New Mithras website

[Jona Lendering]

Roger Pearse (http://www.tertullian.org/) has opened a new web site, devoted to the ancient cult of Mithras. You will find it here. The most useful page is this one, in which Roger refutes several theories about Christian borrowings from Mithraism, which are too often repeated by people with an anti-Christian agenda.

What I particularly like about Roger's pages, is this. In western society, about one third of the population has a higher education. When ancient history is explained to a larger audience, this group is usually ignored, which makes these people increasingly sceptical and willing to believe quack historical theories. Roger addresses exactly this group. We need to have a lot more websites like these.

[Epictetus]

The 25th of December
It is often stated that Mithras was thought to have been born on December 25. But Beck states that this is not the case. In fact he calls this assertion 'that hoariest of "facts"'. He continues: "In truth, the only evidence for it is the celebration of the birthday of Invictus on that date in the Calendar of Philocalus. 'Invictus' is of course Sol Invictus, Aurelian's sun god. It does not follow that a different, earlier, and unofficial sun god, Sol Invictus Mithras, was necessarily or even probably, born on that day too."9

Unusually amongst Roman mystery cults, the mysteries of Mithras had no 'public' face; worship of Mithras was confined to initiates, and they could only undertake such worship in the secrecy of the Mithraeum 10 Clauss states; "the Mithraic Mysteries had no public ceremonies of its own. The festival of ''natalis Invicti'' [Birth of the Unconquerable (Sun)], held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras."11

Steven Hijmans has discussed in detail the question of whether the general "natalis Invicti" festival was related to Christmas but does not give Mithras as a possible source.12

Good stuff. This 25 December idea as Mithra's birthday seems to have entered the public consciousness, like Scipio sowing Carthage with salt.

[D B Campbell]

Roger Pearse (http://www.tertullian.org/) has opened a new web site, devoted to the ancient cult of Mithras.

Tremendously good timing: Radio 4 In Our Time (27/12/12).

I see Roger links to the Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies, a site that I have often found rather useful.