West. Mithraic temples known as Mithraea sprang up all over the Roman Empire. They were mostly promoted by Armenian aristocrats who already by this time were prominent generals in the Roman Army. Armenian King Tiridates III is a good example, who prior to his coronation was a prominent general in the Roman Army, it was Emperor Diocletian a close friend and fellow Mithraic devotee of Tiridates who asked the Armenian king to take the challenge of personal combat from a Gothic chief, Trdat successfully stood in for the Emperor and won the tournament....By the second century AD Mithraism was virtually the state religion of the Roman Empire and virtually all of the Roman Emperors during this time and prior to adoption of Christianity in the Fourth century CE were high initiates of the Mithraic mysteries. Most of the Mithraic rites along with the rituals and rites were simply taken over by the newly forming Roman Catholic Church...The traditional crown of the Armenian kings 8-rays/pyramids on top of the crown standing for the Sun’s rays (symbolizing Mithra) along with the 8-pointed star flanked by two eagles facing it (also Mithraic symbolism). The Sun King symbolized the physical incarnation of the Sun God in the world and the Armenian tiara symbolized the union of spiritual and material worlds symbolized by the crown and the leather silk portion of the diadem respectively (united by the sacred thread/headband of glory). Historic reconstruction of the bust of the Armenian King of Kings Tigranes II the Great (reigned 95-55 BCE) by the gifted artist Robert Hazarapetyan...The Mithraic mysteries that began in Armenia in the Second millennium BCE, through the Roman Empire left a lasting legacy on Western society and civilization in general. Many of the customs and norms are in fact taken directly from the Mithraic mysteries (just one notable example would be the handshake, which was specifically used by the devotees of Mithras and today has become common place greeting gesture all over the world). Many of the holidays that we come to celebrate (including Christmas on December 25) also come directly from Mithraism which were celebrated by the Roman emperors and later the Roman Catholic Church. Same is true of the Christian mass that is held very Sunday. The tradition of building churches right into the caves (where the Mithraic mysteries took place) continued by the Armenian Apostolic Church well into the Middle Ages as the surviving world renowned Geghard church attests to this great legacy...The only surviving Armenian National Mithraic Temple of the Sun God Mithra from First Century CE erected by the orders of King Tiridates I Arsacid (reigned 52-75 CE). There were 8 sacred heathen centers of the Armenian Gods and Goddesses throughout Greater Armenia with countless beautiful temples in every one of these 8 centers...- Excerpts from Pre-Christian Gods of Armenia (Glendale, 2007) by Hovik Nersisian (1921-2009). Nersisian is an author of many books and articles. He was a renowned scholar who in 1991, for his merits in Iranian Studies, most notably the study of the oldest surviving copies of the Avesta, became a full-member of New York’s Academy of Sciences.
It hqs so many things to do with
You just can't accept the truth
24:00 It would’ve been nice if 1/3 of the building wasn’t picked through before the rest of the site got further investigated by a different team.
What? Mithraism is a Roman religion ?! Dude, Iranians practiced the worship of Mithra at least 1000 years before the foundation of Rome :D
Nupuqi Om-Re Khonectics chamber degrees will guide you
The Cult of MIthras and MIthraism are not the same thing.
The Cult of MIthras is a Roman religion LOOSELY based on the the Iranian religion. No one's claiming the Roman religion came first. But to treat the two as the same is a bit silly.
@@erimgard3128 There’s not enough information about Roman Mithraism for you to assume that it’s “loosely based.”
Doesn't even realise that - Bind Weed = Morning Glory = LSD. What kind of feast was it, then?
Actually Mithraism as one of Mystery cults was probably based on psychedelic expirience, ritual of katabasis/death and anabasis/union with God or even becoming one, still lsd was discovered in last century.
@@arturhashmi6281 Mithraism was clearly using Psilocybe Semilanceata (liberty cap/ Phrygian cap). LSD was isolated, however it has been used for meillenia in its natural form. King Lycurgis (the namesake of lycurgic acid) appeared in the ancient Greek mysteries of Dionysus.
@@RyanSeven1111 I like the theory about phrygian cap, but i would not say its obviouse or clear, phrygian cap was widly used in greek art on characters from "east" , the same as they called all people from teritory of modern Turkey phrygian. I think you meant lysergic acid, it received its name as it was a product of the lysis of various ergot alkaloids and it was discovered in last century by chemist Albert Hoffman who probably did not know anything bout mystery cults back then. (Lysis - dissotiation.) It does not have anything to do with king Lycurg, but ther are a lot of interesting characters from dionisian or eleusinian cults, which could have conotation with psychedelics like: Iacchus, Baubo or Glaukos.
@@arturhashmi6281 I'd suggest reading a little more between the lines... If you'd like some evidence on the Liberty Cap, I've made a video on such : th-cam.com/video/ykfY6Jd8moE/w-d-xo.html
@@arturhashmi6281 Hoffman clearly named it after Lycurgos, and went in search of it because of such, just as Wasson knew about the mushroom. I doubt any serious researcher believes the ridiculous bike story.
Hi, i'm French, scientists don't make show like this in France, they are so reasonables, even some time they sound like crying or begging for pity, while reading their text. But beeing a bit spectacular is not a shame, i like that way of transmission of science to the public, that make sense.
I came here to learn about "What we know about Mithras and Mithraism". Ended up being bored to death.
Mate there is no Persian God Mithras only Mithra , are you devotee of Cumont who was as discredited in the 1970s ?
@Spectre go on
His demeanour is too theatrical.
Isn't saying "we don't know who the founder of Mithraism is", the same as saying we don't know who the founder of English is. There isn't a founder. It is an amalgamation. Like a language. We've got to stop looking at ancient religion as though they existed in their own vacuum.
Better explanation is that of David Ulansey. Check it out.
I agree and want to watch his lecture again because there was so much information. However what is lacking is the biblical background information and that the first Christians were obviously Jewish.
Interesting presentation. But, answers without knowing the questions? It would be great to always have the question, perhaps with a roving mike? From the answer, it's often hard to suss out the question.
Decries speculation while speculating.
A Disney type analysis or Mithras. Octavian made Mithras the official religion of the Legion & Equestrian class. Christianity became the religion of Slaves and others.
Mithras is a cult of Saturn child & woman sacrifice religion . IMithras the androgynous god kills the age of Taurus surrounded by stars.
The Mystery religions were call that because they were hidden and also they were based on mushroom and adrenochrome ingestion.
The god of duality Janus is the gateway to the mystery regions. All capital cities have their own Jauns gate. Marble Arch etc.
The rulers of this world still worship Saturn through the Phoenician-Babylonian Mystery Religions of Mithras, Satanism , Moloch, Kabbalah, Baal and Dionyisis.
This is one of the worst lectures I've heard on any subject. His style is patronising and his knowledge is rudimentary or corrupted.
.
I agree with your opinion of this lecture. However your statements are lacking validity. Do you consider the Jewish Christians slaves? They were the first Christians. Also I do find it interesting what you are saying about adrenacrome and I wonder where you find this thinkig to be supported. I have yet to come across the relationship between freemasonry and Mithtras.
This guy an his hands are all over the place. Also, he doesn’t seem to be differentiating between mithras and mithra... 🤔
m.th-cam.com/video/gpqfZJuZRNY/w-d-xo.html
@33:00 the lecturer exceeds his specialty. Many American slaves owned property including ownership of their own family members whose "freedom" they were able to purchase. re: New Philadelphia.
This is Mithraism outside Persia. So if we would like to know about it. Should it bet learn where it was born; Persia?
Not for sure, cause it was roman mithraism, they used archetypes from other cultures by mixing them with their own, we do not know "how much of original Mithra was in roman Mithra", the same as with Isis/Kybele/Demeter coorelation, if you want to understand it more i recommend you eg. lectures of Modern Hermeticist on yt about hellenistic time and religion, cause this kind of syncretism started to be popular back then.
See Ulansay.
The summer zodiac are not bull related. Taurus is spring.
Mithraism came from Persian and spread out throughout the World specially in Romans
Go to Italy if you want to find out what is the true about Christianity
Sounds like an ancient chain restaurant.
Mithraism indeed has astrological significance. It tells a story of an ancient event.
If you want to know how it works you need me
One of the reasons for replacing the old pagan cults (mithras etc) with Christianity it was because the use of that knowledge without any methodolical guidance leads to more misery and wreckage in society as a natural consequence, naturally leading to an age of obscurantism as for example in the middle ages. It is still possible to find readings from the XV or XVI century talking about the misery, damnation and havoc in societies that incorporated that into they lifes.
Apuntes 888 Catholicism DID NOT replace but, incorporate. Constantine NEVER ACTUALLY CONVERTED. He NEVER gave up this god. See the arch. Mithras arrives in a chariot. Jesus arrives on a white horse. On the arch is the Sun God, Mithras. Constantine was the great dragon of his day. Rev.12. That is rising again now. In another form.
Mithra cults didn’t take in females, Christianity did so the Mithra where outnumbered in the end.
@@jasip1000 not true, it was otherwise in different communities, they let women to some of them.
Its not about eating and making sacrifice to the god. It was a cult about man, specifically the ancestor as bull being replaced by himself, mithras in a battle. It is like all indo european cults and myths and had the exact same message. This one is a cult about men, only men could join. The bull is a fertility symbol and bulls breed in the summer. The remale cow has impregnation for the exact same time as a european women. The bull is a symbol of the placenta (also a male ancestor symbol) who sacrifices himself to himself (mighras). The snake is the umbilical cord, the dog represents the female reproductive system (just as catitoline wolf, and wolf in little res riding hood). The phylon cap is a crown, in some babies as good luck and wisdom at birth. The sun represents male fertility feeding the female earth and fields. Its male cult, a warrior cult.
Mitra.iran
Fantastic lecture
Good work
Very good. Thank you.
mithos (Gk) = thread = be-nang
Perfect example how someone can take a few facts and string together a bunch of false conclusions.
Well im a Pesian and depiction of mithra killing a bull stands for Mithra defeating the god Baal aka the bull of heaven..
mithraism is now a roman religion? lol. its kinda like saying buddhism is a american religion becoz there are monasteries and Buddhist practitioners found in US. most of the words this guy is pronouncing in a funny way are pure Iranian words including mitra itself. mitra symbolism and worship is dated back atleast a thousand year before its emergence in europe. many practices such as eating bread and wine, reference to ever green tree, and the three colors of red green and white you see in Christmas themes comes from ancient iran when mithraism hadnt hit europe yet. Its funny how west completely deleted and ignored or distorted the ancient history of middle east and central asia. Now they are teaching the fabricated history in universities
if interested..The youthful God Mithra (right) symbolizing the Glorious Rays of the Sun. From Mount Nemrut Pantheon of Armenian Gods (sometimes called the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World) erected by King Antiochus Theos (86-38 BCE) of Commagene.In the Armenian heathen Pantheon Mihr (Mithra or Mithras in Latin) was considered a supreme deity. Mihr was the personification of the Illuminating Rays of the Sun. The Grand Temple of Mihr/Mithra was located in the town of Bagaharich in the county of Derjan of the Upper Armenia province of Greater Armenia. The earliest mentioning of the worship of Mithra has been recorded in the Armenian Kingdom of Hurri-Mitanni. It was found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the Hittite capital Hattusa during the 1907 archaeological excavations. The Hittite cuneiform inscriptions mentions some of the notable Armenian Gods and Goddesses that made up the Armenian pantheon of Gods in the Mitanni Kingdom. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma (reigned between 1344 to 1322 BCE) ordered the recording of a peace treaty between himself and the Armenian king Šattivaz (reigned ca. 1350-1320 BCE), who represented the Hittite and Armenian kingdoms respectively. Suppiluliuma swears upon the great deities of Armenia and specifically calls upon Mithra to bless and protect the treaty of friendship and peace between the kingdoms of Hatti and Mitanni.As was noted, this treaty was made in the 14th century BCE, and this is the earliest recorded inscription that mentions Mithra as one of the supreme Gods of Armenia. This is roughly one thousand years before the God Mithra is mentioned in the Iranian inscriptions and the Indian Vedas. Some Indo-Iranian scholars have wrongly attributed Mithra as an Iranian or Indian deity, however as we have seen, the oldest inscription that sites Mithra as a God comes from the above noted 14th century BCE inscription that mentions Mithra as an native Armenian deity that occupied a very special place in the Armenian national Pantheon of Gods.owever, what these scholars fail to realize is that in the Gathas, the earliest sacred Zoroastrian texts attributed to Zoroaster himself, Mithra is not mentioned. Furthermore, Mithra also does not appear by name in the Yasna Haptanghaiti, a seven-verse section of the Yasna liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. Many scholars have noted that the lack of any mention (i.e. Zoroaster’s silence) of Mithra in these texts implies that Zoroaster in fact had rejected Mithra. This is supported by the fact that Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was because in fact in the earliest Avestan writings both Mihr-Mithra and the Armenian Matron Goddess Anahit are condemned as “daevas” or “false gods” or “daemons” that were not to be worshiped....t was only in the fourth century BCE, when we for the first time find the mentioning of Mithras in the Iranian context as a “positive’ deity of the very radiance of the Sun in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid king Xerxes II Mnemon. The Religion of Mithras or Mithraism as it became known in the West would soon spread beyond borders of Armenia, not only towards the East, towards Iran and India, but also that of the West. Mithraic temples known as Mithraea sprang up all over the Roman Empire. They were mostly promoted by Armenian aristocrats who already by this time were prominent generals in the Roman Army. Armenian King Tiridates III is a good example, who prior to his coronation was a prominent general in the Roman Army, it was Emperor Diocletian a close friend and fellow Mithraic devotee of Tiridates who asked the Armenian king to take the challenge of personal combat from a Gothic chief, Trdat successfully stood in for the Emperor and won the tournament....By the second century AD Mithraism was virtually the state religion of the Roman Empire and virtually all of the Roman Emperors during this time and prior to adoption of Christianity in the Fourth century CE were high initiates of the Mithraic mysteries. Most of the Mithraic rites along with the rituals and rites were simply taken over by the newly forming Roman Catholic Church...The traditional crown of the Armenian kings 8-rays/pyramids on top of the crown standing for the Sun’s rays (symbolizing Mithra) along with the 8-pointed star flanked by two eagles facing it (also Mithraic symbolism). The Sun King symbolized the physical incarnation of the Sun God in the world and the Armenian tiara symbolized the union of spiritual and material worlds symbolized by the crown and the leather silk portion of the diadem respectively (united by the sacred thread/headband of glory). Historic reconstruction of the bust of the Armenian King of Kings Tigranes II the Great (reigned 95-55 BCE) by the gifted artist Robert Hazarapetyan...The Mithraic mysteries that began in Armenia in the Second millennium BCE, through the Roman Empire left a lasting legacy on Western society and civilization in general. Many of the customs and norms are in fact taken directly from the Mithraic mysteries (just one notable example would be the handshake, which was specifically used by the devotees of Mithras and today has become common place greeting gesture all over the world). Many of the holidays that we come to celebrate (including Christmas on December 25) also come directly from Mithraism which were celebrated by the Roman emperors and later the Roman Catholic Church. Same is true of the Christian mass that is held very Sunday. The tradition of building churches right into the caves (where the Mithraic mysteries took place) continued by the Armenian Apostolic Church well into the Middle Ages as the surviving world renowned Geghard church attests to this great legacy...The only surviving Armenian National Mithraic Temple of the Sun God Mithra from First Century CE erected by the orders of King Tiridates I Arsacid (reigned 52-75 CE). There were 8 sacred heathen centers of the Armenian Gods and Goddesses throughout Greater Armenia with countless beautiful temples in every one of these 8 centers...- Excerpts from Pre-Christian Gods of Armenia (Glendale, 2007) by Hovik Nersisian (1921-2009). Nersisian is an author of many books and articles. He was a renowned scholar who in 1991, for his merits in Iranian Studies, most notably the study of the oldest surviving copies of the Avesta, became a full-member of New York’s Academy of Sciences.
So much talking about a god from IRAN and steel not talking about IRAN.
"Persia" is not part of the "middle east".
21 minutes in this guy hasn't said one interesting thing. Mithraism is a star cult, imo, and the work of David Ulansey.
What if the Mithras cult were actually just the first food franchise.
Like Starbucks (which has a mermaid type of symbol plastered everywhere).
It'd be real funny if it turned out to just be some kind of restaurant 😂
Most likely not, but It'd be funny.
Omg, lolz!! 😆
It really sounds like a bbq club. Guys getting together to eat meat.
@@benjaminthomassonCommunity man cave 😂
Is this man not aware of Mitra-Varuna? Mitra is not derived from the Zoroastrian Mithra, bt they share a common source.
Errors. Errors.
This guys way of talking… I just cant
What a crock. Worst presentation I've seen in A LONG TIME on this subject. Quac-ademics at its greatest. TRUST ME, go find some Jorjani or David Ulansey to get a real feel for this subject. Christianity AND Mithraism were contemporary of each other and both show astrotheological leanings, at the least; full on sun/ sky worship, more likely. Keep following your lovely little fed narrative, speaker/ presenter; please leave the real work to those who can critically think and update as information becomes available. Same thing has happened to alot of the sciences, as well. "Scientism" really is an obvious thing anymore.
Mithra is originally from India, then moved west
I believe this too. His original name was the Sanskrit name Mitra. India was the Proto-Indo-European homeland.
Nice joke
If you want to know the secret to interpreting the cult Mithras symbolism and all other european symbolism check out marie catchet on yt. And her book “secrets of the she-bear”
👏👏👏🌹🌹🎇🎇 Excellent.
Put this on 1.75X speed - its a good lecture but found the delivery very slow.
his demeanor is disrespectful and sarcastic. ill watch something else ty
mental note - send your kid/kids to the U of A OR ANYWHERE ELSE...just not B.C. .... just sayin'. S.Kent..you owe me buddy!!! ((-: Aweee geeze..it just dawned on me...one 'professional' can influence so so many..it is scary. (to profess can become gospel....be afraid). Dang!!!!
Bias
Fiction, IMO.
"older style archaeology" ... that's the German style of archaeology unfortunately
This was a disappointing presentation,he’s not learned on the subject.
Clowns.
That is a lot of language for one man must be a Jesuit
That guy is fantastic!
Talk about broad conclusions based on scant evidence. Wow.
Shocking acting.
Wonderful Lecture .... Very well researched and explained . 🙌🏻👏🏻
if interested by Hovik Nersisian (1921-2009). Nersisian is an author of many books and articles. He was a renowned scholar who in 1991, for his merits in Iranian Studies, most notably the study of the oldest surviving copies of the Avesta, became a full-member of New York’s Academy of Sciences...The youthful God Mithra (right) symbolizing the Glorious Rays of the Sun. From Mount Nemrut Pantheon of Armenian Gods (sometimes called the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World) erected by King Antiochus Theos (86-38 BCE) of Commagene.In the Armenian heathen Pantheon Mihr (Mithra or Mithras in Latin) was considered a supreme deity. Mihr was the personification of the Illuminating Rays of the Sun. The Grand Temple of Mihr/Mithra was located in the town of Bagaharich in the county of Derjan of the Upper Armenia province of Greater Armenia. The earliest mentioning of the worship of Mithra has been recorded in the Armenian Kingdom of Hurri-Mitanni. It was found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the Hittite capital Hattusa during the 1907 archaeological excavations. The Hittite cuneiform inscriptions mentions some of the notable Armenian Gods and Goddesses that made up the Armenian pantheon of Gods in the Mitanni Kingdom. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma (reigned between 1344 to 1322 BCE) ordered the recording of a peace treaty between himself and the Armenian king Šattivaz (reigned ca. 1350-1320 BCE), who represented the Hittite and Armenian kingdoms respectively. Suppiluliuma swears upon the great deities of Armenia and specifically calls upon Mithra to bless and protect the treaty of friendship and peace between the kingdoms of Hatti and Mitanni.As was noted, this treaty was made in the 14th century BCE, and this is the earliest recorded inscription that mentions Mithra as one of the supreme Gods of Armenia. This is roughly one thousand years before the God Mithra is mentioned in the Iranian inscriptions and the Indian Vedas. Some Indo-Iranian scholars have wrongly attributed Mithra as an Iranian or Indian deity, however as we have seen, the oldest inscription that sites Mithra as a God comes from the above noted 14th century BCE inscription that mentions Mithra as an native Armenian deity that occupied a very special place in the Armenian national Pantheon of Gods.owever, what these scholars fail to realize is that in the Gathas, the earliest sacred Zoroastrian texts attributed to Zoroaster himself, Mithra is not mentioned. Furthermore, Mithra also does not appear by name in the Yasna Haptanghaiti, a seven-verse section of the Yasna liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. Many scholars have noted that the lack of any mention (i.e. Zoroaster’s silence) of Mithra in these texts implies that Zoroaster in fact had rejected Mithra. This is supported by the fact that Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was because in fact in the earliest Avestan writings both Mihr-Mithra and the Armenian Matron Goddess Anahit are condemned as “daevas” or “false gods” or “daemons” that were not to be worshiped....t was only in the fourth century BCE, when we for the first time find the mentioning of Mithras in the Iranian context as a “positive’ deity of the very radiance of the Sun in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid king Xerxes II Mnemon. The Religion of Mithras or Mithraism as it became known in the West would soon spread beyond borders of Armenia, not only towards the East, towards Iran and India, but also that of the West. Mithraic temples known as Mithraea sprang up all over the Roman Empire. They were mostly promoted by Armenian aristocrats who already by this time were prominent generals in the Roman Army. Armenian King Tiridates III is a good example, who prior to his coronation was a prominent general in the Roman Army, it was Emperor Diocletian a close friend and fellow Mithraic devotee of Tiridates who asked the Armenian king to take the challenge of personal combat from a Gothic chief, Trdat successfully stood in for the Emperor and won the tournament....By the second century AD Mithraism was virtually the state religion of the Roman Empire and virtually all of the Roman Emperors during this time and prior to adoption of Christianity in the Fourth century CE were high initiates of the Mithraic mysteries. Most of the Mithraic rites along with the rituals and rites were simply taken over by the newly forming Roman Catholic Church...The traditional crown of the Armenian kings 8-rays/pyramids on top of the crown standing for the Sun’s rays (symbolizing Mithra) along with the 8-pointed star flanked by two eagles facing it (also Mithraic symbolism). The Sun King symbolized the physical incarnation of the Sun God in the world and the Armenian tiara symbolized the union of spiritual and material worlds symbolized by the crown and the leather silk portion of the diadem respectively (united by the sacred thread/headband of glory). Historic reconstruction of the bust of the Armenian King of Kings Tigranes II the Great (reigned 95-55 BCE) by the gifted artist Robert Hazarapetyan...The Mithraic mysteries that began in Armenia in the Second millennium BCE, through the Roman Empire left a lasting legacy on Western society and civilization in general. Many of the customs and norms are in fact taken directly from the Mithraic mysteries (just one notable example would be the handshake, which was specifically used by the devotees of Mithras and today has become common place greeting gesture all over the world). Many of the holidays that we come to celebrate (including Christmas on December 25) also come directly from Mithraism which were celebrated by the Roman emperors and later the Roman Catholic Church. Same is true of the Christian mass that is held very Sunday. The tradition of building churches right into the caves (where the Mithraic mysteries took place) continued by the Armenian Apostolic Church well into the Middle Ages as the surviving world renowned Geghard church attests to this great legacy...The only surviving Armenian National Mithraic Temple of the Sun God Mithra from First Century CE erected by the orders of King Tiridates I Arsacid (reigned 52-75 CE). There were 8 sacred heathen centers of the Armenian Gods and Goddesses throughout Greater Armenia with countless beautiful temples in every one of these 8 centers...- Excerpts from Pre-Christian Gods of Armenia (Glendale, 2007) by Hovik Nersisian (1921-2009). Nersisian is an author of many books and articles. He was a renowned scholar who in 1991, for his merits in Iranian Studies, most notably the study of the oldest surviving copies of the Avesta, became a full-member of New York’s Academy of Sciences.
interesting lecture.
"iTs aBoUt coMmUnuAL diNiNg"
Don’t like this guy
He clearly is an expert and the information on the presentation was great, but he also is so annoying!
This guy is so boring