The Mithras Liturgy - Mystical Ascent in the Mystery Cult of Mithras

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

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[@garytucker8696]

Especially popular with Roman Cavalry.

[@danielwells5474]

@@garytucker8696 ll

[@vidak5653]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIGvaX5pfcyhq68

[@bellewood9521]

There is a Mithric temple foundation in London, under a bank. They've got it set up really nicely, mood lighting, some artefacts, some piped noises. It's free, but you do have to book, and I highly recommend it.

[@ytusersumone]

There are at least 5 Mithraeums found in the UK. There were probably more.

[@JingyJingJing]

I love the fact an old piece of London has re-emerged amongst one of the most built up city areas and they actually made the most of it

[@joewalker643]

Just got back from there today which led me here. It's well worth a visit if you find this interesting.

[@oldhollywoodbriar]

The implications of this, are much deeper than people realize.

[@bellewood9521]

@@oldhollywoodbriar how do you mean?

[@keencole]

Mithras/ism is missing from the history books. Thank you for covering it!

[@ninurtaacha8641]

Well not all. I actually found it through hymn in a history book.

[@alicev5496]

I'm not sure that's a fair assessment when even the Horrible Histories childrens books cover them

[@Trismegistus95]

Look up dr Jason reza Jorjani and his work on Mithraism. Great stuff, you won’t be disappointed!

[@cheryldeboissiere1851]

I have seen Ovid’s lovely description of Atys cutting off his genitalia in a religious frenzy, after breaking away from his priestly vows of chasity. This will later affect poor eunuchs, sliced up to be sex toys for men... tossed out on street, given sanctuary by Pre-Constantine I Christians namely Gnostics... ever since Bachos, the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized by the Apostle Philip... so very sad... Also, in other sources, have seen Atys born in manger, birth witnessed by shepherds. As well as variant text saying he was a prince about to be married. Kubileya (Anatolian variant on Cybele) is also referred to as Agdistis (a mountain goddess of Anatolia (Turkey)). Supposedly, a hermaphrodite with female breast and male penis. Lovely statue, btw. Dionysios supposedly got her drunk and removed male genitalia, which promptly shrivels up into an almond and the daughter of a river god, puts it on her navel and gets pregnant. I have also seen Atys born of a rock but I think annotator was mistaken. Atys is the manger child while Mithras is the born of a rock guy. Same person, different incarnation. (Agdistis was born of a rock in early era and is the Cybele of Çatalhöyük. She is no longer around in later eras)

[@KellyBergerDeusVult]

Great coverage! Ive been to the tiny Mithraeum along Hadrians Wall twice. Very enigmatic perspective, so much mystery to be yet uncovered.

[@bkjnr2]

Have to say that the way you present this is fantastic. It is a real joy to have such high level content available to a mere layman as my self. Really appreciate it a lot. Many thanks

[@clavicleofcernunnos]

@4:54 That Mithraeum at Ostia Antica is incredible. The statue presently inside is a copy of the original which is inside the onsite museum. Ostia Antica has a couple other partially extant Mithraea and ruined foundations of more, plus the whole archaeological site is a breathtaking experience and well worth a side trip if you're ever in Rome. The Mithraeum underneath San Clemente al Laterano is also an amazing experience.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah I went there a few years ago - it really is. Ostia really is great and just a tram trip from Rome - you can even hit the beach in one day!

[@clavicleofcernunnos]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I saw the spot where Pasolini was murdered! Had to hop a gate, and slashed my hand open on a barb, but it was worth it. There is a memorial sculpture (looks like an abstract bird flying past the sun or moon) and stones with his poetry carved on them. There is also a mural a block away or so that shows a group of men beating down someone with metal bars in front of a car with headlights on. I presume it's referencing the murder.

[@hikeoganessian9729]

. 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.

[@tyrellrivera]

@@hikeoganessian9729 I found this truly fascinating anf enlightening. Thank you!

[@belowthetamaracks]

The videos may be free, but they're are an awful lot of pricey books you'll want to buy ;)

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

True story and thanks to folks like you I can get some of these books (though anything over $50 that isn't pure reference I ILL) and present the info so others might not have to :)

[@oneeyeman6118]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I think that may make me want the books more, good sir.

[@markzevanove4667]

I was just reading about the Mithras Cult and about the Mirthas Liturgy in the Greek Magical Pypari ! How cohencidence funny how i feel connected to this channel like you can read my mind sometimes .

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

It's a numbers game. Anything the channel will deal with some section of our audience is likely reading given the interconnectedness of the material. Or I'm reading your mind :)

[@joshjacob1530]

Rabbi ur one of the first people who have said the same thing I’ve been thinking about Christianity being more of a sect of Judaism than a separate religion likewise with Islam.

[@tomcat1020]

Thanks!

[@dianabenobo]

Enthusiasm was very important to young fighting men who looked forward to and faced the dangers of combat. Mithras was born out of the living rock with a blade in one hand and a torch in the other, attributes that bespeak the architypical outdoorsman. Identifying with Mithras was therefore easy and desirable for men who dressed like him when out in the field and preparing for the terrible encounters of close combat. In life they hoped to be like Mithras a brave rational servant of Apollo, and as they imagined their death they wished to be laid to rest and to ermerge again in iconic form as a beautiful and powerful man with the ferocious head of a courageous wild beast, a winged Leontocephalos bound in the reptilian helix of immortal time with the keys to a noble and meaningful life in hand, destined for the service of protecting the imortal innocence and grace of of Mithras the friend of Apollo who fosters order near and far for all mankind in the universe where unruly bullish beastiality must be constrained, physically dominated or sacrificed, that life may hold forth in prosperity and abundance.

[@esoshia9552]

The Mystery of Mithras is a very interesting lost religion, looking forward to another episode of this topic in the future!

[@ChrisWizzerd]

Best way to spend my lunch!! Love your vids Dr.

[@robertdowney28]

I absolutly love and appreciate the work you and doing on this channel. Thank you and keep on!

[@BobbyCharlz]

Excellent opening, you definitely piqued my interest and captured my imagination; great video 👍!

[@paulksycki]

The depiction of cutting the throat of the bull and the number 7 seem to reference killing the 7 sisters which are the pleiades stars that are in the neck of taurus the bull.

[@vickis.9363]

Nice.

[@TheBookofBeasts]

Curious if this is something you have read about or intuited? If intuited it is a very interesting thought.

[@paulksycki]

@@TheBookofBeasts I have not seen this anywhere in my research. I came up with it on my own. Mithra is born from the philosopher's stone. Any non metal can have it's molecular dipoles align by high voltage static electricity shot from your caduceus. This dielectric alignment is the electric version of a permanent magnet called a "electret" and emerging in "polymer matrix materials". It is well known that the molecules can be aligned with a froze in tension that causes them to oscillate in the light frequencies. Think wave interference cancellation. The alchemical contradiction/error is the "Pythagorean comma" which has to do with the 7/12 harmony between the sun vs moon cycle, the leap year adjustment.

[@cs.b.3468]

When you visit a Mithraic temple it is obvious to see how important the 7 planets of Astrology were for them as they all had their little altars placed in a specific order. Killing the bull in my opinion is a reference to the new North Star. It is not too well known that the most famous star of Bull constellation is called Aldebran which used to be the Polaris thousand years before Roman times. One of the texts here in this video had a reference to the Bear constellation which is pointing to the "new Polaris". Further more right next to the Bull constellation you have Orion, the great hunter of the sky which (in my opinion) killed the bull and "now with the bear". The dogs which are attacking the bull on many Mithraic pictures/statues can therefore be Canis Minor or Major (or both) which are also right next Orion constellation.

[@paulksycki]

@@Yggdrasil1113 the mysteries are just that, but I'm sure it has something to do with the variations in energy based on astrological alignment. Your body is an electrical machine that runs on ionic energy. The big secret has to do with understand the details about this. The 7 sisters may even just be symbolic. They are symbolicly pictured as 6 sisters surrounding the weaker sister. They may be a symbol for hydro carbon AKA the benzine ring. Which is a key part in a lot of chemistry that has to do with brain receptors.

[@annjones9635]

With your background I bet you create some fearsome D&D characters 🤣

[@RandomPerson28337]

😂

[@SpiralBreeze]

Ok Dr. Sledge, hear me out. My grandmother used to say things about the “mavri yeest” which I believe is literally black dirt or earth in Greek. Also, she would get phylaktiries from the priest AND there are several plants growing on the island where my dad was born in Greece which he doesn’t know the name of but one of which stops bleeding. My modern Greek is terrible, couple that with the fact that it’s basically “hill Billy” Greek because they had no education. So I have absolutely no idea what my yiayia was actually doing or saying besides some folk magicy stuff that was apparently ok with the Orthodox Church.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

​@@engineeredtruths8935 That assumes that a religion is only what the church fathers say it is, which I do not believe at all, look at the immense chasm between what Catholics believe versus what the Pope believes, or even just priests versus cardinals.

[@pelagaki97]

Wow very interesting! Which greek island?

[@TheBackyardProfessor]

I enjoyed your analysis and discussion., Thank you for sharing your ideas.

[@Leiferuphugus]

3) the insertion of Homeric verses into the liturgy also resonates with me in terms of a syncretic system of magic in which one uses "whatever works" as needed without regard for mixing cultural sources. If it works, use it! Success is thy proof! 😊 If it gets you in touch with your HGA well enough for it to prescribe and/or proscribe certain practices then that is success, or at least part of the journey to success.

[@Tuber-sama]

That's real mysticism for ya. Not all this dogmatic bullshit, but an empirical and well developed system of works.

[@Warlanda]

thank you, Dr. Sledge; great work, as always

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Thank you kindly!

[@ChrisLively]

Greetings from Chattanooga, TN. Thank you for your time and for sharing your wisdom.

[@bettschwere]

so fascinating. i know you've done a few other videos on mystery cults, but would you ever cover the samothracian cult/cabeiri? i feel like it doesn't get nearly as much attention as the eleusinian and mithraic cults but i personally find it to be the most mysterious and interesting.

[@emilyhsmith]

Excellent, thank you!

[@Leiferuphugus]

Two things: 1) the section on "Mithras told me to do this differently" resonates well with the Thelemic approach to K&C of the HGA, insofar as it suggests potentially a real experience of the scribe 'conversing' with... something. The suggestion of modifying the liturgy also synchs up with the idea in Thelemic magic that the conversation experience is a gradual blossoming in which the HGA instructs the aspirant in the method of invocation proper to the individual aspirant. 2) I'm going to have to include this liturgy in a D&D game at some point to demonstrate the process of becoming a lich!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@fighttheevilrobots3417]

Can you imagine what a dream it would be to play D&D with Dr. Sledge? Amazing.....

[@mazyar_]

Very informative and enjoyable program on the fascinating Cult of Mithras, my one disagreement with Dr Sledge is his reluctance to reconcile that Christianity adopted and adapted Mithraism to develop and expand its own doctrines (the evidence is overwhelming). In my opinion (and belief) this fact in no way diminishes anything from Christianity and its message, the same way that Zoroastrianism's fundamental influence on Second Temple Judaism does not take away anything from Judaism. Adoption and influence from precedent religions has been a common historical feature of the ancient world regardless of the religion or its geographical location. Cheers

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

What evidence?

[@mazyar_]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Hello, the sources are simply too numerous to note them all here, but I have listed a few below for your delectation, with kind regards: "Roman Mithraism and Christianity"; Luther H. Martin, JSTOR (1989) "The Influence of Mithraism on Christianity"; Amir Akbari and Zohreh Akhondi, Journal of History Culture and Art Research (2017) "Sol Invictus, the Winter Solstice, and the Origins of Christmas" ; Steven Hijmans, Mouseion 3, (2003) "Mithras and Christ: Some Iconographical Similarities," in: John R. Hinnells, Mithraic Studies, vol. 2, Manchester University Press (1971) "The Mysteries of Mithras"; The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World"; Payam Nabarz (2005)

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

@@mazyar_ The Luther text relies on the idea that the Roman cult is based on a Persian religious continuity while has been disproven in recent years, the Christmas connection with sol invictus generally shows that many cults were vying for this, the Nabarz text isn't academically sound. Clauss makes a clear argument that for the Mithras cult to have directly influenced Christianity we would have to know about the ritual and mythology content of the cult - which we don't. Secondly, with the possible exception of the X-mas/Sol Invictus connection he contends convincingly there isn't a single verifiable connection. Typology similarity isn't history influence. Clauss' argument here is very solid and is he is generally taken the be the leading expert on the current state of studies on the Mithras cult. I see no evidence from current, reputable scholars for such a connection.

[@mazyar_]

@@TheEsotericaChannel The assertion that Christianity is influenced by The Cult of Mithras is nothing new. Christian apologists and polemicists have been defending themselves against it already back during Justin Martyr’s time and yet over 1800 years later the issue still persists; because of so many similarities between Mithraic and Christian beliefs and rituals, several early Christian apologists, including *Justin* *Martyr* (2nd century), *Tertullian* and *Origen* (3rd century) and *Firmicus* *Maternus* (4th century) adopted the strategy of accusing Mithraists of copying Christian beliefs! (Lease 1980: 1316), also see Justin Martyr's comment on the use of bread and water during Mithraic initiation ceremonies (Justin Martyr, Apology66.4; quoted in Roselaar 2014: 189). Of course Dr Sledge you are entitled to interpret the evidence in order to reject the idea that Christianity was not influenced by the The Cult of Mithras. However there are simply _too_ _many_ scholarly identified similarities in theology, liturgy, theurgy and Christ and Mithras’s personal biographies to warrant them purely circumstantial and independent. Final note: I have only gleaned and not yet fully read Manfred Clauss’s book on the topic, but one has to keep in mind that Dr Clauss is first and foremost a Catholic Theologian and a Believer (with a capital B) which goes back to my very first comment that some believe (or have a conscious or unconscious psychological bias) that if a religion takes ideas and practices from a previous religion, then it somehow diminishes the divinity of their faith, therefore one has to be very careful in drawing conclusions from such texts. In conclusion, the same way that early Christians _physically_ built their churches over the ruins of Mithraeums (i.e; Basilica di San Clemente, Santa Prisca Church, etc etc...), Christianity has also _metaphysically_ built parts of its theology from the Cult of Mithras. I leave judgment to the readers. Thank you for taking the time for the discussion and God bless.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

@@mazyar_ Right - the "assertion" is nothing new, but assertions aren't evidence - what is lacking here is solid evidence from the cult of Mithras itself. The testimonies of the early Christians is notoriously unreliable and there is little evidence that they had much access into the inner working of the cult and were happy to invent all manner of things to suit their polemical purposes. Christians built their churches atop basically all religious structures they 'defeated' from Aztec temples to Norse sites. That doesn't indicate influence. My argument is not that Christianity wasn't influenced by Mithraism - it may very well have been - my argument that is that we have basically no evidence for the inner workings of the cult, it's mythology or ritual. Without having that evidence - which 19th 'scholars' were happy to invent and contemporary people are happy to repeat without checking their sources [looking at you, Bill Maher] - we just can't point to influence. What contemporary, scholarly sources provide evidence for the inner workings of the cult either ritually or mythologically beyond very broad speculation? Without that concrete data the question of influence is just speculation.

[@republiccooper]

Thanks. I love your work. Hopefully one day I'll have enough money to support on Patreon. You're doing a great job!

[@czarina7786]

My first visit with Mithras was by serendipitously finding the Mithraeum in London last April. The guide said there were various bull related activities with this cult. Maybe? Maybe not? But none remain. That said I wondered if Bullfighting and The Running if the Bulls are leftovers of this cult ? My 1700’s and 1800’’s family in Deep South East Poland had the area bulls to mate with area farm cows. Our crest has a bull on it.

[@jackielone1035]

Adoption of Christianity in Roman Empire was partially an ideological move to remove the Indo-Persian influences like Mithraism and Manichaeism from the Roman Empire. How can this be a coincidence that a Roman, Persian and Indian deity is called the same name. The modern “scholars” like to keep west and east as far away from each other as possible for current political reasons.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

No scholars deny that Mithras was originally a Persian God. They simply say that we have little to no evidence of actual Persian religious ritual or mythology in the Mithras cult.

[@hikeoganessian9729]

/ 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.

[@Cashitoutside]

Is MITHRIL a gift from Mithras?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Asking the real questions

[@johndoss7953]

Thanks Dr Sledge for another great presentation. I recently wrote a paper in which I studied the Mithras liturgy, and I was curious when you said that the current scholarly consensus leans toward viewing the Mithras liturgy as an authentic document of the Mithras cult. My main source for my paper was Betz’s commentary, and he states rather matter-of-factly that he and several other scholars, do not consider the Mithras liturgy to be part to be on authentic Mithraist document, but to be part of the Egyptian magicians private collection. It is common in the great magical papyri to con and co-opt all kinds of deities and beliefs of other religions, but this does not mean that the author was a member of these cults, let alone that the writing was an official document widespread throughout these cults. So I’m wondering how you came to the conclusion that the current scholarly consensus leans towards viewing the Mithras liturgy as an authentic document of the Mithras cult?

[@XfiverX]

I've wondered for a while if the lion-headed figure wrapped in snakes was one of the inspirations for the figure of Yaldabaoth. Many of the Gnostic texts were fiercely and bitterly anti-Roman in imagery and metaphor.

[@cheryldeboissiere1851]

He is definitely the inspiration for Yaldabaoth but you need to reach lion-head Mithran god, Father God Zurvan. Go to India for hero incarnation very much unrelated. Go to England for tiny German Paleolithic god, possibly a hero god like in India... Again, yes, Zurvan is Yaldabaoth in Gnosticism and his symbol represents Evil...

[@JackMyersPhotography]

Dr. Sledge, have there been any recent, pertinent findings or updates to the knowledge about Mithras?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Not to my knowledge

[@BigSnipp]

The last few weeks, I've been watching many of Dr. Justin's videos. I want to say that they are some of the most informative, thought provoking discussions on the internet. I'm a new subscriber. Does the good Dr. do talks or seminars? I would love for him to visit Pittsburgh. You are welcome as a guest to our city, sir.

[@sampagano205]

Never heard of the theraputae before. Super tantalizing group with so little known about them. I hope that they were a weird little theravada budhist grouo that somehow took route in egypt. It instantly gave me a new crusader kings 3 playthrough idea.

[@celestebredin6213]

Great talk on Mithraism . At art school back in the Stone Age we studied Mithraism. So often churches were built ont top . Stations of the cross and stations on Mithraidic jurney . Important to soldiers Miles the soldier Hierionymous Bosh paintsXST mocked by the STaSR SIGNS AS mithradic Symbols . Eg Scorpio lays hands on xsts genitals MARS IS THERE

[@525Lines]

The cult was popular in the roman army. It could explain the locations of the mythras sites.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yep, that's certainly one big factor.

[@Di5TuRBeD]

Please more on the topic of forgotten/secret cults & religions, such as this and Rites of Eleusis. Anything covered by Manly P Hall "Secrets of all Ages" to be honest :>

[@øðæñæł.æþęñąþęñ]

I'm visiting Mithras first altar next to the tree that was recently vandalised 😭at sycamore gap this side of the wall for sunrise tomorrow, perhaps where humpty fell from the wall, It's my local tradition one of the goham and the Pictish the Celtic goad the ones akin of 88 same as ogoad and Aten 8 akhen ăþæñæþħęñ birds, the crows or magpies of 4 and 20 baked in a wooden tar painted church, the grand owl jule of ye ark, eiyo eiyo eyio

[@mrh4742]

How can one pronounce the uncommon magical sounds? Any guide to study that? For example, how exactly the mentioned hissing sound is?

[@roadwolf8026]

Check into Payam Nabarz

[@roadwolf8026]

Check into Payam Nabarz

[@EveritteBarbee]

Mithraism is alive and well across India and south Asia, Mithra is known as Mitra in Sanskrit, a solar justice deity in the Rig Veda.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Roman Mithraism had nothing in common with indic religion as I point out in the episode

[@EveritteBarbee]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Wow, I feel like I invoked the wrath of God! Dr. Sledge, I love your channel, you're easily the most stimulating channel on the tube today! And of course, I watched it a couple times again now, I hear you say they're unrelated, or 'scholars agree they cult rituals are unrelated to the Vedic/Zoroastrian traditions' but I don't see why, except for a general Christian aversion in western scholarship to pagan syncretism? I mean obviously there are linguistic/cultural differences in the eastern and western cults, but the symbolism seems virtually identical. The astrological symbolism of the scorpion chomping on the bull's nuts, for instance. Additionally, verses of the Bhagavad-Gita are often recited in post-Vedic rituals. I mention this since the Gita is chapter of the Mahabharata, who's paralells with the Homeric hymn are frequently cited by scholars. Vedic Mitra is also a deity of companionship and treaties, so it follows that a meal should be shared among initiates. I know I'm grasping at straws here, but you say we don't really know anything about the Mithraic cult, so who's to say they didn't think they were communing with the same angel/deity, given all of the parallels ?

[@noahsiegel339]

Do you think there is any connection between phylacteries used in this ritual and tefillin?

[@jojones4685]

Thanks, I might have to try this. I wonder what I can substitute

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Good question!

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

I still wonder what the celestial cross was ,Constantine supposed to have seen. That event changed religious history as we know it. A trick of the light, thunder,? ..UFO ;)

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Who knows - Sundog maybe? hella good propaganda though.

[@crazycookfyrelomenot]

@@TheEsotericaChannel UAP interference?

[@vickis.9363]

Sundog makes a lot of sense...

[@cheryldeboissiere7824]

Agree with daughters could be male acolytes. Nymphus (Bridegrooms) in the ranking orders of Mithras are males dressed up as women while Corvex, the lowest order does imitations of crows, and the Leos make roaring sounds of lions. I read a Roman reference to this where a Roman was making fun of Mithran rites. So drag queen is pretty much a part of Mithran ritual behavior.

[@cheryldeboissiere1851]

Excuse me, sir, but I have seen three names on Mithraneum overhead arch: Helios (Pre-Hellenic Sun God), Apollos (Hellenic Sun God, Romanized by last letter),and Mithras (Romanized Sun God). According to one myth, Mithras claims to have been a calf in a former life. Atys, shepherd/priest/recently wedded prince, he wears a sun crown at Ostia. So yet another incarnation of Mithras, as our the names on the arch. As for lion-headed 🦁 man, with coiled snake around body, representing time or change, I believe that is the Father God Zurvan. Also the third or fourth Avatar of Vishnu, Narashima (spelling error?) Also the artifact found in Germany dating to Paleolithic Age of about 40,000 years ago (dating error). Could be wrong on date but the only male figure, rather small, one sees in Paleolithic times. I think it is at one of London’s museums. Sorry to be a bother but Lion-head is interesting across the three cultural spectrum: Cave, Hindu, Mithra (Mitra in Rig Veda). Sorry to be a bother.

[@mediawolf1]

Check out Ulansey’s work on the Mithraic Mysteries.

[@jamesharoldbardwell2182]

DR Justin Sledge, thank you for the amazing work you do, if in some way in the future I'll be able to make a donation i will ❤️. A quick question.. Did you make a follow up to this particular episode.?

[@bardmadsen6956]

That was interesting, at 16:20 it sounds like describing a super bolide. From my research it is all about the Taurid Stream and it destruction of the Earth 12,900 years ago, and other ages. The big one that separated the Pleistocene from the Holocene would have happened during the pre-perihelion at season of spring which in many cultures is the dreaded days of New Years when we expected to be struck again and after crossing the stream unscathed it was a great jubilation. This inner solar system conflict can also be seen in Enclosure D of Gobekli Tepe with a bull on the chest of the adversary and a dragon clutched in the arm of the hero standing on the seven birds of the Pleiades wherein the debris from the progenitor comet seem to radiate from. It is all about the cyclic nature of this planet where the cataclysms blot out the lights of heaven, the sky clears and the New Age Sun rises, and re-generation occurs. Follow the avatar icon. It has to do with some idea of sympathetic magic of sacrificing the Taurus Constellation and underground darkness just alike the Serapeum of Saqqara.

[@ramkitty]

What were the oddly placed numbers that were not in parenthesis referencing

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

These are probably the line numbers in the original Greek Text.

[@maxwellschmidt235]

I've previously understood this to be largely a military cult. It makes me wonder what future scholars would say if they found decontextualized US Navy rituals to Neptune such as Shellbacking. Mithraic worship seems a bit more involved and developed, but I'm skeptical that a military cult is about true belief as much as about ritualized camaraderie- Roman officers needed social connection beyond discussing work, afterall. There was probably some true belief as well, but I often wonder if we're taking the ancients too seriously in this one.

[@lonapopoki1181]

Thank you Your intro stands strong by itself ! !

[@AlexusMagnum]

I never knew there was a Mithraic branch in my country! It's time to explore!🤠

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah, if you live in Western Europe you are probably only a couple hours drive to one.

[@AlexusMagnum]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I'm from Lebanon!

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

@@AlexusMagnum Nice! You guys have the amazing one at Sidon!

[@AlexusMagnum]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Yes! I didn't know that! Thank you so much Dr. I love your work!!

[@GiorgiBarnabishvili-f7b]

It was so impressive, can you share the Greek text of liturgy?

[@MsBizzyGurl]

Christianity is successful due to the sacrificial grounding of compassion via the Christed being. As a direct response to the demiurge, Yaldabaoth, Christ's message of ascension, love and peace resonates with humanity.

[@RandOm-xc4qi]

Thanks for this fantastic video, Dr. Sledge. What do you think of Porphyry's writings on Mithraism? Do you think they may share some truth? I think some people often overlook his writings on Mithraism due to his Neo-Platonism and not being a member of the cult itself, but scholars like Roger Beck have done some important analysis of his texts (which is great - particularly where the alleged use of mithraea are concerned).

[@DanKaraJordan]

Can you do an episode on the Roman Isis cult and what we know about it? I recently read the Golden Ass of Apuleius, and now I feel like I need a better grounding in her mystery cult.

[@syndexi]

I once came across a reference to some lost work on Mithras, but I don't remember where, and now I can't find anything like it anywhere; anyone knows what this could be...?

[@NAETEMUSIC]

Dr. Sledge!! Please tell me they'll be videos on further mystery cults such a Dionysus, orpheus, or Elusinian rites??

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Hi friend! Absolutely - working on an episode for the Chaldean Oracles soon. Will get around to the to the mystery cults as well! Thanks so much for your support of the channel!

[@NAETEMUSIC]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Wonderful! can't wait and thank you again for all you do!

[@grlpeterson]

The very likely reason that christianity survived besides Roman takeover of the religion and state control, is that it proves to be so simple. You don't really have to remember much other than Jesus is the son of God in order to have your basis. In order to be called "good" by the church, this is all you really needed to know. Yeah, it's nice to know the rituals and all but if you don't and can simply recite that basis, there will always be someone nearby to help you with the rest. And c'mon, who doesn't like simple? It's too bad that collectively, it's been a simple method of control.

[@coachdok3368]

Check out the Avesta... we had in old persia the mithra religion before we had zarathustra

[@ToMegaTherion616]

Could this possibly be a funerary ritual?

[@mediocrates3416]

I found one in the basement of the Rutherford Library at the U of Alberta back in '87(?): i got an image of eclipse but, there's no reasoning behind it.

[@allenkinahan6955]

That ointment probably contained DMT. Those levels are just old timey descriptions of the six stages of DMT intoxication. Including the hisses and pops during transitional stages. My guess.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Evidence?

[@allenkinahan6955]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I've been a bit fascinated by the soma/divine drinks used in these ceremonies for decades. The effects of simpler extracts of fairly basic hallucinogens seem to be presented or illustrated in the texts and sometimes even wall paintings. This description goes hand in hand with dmt.

[@kiminem4087]

Is there someone with who I can have discussion about Mithras & Mithraism?

[@L7lighthouse]

I suspect that all of the mystery religions mentioned bear witness to the remnant practices of shamanism (and we all know what that means), and hence their strict secrecy.

[@TranscendentBird]

I was imagining a scifi novel a while ago where the Mithraic religion became the dominant one and fast forward to the 21st century, what would culture look like if these are the themes that endured. I always wonder why Christianity was the one that took hold.

[@clavicleofcernunnos]

My guess would be because Mithraism was an exclusive initiatory religion open only to males, whereas Christianity was open to anyone professing belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the son of God, and God himself. I think Mithraism's wide range can be explained by it's popularity among Roman soldiers who were stationed all over the breadth of the empire. But rather than a relgion distinct from Roman polytheism, I think it was closer to something like Freemasonry - initiatory with secret rights hidden from outsiders, but not underground or illegal, nor incompatible with the mainstream religion. Just like the Eleusinian mysteries were an initiatory cult, but still central to Greek polytheism, Roman Mithras (not to be confused with his Iranian namesake) seems to be situated directly in a Greco-Roman cosmos, considering all the astrological symbolism, and the fact that wealthy Romans had Mithraeums constructed in their homes or attached to bathhouses. Quite the opposite of early Christians who had to worship in complete secret to avoid persecution.

[@WereScrib]

@@luciferfernandez7094 This. I think the explanation for Christianity's spread has so much to do with its adoption by even those suppressed via it. You see it among indigenous communities and former slaves which more often then not leave Christian control more vehemently Christian than their former masters and dominators. It's aggressively redemptive and can be reduced to a very lacking in dogma faith, and frankly, is spectacularly vague. I actually think its vagueness is its real power. Most religions have clearly textual and determined tenets, Christianity can be textually reduced, without really any stretching of the mind or excuses to the 'Love God with all your...' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself' and the dismissal of most other things as 'Other methods.' Even in a single denomination, it's awfully hard to find two Christians that completely agree with each other on even basic concepts, and belief systems between denominations can be dramatically different. From those who consider charismatic displays absolutely heretical, to those who think it is the basis of Christianity, to Mormons who have an absolutely masculine godhead--and another few books and a frankly bizarre translation--to even the odd Christian Yazidis, the large amount of Vodun practitioners in Africa who consider themselves strongly Catholic, Korean Catholic Shamanism, or even in the more mainstream in just east-coast US Protestantism, the difference between No-Hellers and Calvinists.

[@joelcox504]

What about the magi or zoroastrians? The guys who visited his birth?

[@georgem7502]

Interesting that there's nothing in the New Testament about this (i.e. Mithraism)... if it was as popular as all that, wouldn't the earliest Xian writers have written against it? Or, maybe they did, in a veiled way? (if so, where...?)

[@rayramos8435]

most of the canonical works were written long after the 1st century and Mithras was probably lumped in with general paganism. Early Christian writers were probably more threatened by "heretical" Christian sects like Arianism,Manichean and Gnosticism.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

The early church fathers have a lot to say about the cult. The NT is still dealing with other problems.

[@hikeoganessian9729]

, 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.

[@justin9054-j8e]

If you track the sun's movement in the sky over the year, you find it reaches its most Southern position where for 3 days it remains at the same southern point on the horizon which is over the southern cross. The sun is then resurrected and starts its journey north bringing spring and summer to the northern hemisphere. Mithras being the sun deity or the actual sun. This observation is strikingly similar to the resurrection of Jesus. . That's why Christianity is compared with Mithras. The life and teachings of Jesus in a Jewish setting are far different from the Roman version of Christianity It seems to me. So early Jewish Christians indeed would not chime with Mithras but when Rome took on a religion to unite the empire it combined two stories that would satisfy a large proportion of the population.

[@No-Salvation]

If you actually look a little further every ancient ancient religion that talks about deities repertaining to the solar light mints and planetary en lightments will always feature the same Virgin birth and convert and the Southern position with the 3 days and the sun remaining still every religion talks about it what the same different names same story different names essentially the religion of methods no different because it has to deal with solar gods.

[@TheBookofBeasts]

Will you be doing a video on how this affected the Christian mythology? It seems like this practice has a lot of ideas that showed up in Christianity. I have read about this from other sources, curious to see if your opinion is similar.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

A previous generation of scholarship held that Mithraism heavily inspired early Christianity while more current scholarship thinks the link is more tenuous. I tend to agree with current scholarship.

[@TheBookofBeasts]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I hope you have time one day to do a video about what myths did influence it the most. I greatly appreciate your work and willingness to be online. Thank you so much! 🙏

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

@@TheBookofBeasts Yep! I'll be doing an episode at some point this summer on Jesus as Magus which will also focus on other Galilean messianic/miracle workers in the time of JC. Thanks for the kind words and thoughtful comments!

[@TheBookofBeasts]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I can’t wait to watch that one.

[@samkhashabi703]

thanks

[@cheryldeboissiere7824]

There have been complaints from Indian Zoroastrian that Mithra would never kill a bull or cow. They state many similarities but this one is glaring difference to them. There is, however, a Greek mythic-historic figure who did kill a bull. Theseus, on his return to Athens, sacrificed the white bull of Crete on an altar. It is very hard nowadays to find this bull sacrifice. It is, however, easy to find Minos’s crime/violation against Poseidon. Many mentions of Minos not sacrificing the white bull. Many mentions of one of his daughter being Poseidon’s strike back on Minos. Supposedly, she climbed inside a wood or metal cow and had sex with a bull. So Minos wound up with the Minotaur as his grandson. It is virtually impossible to find Theseus doing the altar sacrifice today but it showed up in fiction retellings all the time. The White Bull, Saberhagen’s comical take on Greek mythology has a dim-witted cutesy boy Theseus kill the White Bull, who is actually an alien from another planet, for putting him in the labyrinth. So this is general knowledge at one time. Theseus killed the White Bull. It is very clear that Greco-Romanized Mithrans merged and combined religious mythos and beliefs and that it is an odds and ends religion. They did have a Last Supper between Mithras and Ahura Mazda but the 12 attendees are not the Apostles of Jesus. In older mithraeums, they are clearly the 12 signs of the zodiac. Changing them from crabs and lions, etc. into 12 people is definitely playing games.

[@EveritteBarbee]

The ignorant complained. Mitra slays a demonic bull in the Rig Veda, and in any case the deities frequently engaged in actions which are forbidden for mortals

[@NGC-catseye]

I think you just described Aldebaran 🌟

[@vickis.9363]

I've been entertaining the relationship between Mithras and Aldebaran. Do you have any further information?

[@theorphicpariah5669]

@@vickis.9363 eye of the bull

[@barnabuskorrum4004]

This is sooo fascinating. I wonder what made it die out.

[@vickis.9363]

I don't think it ever died out. It just went further underground.

[@MichaelSheahan-d3x]

Anything stating "3 days later"; to me implies winter solstice... No?

[@ultrasignificantfootnote3378]

I wonder if the word "Mitre " came from Mithras the statues do have a sort of pointed hat.

[@vickis.9363]

Yes, Dr. Jason Reza Jorjani explains that the mitre comes from the Phrygian cap. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHq0YZyVZsqigJo

[@johncollins211]

I believe the word mitre is much older as far as we know. I'm not certain but I don't think the mithraic cults predate the Mesopotamian civilizations of Asia minor. I think it came about after the Persians conquered all the Sumerian type civilizations. Mithra is included in Zoroastrianism but I don't think he's the most important figure in that religion. But clearly this cult was massive as temples have been found in almost every modern European countries as well as all Asia minor and further east. So this was not some localized religion. Clearly this cult captivated many learned and successful maybe even royal people. Only people with money could afford to move around the world setting up this cult in new locations. And they weren't just worshipping in caves and basements. There's mithraic temple complexes all over Europe north Africa and Asia minor. The cult must have had money to build all these worship centers. The temples are not simple constructions but are master works of artistry with beautiful mosaics. Yeah this cult was influential to say the least. And may have been the most influential cult or religion since the time of the great Egyptian cults that captivated all the civilizations around it.

[@raylynch5098]

❤IT

[@CourtesyPhone]

Many of those sects you mentioned were initatiory or mystery schools. Christianity was for the philosopher and the common peasant, for everyone.

[@xcopex]

Doesn't Mithras and the Persian God have roots in the Vedic Gods?

[@johncollins211]

Is the name mithras connected to the word "myth"

[@orsino88]

I love the sense of religious ferment across the Roman Empire in the first two centuries of the common era-Jesus and Mithras and Isis and Serapis are just the tip of the iceberg. I think the Mithras cult’s failure to thrive in contrast to the Jesus cult is not so hard to explain. In fairly short order-with the exception of some Gnostic outliers-Jesus’ followers were eager to have their faith be seen as open, accessible, available-it was something, as non-Christians contemptuously observed, that women and enslaved people and the poor, and, thanks to Paul, “foreigners” could embrace. Mithras, otoh, was explicitly secretive about its rites. It may also have been fatal that women had such a small or even nonexistent role to play; even in patriarchal faiths, women often have immense roles as ritual experts, leaders in home-based rituals, carriers of memory, and so on. What puzzles ME is-why Jesus and not Isis? Isis was very popular; she was everyone’s favorite mother. Why not her?

[@celestebredin6213]

Saw one in Rome. Ran by monks in white. Will go back and research

[@Sageman101]

I can't see how Christian propagation is ironic. Most religions don't press the idea of evangelism very hard. You have the Zorastrians who are withing because they allow no outsider to join their faith officially. Or Hinduism that to my knowledge has not spread far beyond the Indras borders. It seems quite natural for a faith so emphatic on religion equaling a spiritual life or death scenario to press the world as hard as it did to follow with them.

[@FriendlyEsotericDude]

I was just reading this text in Julius Evola's introduction to magic text lol.

[@oneeyeman6118]

Good book!

[@clavicleofcernunnos]

Curious what Dr. Sledge thinks of Evola the notorious antisemitic conspiracy theorist, friend of Heinrich Himmler who infamously claimed that even if the Protocols was a forgery, it was true in spirit - no point arguing with that circular logic.

[@FriendlyEsotericDude]

@@clavicleofcernunnos I think in one of his live streams he addressed Evola and Nazi Occultism in general. He said something like he "finds those things terrifying" but also that "they must be engaged with". He said he would like to do an episode on Nazi Occultism in future.

[@davidus9702]

@@clavicleofcernunnos antisemitism exists for a reason. I am not saying that what happened was justified, but it didn't happen because of a sheer whim and like Adam said, these things need to be engaged to uncover the real truth and the way in which we can all prosperously advance forward in the future.

[@michaelbolland9212]

Is Mithras tuisto?

[@somniumisdreaming]

I live within walking distance of a Mithraic ruin, it's my pic.

[@isacvlad]

🙏

[@Christian_Maoist.]

Although I'm a Christian, I find things like secret Pagan cults and anything esoteric or mystical fascinating.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Walter Benjamin meets Mithraism meets Justin Sledge. We’re in for a good time 😉

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

When Benjamin shows up you knows it's about to get weird - like 19th century flaneur hipsters walking their turtles through Paris weird....or Mithraism in this case.

[@SeekersofUnity]

@@TheEsotericaChannel 😂

[@hikeoganessian9729]

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.

[@danielrazulay]

Given Mithras is often pictured with a coiling snake around or near him, I'd wager Mithras is an incarnation of Thoth/Hermes, adapted to the Roman pantheon.

[@CourtesyPhone]

That would be mercury..

[@simianshakenspere7334]

Wadingtons

[@zelenisok]

diviziv or d'vaysiv? hm..

[@goblinsdammit]

66.6 subscribers. Epic.

[@celestebredin6213]

Excuse terrible typing . Multi tasking

[@celestebredin6213]

Our Professor tied it to bullfighting !?

[@Gary-t8c]

Lion,father,pater.

[@vallll6658]

Of COURSE the ointments had psychoactive powers. Of course they did.

[@jcs200000]

Raised by Wolves fills in the blanks