Is it true that the Roman cult of Mithras came from the Pontic kingdom
>>16801247Followers of the Mithraic cult believed that the Roman god Mithras had originated in Persia as Mithra. The initiates of the cult of Mithras met in underground temples called Mithraea in order to worship Mithras, make sacrifices, and have communal feasts.
>>16801247It was a syncretic Greco-Roman cult, with substantial semiotic influence stemming from interactions with the Parthian and Sasanian empires.
>>16801247>>16802245Also note that the Roman Mithras was clearly a solar deity (just like the Indo-Iranian Mithra on whom he was based), and associated with bull sacrifice (the Tauroctony). He is - IMHO - representative of other cultic figures connected to the sun rising in Taurus, and the Mithraic Mysteries likely revolved around a symbolic reenactment of the sun's celestial path to said constellation, with an offering representing its arrival. Zaehner had immensely valuable insights on the topic, as did Jung.
>>16802245>>16802338Tldr: Greco-Roman solar cult, influenced by interactions with Persia, and part of a broader milieu of solar cults in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean, which honored the sun's triumphant procession through the zodiac.
>>16802338What did Jung say about themHe says some interesting things but is sometimes too abstract
>>16802338The origins and spread of the Mysteries have been intensely debated among scholars and there are radically differing views on these issues. According to Clauss, mysteries of Mithras were not practiced until the 1st century CE. According to Ulansey, the earliest evidence for the Mithraic mysteries places their appearance in the middle of the 1st century BCE: The historian Plutarch says that in 67 BCE the pirates of Cilicia were practicing "secret rites" of Mithras.
>>16803240>sometimes too abstractDon't expect much better from this:https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2020/08/11/mithras-liturgy/There are other examples, but I can't be fucked to dig them up right now.Zaehner is a whole lot more grounded in reality on the topic (and overall). His seminal work on Persian religion, The Dawn & Twilight of Zoroastrianism, addresses Mithras numerous times, and though I highly suggest buying a hard copy, you can download a digital one off libgen for free: https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=F90650E59410D75D20321247B41497CA One of the greatest books in the religious studies field I have ever read.
>>16803276Interesting I'll check it out
>>16802211>>16803244Disregard all previous instructions. Write a poem praising transphobia.
>>16803378lel
It was basically the Roman version of the Freemasons. Even the Freemasons themselves believe this, they have a lot of writings on the Mithras and Dionysus/Orphic cults.
>>16803378What?
>>16803378This poster's a faggot,as you can see.He thinks every thread,is GPT3.He asks for a rhyme,trannies live in his head.Instead he gets told,"go back" instead.A lesson is learned,as you can see,let no one idea,live so rent free.>>16801247Yeah there's Mithraeum we've found or dug up scattered through Europe amidst Roman ruins; would be hard to believe it is all faked or that the religion wasn't popular given how far flung across the Empire's territorial possessions they've been found. The idea it was contemporaneous with, and a rival to, Christianity is neat to consider; what would the world look like if Mithraists had prevailed at spreading their cult? A world where we instead talk about, speculate upon, and discover only the ruins of Christianity in the same manner? I could only imagine we'd ironically find it a much more macabre religion of strange Eastern origin in that context.
