The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries 1st Edition

Describing non-Christian religions to modern Western audiences is always a challenge. Even if the author is open minded like Manfred Clauss is, an honest author needs to admit that there is a huge gap in information for any religion with no known modern adherents. That means that an intro will be a description of buildings, inscriptions and other documents. But this is a necessary step for anyone wanting to know "more." This book goes through the history and evidence very efficiently making it a good read, even before bedtime. It also does justice to other religions such as the quasi-related worship of the Imperial Sol Invictus.It makes the case that the version celebrated in later stages was probably different from how the Persian Mitra was worshiped, then effectively shows how and when the mithrea shrines were constructed and how "congregations" were structured (all men of different classes, but not "equal.") Unlike other books, this book is not an explanation of why Christianity should have prevailed nor a call for its revival. It's a sober, but still appreciative view of a religion that many Roman men followed for a time. It's an important insight into how late Roman society functioned before it fully transitioned to the early medieval Christian society Europeans (and most Americans) are descended from.

You really have to break down this book into components to give it a proper evaluation, as some parts are excellent and others are not so good.First, for content this book is an eleven out of five. Clauss displays an encyclopedic knowledge of Mithraism, as deep as it is broad. He absolutely dismisses the ridiculous theories that have been popularized recently and takes the reader to the basic facts. Mithras is the sun, the bull is the moon. Their "combat" is nothing more than the cycles of life and nature that every human being observes and experiences on a daily, monthly and annual basis. Clauss references a variety of monuments and other objects associated with Mithrea, but he always sticks to the concrete and avoids speculation.But when it comes to format and presentation the book falls short. Gordon's translation had a lot of flaws; his spelling and vocabulary are at times so archaic and stilted you wonder if they are typo's. In some cases his punctuation is downright wrong by all rules of English grammar. Where ever an ancient province or town is mentioned the author parenthetically notes the modern equivalent. This is jarring and really disrupts the flow of the text. It is easy enough to find a map of the Roman empire if you don't know where Noricum was. Finally, the book contains many photographs which are so poorly reproduced that they look like grey blobs with little to no visible detail.There is one last point that can't be ignored. At the very start Clauss makes the sweeping and offhanded claim that Roman Mithraism is a unique and singular creation, with no relationship at all to Persian Mithra. He then leaves that statement to stand alone without any further discussion, justification or rationalization. As Carl Sagan noted, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and Clauss gives us nothing. If you are going to propose that two gods with the same name, the same attributes and the same iconography, two gods that the Romans themselves acknowledged as the same, a god that Plutarch tells us was imported from Asia Minor, you better have something to back it up. So best ignore this odd opinion of his and focus on the information that he does provide extensive proof for.

This is the best currently available introduction to the Roman cult of Mithras you can read. It is completely up to date, lavishly illustrated, very well organized and written, and thoroughly engrossing from cover to cover.Note I said, "the Roman cult" of Mithras. While Clauss respects the giants leaps of scholarship and knowledge represented by Franz Cumont's books (over 100 years back, but still available in reprints), he rejects the idea that the Roman god Mithras is a direct carry-over from the Persian Mitra, and is careful to distinguish clearly between the two early in the book. Instead, Clauss develops the idea that Mithras was essentially a purely Roman invention, in fact originating in the city of Rome itself, and carried out to the provinces by soldiers and government clerks, officials, and the like. He makes a convincing argument, so far as this reader is concerned.While Clauss does mention the idea in passing, he is also not presenting Ulansey's 'star-map' argument over the meaning of the Mithras cult. Instead, Clauss' focus is centered on the general worship of an all-powerful Mithras, in league with/identified with/conjoined with Sol (the sun), with the myths of Mithras' birth, his attributes and function as the creator and sustainer of all life, his achievements and their symbolic significance. The major themes are systematically explained and so far as possible analyzed; the various personalities involved in the myths are discussed, and the general worship patterns covered.Clauss does most of this through a close examination of the mithraea discovered around the Roman world. There are dozens and dozens of photos illustrating and illuminating his discussion; further illustrations show details, or implements, or variations in iconography as occurred around the Roman Empire and over the approximately 350 years or so of active worship. Finally, Clauss covers the comparison of Mithras worship to Christianity, the degree to which the worshippers of Mithras also included the worship of various Roman and Greek gods, and how finally the Christians suppressed and extinguished the cult of Mithras. Photos of dozens of sculptures, reliefs, and votive-reliefs show how statues were decapitated, defaced, destroyed, and temples ruined.For those interested in a relatively short, but well well written book on the Roman aspects of Mithras worship, there is no better out there now.

This is an eye opener. It looks s impossible not to draw parallels between Mithras and religions of today. Makes one think! How much “modern” is really “pagan?” There is nothing new under the sun.

Great book full of info if you looking history and bible info to connect so dots