THE WORSHIP OF MITHRAS
Reaction of East towards Persia in Roman times—Struggle between Rome and
Persia only closes with Mahommedan Invasion—Rome leans to Persian
fashions and proclaims Mithras protector of Empire—How Mithraism reached
Rome—Its propagation by the soldiery—Mithras may have been originally
god of Western Asia—His place in Persian religion—Magism, its tenets and
connection with magic—And with astrology—Uncertainty as to Mithraic
tenets and Cumont’s theory—Roman ideas as to Ormuzd and
Ahriman—Connection of Mithras with the Sun—The Legend of
Mithras—Explanation of Tauroctony—The Mithraic Eucharist or
Banquet—Mithras probably the only god for his worshippers—His position
midway between heaven and earth—Ahriman in Mithraism—Identified with
Greek Hades—Lord of Destiny—The seven spheres in Mithraism—Eclecticism
of Mithraics as to worship of other gods—Possibly as to Christianity
also—The Mysteries of Mithras—The seven degrees of initiation—Privileges
of higher initiates doubtful—The so-called Mithraic Liturgy—The priests
and ceremonies of Mithraism—Likeness of Mithraism to Freemasonry and its
political uses—Decline of Mithraism on loss of Dacia—Its extinction
under Gratian—Exclusion of women from mysteries drawback to
Mithraism—Not attractive save to soldiers—Survivals of Mithraism in
royal titles—And in magic and astrology 224-276