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Mithraism  Actions
Persian religion
Written by Reinhold Merkelbach
Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Article History

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Mithraism, the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of

the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian
Iran. Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during
the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, this deity was honoured
as the patron of loyalty to the emperor. After the
acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine
in the early 4th century, Mithraism rapidly declined.

Mithraism

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Key People: Franz Cumont

Related Topics: ancient Iranian religion • corax • nymphus •

leo • heliodromus

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History
Before ancient religious reformer Zarathustra (Greek
name Zoroaster) gained influence in the region during
the 6th century BCE, the Iranians had a polytheistic
religion, and Mithra was the most important of their
gods. First of all, he was the god of contract and mutual
obligation. In a cuneiform tablet of the 15th century BCE
that contains a treaty between the Hittites and the
Mitanni, Mithra is invoked as the god of oath.
Furthermore, in some Indian Vedic texts the god Mitra
(the Indian form of Mithra) appears both as “friend”
and as “contract.” The word mitra may be translated in
either way, because contracts and mutual obligation
make friends. In short, Mithra may signify any kind of
interpersonal communication and whatever establishes
good relations between people. Mithra was called the
Mediator. Mithra was also the god of the sun, of the
shining light that beholds everything, and, hence, was
invoked in oaths. The Greeks and Romans considered
Mithra as a sun god. He was probably also the god of
kings. He was the god of mutual obligation between the
king and his warriors and, hence, the god of war. He
was also the god of justice, which was guaranteed by the
king. Whenever people observed justice and contract,
they venerated Mithra.

The most important Mithraic ceremony was the

sacrifice of the bull. Opinion is divided as to whether
this ceremony was pre-Zoroastrian or not. Zarathustra
denounced the sacrifice of the bull, so it seems likely
that the ceremony was a part of the old Iranian
paganism. This inference is corroborated by an Indian
text in which Mitra reluctantly participates in the
sacrifice of a god named Soma, who often appears in
the shape of a white bull or of the moon. On the Roman
monuments, Mithra reluctantly sacrifices the white
bull, who is then transformed into the moon. This
detailed parallel seems to prove that the sacrifice must
have been pre-Zoroastrian. Contract and sacrifice are
connected, since treaties in ancient times were
sanctioned by a common meal.

Beginning with Darius the Great (522–486 BCE), the

Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty were
Zoroastrians. But Darius and his successors did not
intend to create political difficulties by attempting to
eradicate the old beliefs still dear to the heart of many
nobles. Thus, the religion of Zarathustra was gradually
contaminated with elements of the old, polytheistic
worship. Hymns (the Yashts) were composed in honour
of the old gods. There is a Yasht dedicated to Mithra, in
which the god is depicted as the all-observing god of
heavenly light, the guardian of oaths, the protector of
the righteous in this world and the next, and, above all,
as the archfoe of the powers of evil and darkness—
hence, the god of battles and victory.

In the mixed religion of the later Achaemenid period,

however, the Zoroastrian aspects clearly dominate the
heathen aspects. The sacrifice of the bull, abhorred by
every Zoroastrian, is never mentioned. When Alexander
the Great conquered the Persian empire about 330 BCE,
the old structure of society appears to have broken
down completely, and about the worship of Mithra in
Persia no more is heard.

Local aristocrats in the western part of the former

Persian empire retained their devotion to Mithra. The
kings and nobles of the border region between the
Greco-Roman and the Iranian world still worshipped
him. When Tiridates of Armenia acknowledged the
Roman emperor Nero as his supreme lord, he
performed a Mithraic ceremony, indicating that the god
of contract and of friendship established good relations
between the Armenians and the mighty Romans. The
kings of Commagene (southeast of Turkey) venerated
Mithra. Mithradates VI of Pontus may have been a
worshipper of the god, and his allies, the Cilician
pirates, are known to have performed Mithraic
ceremonies (67 BCE). The worship of Mithra, however,
never became popular in the Greek world, because the
Greeks never forgot that Mithra had been the god of
their enemies the Persians.

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There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman

world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from
the year 136 CE onward, there are hundreds of
dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra. This renewal of
interest is not easily explained. The most plausible
hypothesis seems to be that Roman Mithraism was
practically a new creation, wrought by a religious genius
who may have lived as late as c. 100 CE and who gave
the old traditional Persian ceremonies a new Platonic
interpretation that enabled Mithraism to become
acceptable to the Roman world.

Roman Mithraism, like Iranian Mithraism, was a

religion of loyalty toward the king. It seems to have
been encouraged by the emperors, especially
Commodus (180–192), Septimius Severus (193–211),
and Caracalla (211–217). Most adherents of Mithra
known to us from inscriptions are soldiers of both low
and high rank, officials in the service of the emperor,
imperial slaves, and freedmen (who quite often were
very influential people)—persons who probably knew
which god would lead them to quick promotion.

Mithraic sanctuaries and dedications to Mithra are

numerous at Rome and Ostia, along the military
frontier, in Britain, and on the Rhine, the Danube, and
the Euphrates. Few dedications are found in peaceful
provinces; when they do occur, the dedicator is usually
a provincial governor or an imperial official. Within a
few generations, the Roman world had completely
assimilated the Persian god. When Diocletian
attempted a renewal of the Roman state and religion, he
did not forget Mithra. In 307 CE, in a dedication from
Carnuntum (at the Danube, near Vienna), Diocletian
and his colleagues dedicated an altar to Mithra as the
patron of their empire (fautori imperii sui).

But in 312 Constantine won the battle at the Milvian

Bridge under the sign of the cross. Instantaneously, the
dedications to Mithra ceased, even though there was no
immediate public interdiction of Mithraic ceremonies.
The worship seems to have collapsed quite suddenly
when imperial favour ceased to be with the Mithraists.
Dedications to Mithra appear again between about 357
and 387, but only at Rome. The dedicators all come
from the old pagan aristocracy of the city of Rome,
which in this period was in open opposition to the new
Christian emperor at Constantinople. In these
inscriptions, however, Mithra is only one of many
traditional pagan gods. The Mithraic mysteries had
gradually faded long before. And when the Roman
opposition was defeated, pagan worship was
suppressed altogether.

Mythology and theology

The creation of the world is the central episode of
Mithraic mythology. According to the myths, the sun
god sent his messenger, the raven, to Mithra and
ordered him to sacrifice the bull. Mithra executed the
order reluctantly; in many reliefs he is seen turning
aside his face in sorrow. But at the very moment of the
death of the bull, a great miracle happened. The white
bull was metamorphosed into the moon; the cloak of
Mithra was transformed into the vault of the sky, with
the shining planets and fixed stars; from the tail of the
bull and from his blood sprang the first ears of grain
and the grape; and from the genitals of the animal ran
the holy seed which was received by a mixing bowl.
Every creature on earth was shaped with an admixture
of the holy seed. One Mithraic hymn begins: “Thou hast
redeemed us too by shedding the eternal blood.” The
plants and the trees were created. Day and night began
to alternate, the moon started her monthly cycle, the
seasons took up their round dance through the year,
and thus time was created. But, awakened by the
sudden light, the creatures of the dark emerged from
earth. A serpent licked the bull’s blood. A scorpion tried
to suck the holy seed from the genitals. On the reliefs a
lion often is also seen. With the bull’s death and the
creation of the world, the struggle between good and
evil began: thus is the condition of human life. The
raven symbolizes air, the lion fire, the serpent earth,
and the mixing bowl water. So the four elements (air,
fire, earth, and water) came into being, and from them
all things were created. After the sacrifice, Mithra and
the sun god banqueted together, ate meat and bread,
and drank wine. Then Mithra mounted the chariot of
the sun god and drove with him across the ocean,
through the air to the end of the world.

The myth was interpreted by the Roman Mithraists in

terms of Platonic philosophy. The sacrifice took place in
a cave, an image of the world, as in the simile of the
cave in Plato’s Republic. Mithra himself was equated
with the demiurge, or creator, of the Timaeus: he was
called “demiurge and father of all things,” like the
Platonic demiurge. The four elements, the mixing bowl,
the creation of time, and the attack of the wicked
animals upon the newborn creature are well-known
features of the Timaeus. The Mithraic doctrine of the
soul is intimately linked with the myth of creation and
with Platonic philosophy. As in the Timaeus, the
human soul came down from heaven. It crossed the
seven spheres of the planets, taking on their vices (e.g.,
those of Mars and of Venus), and was finally caught
within the body. The task of human life is to liberate
one’s divine part (the soul) from the shackles of the
body and to reascend through the seven spheres to the
eternal, unchanging realm of the fixed stars. This ascent
to the sky was prefigured by Mithra himself, when he
left the earth in the chariot of the sun god.

Worship, practices, and institutions

The Mithraic sanctuaries were subterranean caverns,
which presented obvious limitations of size. None of the
many excavated shrines could receive more than a
hundred persons, most even fewer. All ceremonies were
of necessity enacted in artificial light. The cavern always
contained a well. Access to the cavern often consisted of
a system of subterranean passages, which were used in
the initiation ceremonies. Men only were admitted to
this religion of soldiers, and no organizational hierarchy
seems to have existed.

The initiates were organized in seven grades: corax,

Raven; nymphus, Bridegroom; miles, Soldier; leo, Lion;
Perses, Persian; heliodromus, Courier of (and to) the
Sun; pater, Father. To each rank belonged a particular
mask (Raven, Persian, Lion) or dress (Bridegroom).
The rising of the Mithraist in grade prefigured the
ascent of the soul after death. The series of the seven
initiations seems to have been enacted by passing
through seven gates and climbing a ladder of seven
steps. Each grade was attributed to one of the seven
planetary gods. The zealous Mithraist gradually passed
the spheres of these minor deities and finally reached
the region of the fixed stars.

Little is known about initiation ceremonies. Ancient

texts refer to ablutions (baptism) and purifications and
chastisements, to fetters and liberation, and to certain
ceremonial passwords. Frescoes at Capua (Italy) show
the initiates blindfolded, kneeling, and prostrated. A
simulated death and resurrection was probably part of
the ceremony. Tertullian, the 2nd-century North
African Christian theologian, describes the test of
courage to which the miles was subjected. Weapon in
hand, he had to force his way—probably by a sham duel
—to a wreath. When he had succeeded, an officiant
offered to crown him with the wreath. But the candidate
had to decline, saying that Mithra alone was his wreath,
and throughout the rest of his life he never again bore a
wreath.

The Mithraic caverns were decorated with frescoes,

reliefs, and statues of minor deities and of the planetary
gods. A narrow aisle was flanked on both sides by a
broad, raised bench on which the worshippers kneeled
or reclined. At one end of the aisle (often apselike) there
was always a relief or fresco representing the sacrifice of
the bull. Sometimes the relief could be turned on a
pivot; the back of the stone represented the repast of
Mithra and the sun god. While it is unlikely that the
ceremony of the bull’s sacrifice was frequently
performed, the common meal of the initiates was a
regular feature of Mithraic worship.

Reinhold Merkelbach

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Home  Philosophy & Religion  Ancient Religions & Mythology

Manichaeism  Actions
ancient religious movement
Also known as: Manichaeanism
Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: May 1, 2023 • Article History

 Table of Contents

Summary

Read a brief summary of this topic 

Kucha, China: Manichaean wall painting

Manichaeism, dualistic religious movement founded

in Persia in the 3rd century CE by Mani, who was known
as the “Apostle of Light” and supreme “Illuminator.”
Although Manichaeism was long considered a Christian
heresy, it was a religion in its own right that, because of
the coherence of its doctrines and the rigidness of its
structure and institutions, preserved throughout its
history a unity and unique character.

Mani was born in southern Babylonia (now in Iraq).

With his “annunciation” at the age of 24, he obeyed a
heavenly order to manifest himself publicly and to
proclaim his doctrines; thus began the new religion.
From that point on, Mani preached throughout the
Persian empire. At first unhindered, he later was
opposed by the king, condemned, and imprisoned.
After 26 days of trials, which his followers called the
“Passion of the Illuminator” or Mani’s “crucifixion,”
Mani delivered a final message to his disciples and died
(sometime between 274 and 277).

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ancient Iran: Manichaeism

Mani viewed himself as the final successor in a long line

of prophets, beginning with Adam and including
Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus. He viewed earlier
revelations of the true religion as being limited in
effectiveness because they were local, taught in one
language to one people. Moreover, later adherents lost
sight of the original truth. Mani regarded himself as the
carrier of a universal message destined to replace all
other religions. Hoping to avoid corruption and to
ensure doctrinal unity, he recorded his teachings in
writing and gave those writings canonical status during
his lifetime.

The Manichaean church from the beginning was

dedicated to vigorous missionary activity in an attempt
to convert the world. Mani encouraged the translation
of his writings into other languages and organized an
extensive mission program. Manichaeism rapidly
spread west into the Roman Empire. From Egypt it
moved across northern Africa (where the young
Augustine temporarily became a convert) and reached
Rome in the early 4th century. The 4th century marked
the height of Manichaean expansion in the West, with
churches established in southern Gaul and Spain.
Vigorously attacked by both the Christian church and
the Roman state, it disappeared almost entirely from
western Europe by the end of the 5th century and from
the eastern portion of the empire during the course of
the 6th century.

During the lifetime of Mani, Manichaeism spread to the

eastern provinces of the Persian Sasanian empire.
Within Persia itself, the Manichaean community
maintained itself in spite of severe persecutions, until
Muslim Abbasid persecution in the 10th century forced
the transfer of the seat of the Manichaean leader to
Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan).

The religion’s expansion to the East had already begun

in the 7th century with the reopening of caravan routes
there after China’s conquest of East Turkistan. A
Manichaean missionary reached the Chinese court in
694, and in 732 an edict gave the religion freedom of
worship in China. When East Turkistan was conquered
in the 8th century by the Uyghur Turks, one of their
leaders adopted Manichaeism, and it remained the state
religion of the Uyghur kingdom until its overthrow in
840. Manichaeism itself probably survived in East
Turkistan until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century.
In China it was forbidden in 843, but, although
persecuted, it continued there at least until the 14th
century.

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Teachings similar to Manichaeism resurfaced during

the Middle Ages in Europe in the so-called neo-
Manichaean sects. Groups such as the Paulicians
(Armenia, 7th century), the Bogomilists (Bulgaria, 10th
century), and the Cathari or Albigensians (southern
France, 12th century) bore strong resemblances to
Manichaeism and probably were influenced by it.
However, their direct historical links to the religion of
Mani are difficult to establish.

Mani sought to found a truly ecumenical and universal

religion that would integrate into itself all the partial
truths of previous revelations, especially those of
Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus. However, beyond mere
syncretism, it sought the proclamation of a truth that
could be translated into diverse forms in accordance
with the different cultures into which it spread. Thus,
Manichaeism, depending on the context, resembles
Iranian and Indian religions, Christianity, Buddhism,
and Taoism.

At its core, Manichaeism was a type of gnosticism—a

dualistic religion that offered salvation through special
knowledge (gnosis) of spiritual truths. Like all forms of
gnosticism, Manichaeism taught that life in this world
is unbearably painful and radically evil. In
Manichaeism inner illumination reveals that the soul,
which shares in the nature of God, has fallen into the
evil world of matter and must be saved by means of the
spirit or intelligence (nous). To know one’s self is to
recover one’s true self, which was previously clouded by
ignorance and lack of self-consciousness because of its
mingling with the body and with matter. Thus, to know
one’s self is to see one’s soul as sharing in the very
nature of God and as coming from a transcendent
world. Knowledge enables people to realize that, despite
their abject present condition in the material world,
they do not cease to remain united to the transcendent
world by eternal and immanent bonds with it. Thus,
knowledge is the only way to salvation.

The saving knowledge of the true nature and destiny of

humanity, God, and the universe is expressed in
Manichaeism in a complex mythology. Whatever its
details, the essential theme of this mythology remains
constant: the soul is fallen, entangled with evil matter,
and then liberated by the spirit or nous. The myth
unfolds in three stages: a past period in which there was
a separation of the two radically opposed substances—
Spirit and Matter, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness; a
middle period (corresponding to the present) during
which the two substances are mixed; and a future
period in which the original duality will be
reestablished. At death the soul of the righteous person
returns to Paradise. The soul of the person who
persisted in things of the flesh—fornication,
procreation, possessions, cultivation, harvesting, eating
of meat, drinking of wine—is condemned to rebirth in a
succession of bodies.

Only a portion of the faithful followed the strict ascetic

life advocated in Manichaeism. The community was
divided into the elect, who felt able to embrace a
rigorous rule, and the hearers who supported the elect
with works and alms.

The essentials of the Manichaean sacramental rites

were prayers, almsgiving, and fasting. Confession and
the singing of hymns were also important in their
communal life. The Manichaean scriptural canon
includes seven works attributed to Mani, written
originally in Syriac. Lost after Manichaeism became
extinct in the Middle Ages, portions of the Manichaean
scriptures were rediscovered in the 20th century,
mainly in Chinese Turkistan and Egypt.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian

Duignan.

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