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24.11.02, 06:11
THE MYSTERY OF MITHRA
by Harry Kenison M.M.
THE NEW AGE - APRIL 1961
MITHRAISM is of significant importance to Masons, for this early mystery
religion contains much that is symbolic of Masonry, and it is quite possible
that Mithraism has been a contributing factor to several facets of Masonic
wisdom.
Mithra, the angel of god or heavenly light, as he was known in both the Vedas
of India and old Persian documents, was also a war-like and conquering
deity. He was special guardian of the "Great Kings," whom they involved
prior to battle and to whom they bound themselves by strong oaths.
Mithraism expanded with the conquests of the Persian armies, and as the
mighty Persian war machine spread victoriously through Syria, Chaldea,
Galatia, and Asia Minor, the fame and influence of Mithra grew
proportionately, Even after the defeat of Darius, the famed Persian ruler and
general, Mithraism gained in popular acceptance in opposition to the
Hellenizing culture of the Greeks.
Mithra was not too highly regarded or accepted in Greece. This lack of
popularity was primarily based on the antipathy of the Greeks for the
Persians as the result of early and well-remembered wars. This antipathy,
however, was restricted almost exclusively to Greece, for the domain of
Mithra by the beginning of the Christian era extended from the Indus River in
the east to the Black Sea on the west and north. It was widely accepted in
the plateau countries of Asia Minor, and came to be recognized by the Romans
in the land of Paul's birth as the religion of the Cilician pirates.
The Roman, not being of the temperament to countenance for long the bold
effrontery of the Cilician pirates, made short work of them, but the cult of
Mithra was infectious, and the prisoners and slaves taken by the Romans
quickly introduced the cult to the capital city. Thus, Mithraism, which was
not widely acknowledged outside the Orient during the Hellenic period, had by
about the beginning of the second century become known throughout all Italy.
The gospel of Mithra was well-established in the city of Rome by the time
Paul of Tarsus arrived there.
At approximately this same time there was a general acceptance of Mithra by
the army, and homage was paid him by the soldiers of the Third Legion.
Contact with those in the Roman provinces throughout Asia Minor had further
introduced Mithraism to both Roman citizens and soldiers alike.
It was the mysteries of Dionysos that held an attraction for women at this
time, largely because the ceremonies of Mithra were restricted to men. The
cult of Mithra contained a special interest for Roman soldiers, for Mithra
himself had been for centuries a god of battle, and his was a strong
masculine cult appealing to reverential and superstitious soldiers. The
soldiers required an assurance of divine protection and courage in their
constant contact with the foe. As the legions advanced, so did Mithraism.
It soon became the recognized religion of the Roman army and spread in two
centuries to the farthest limits of the Roman Empire.
As the Roman legions forced their way into Germany, France and Britain, they
were accompanied by groups of builders or masons who erected bridges,
aqueducts, and fortifications as demanded by the soldiers or by the provinces
they occupied. It is, then, possible that the similarity between some
aspects of Masonry and Mithra could stem from this source.
Little is known of the secret ceremonies of Mithra, and much that we have on
the mystery has been deduced from the little factual evidence and is not
entirely reliable. We are aware, however, that the worship of Mithra was no
simple ceremony or initiation. Knowledge of this has been taken from
prejudiced Christian sources opposed to the competitive cult of Mithra. They
have indicated Mithraism consisted of seven stages or degrees, ranging from
the lowest, the Raven, to the highest, the Father or Pater. Between these
two grades were the degrees known as Occult, Soldier, Lion, Persian, and
Courier of the Sun.
The initiation ceremonies have been described as beginning somewhat as
follows: In the first degree the initiate wears the mask of the raven, and,
enveloped in total darkness, he enters a cavern which is intermittently
illuminated by flashes of light representing lightning. In the occult
ceremony he wears a veil and enters a door into a den of tigers, hyenas, and
other simulated wild beasts. The initiate was presented a mask for each
degree and conducted through several caverns in which methods were employed
to instill fear and horror. In the seventh cavern, the darkness was changed
to light, and the initiate was brought before the chief priest, who was
seated on a splendid throne and surrounded by assistant dispensers of the
mysteries. He was also subjected to a grim fast, required to swan a raging
torrent, and exposed to the solitary terror of the desert wilderness. It is
said that be was finally beaten with rods and then buried up to the neck in
snow.
It is known that the Christian Fathers especially delighted in elaborating
and condemning these rites and to expose them as "tortures" and the "eighty
punishments" by water, fire, frost, hunger, thirst, and prolonged journeyings
of increasing hardships and severity.
The candidates took oaths of binding secrecy and were given an obligation
which included sacred words known only to the members of the cult. The
initiate was presented with a conical cap, loose tunics on which were
depicted the celestial constellations, a belt containing the representations
of the Zodiac, a pastoral staff, and a golden serpent was placed on his bosom
as a symbolic sign that he had been regenerated and initiated as a disciple
of Mithra.
Outstanding among the ceremonies of Mithra was a simulated murder, apparently
performed on the candidate. It is supposed that death was the logical
preliminary to a renewal of life and the possible representation of a
transvaluation of all values. The priests of the early regeneration
ceremonies acknowledged that only the select few among the initiates could
master the ultimate secrets embodied in them. Murder was an obvious start
toward a regeneration, in fact so apparent that it is said the emperor
Commodus polluted the rites by a real murder when a certain thing was to be
done for the sake of inspiring terror, probably in the third, or soldier,
grade of the initiation.
Also distinctive in the Mithraic ceremonies were baptism and ablutions of
various sorts. Two types were the marking of the forehead and complete
immersion, and it is believed that they promised purification from guilt. The
Christian Fathers, quick to notice the similarity, charged the devil with
plagiarism.
Provision was also made in the Mithraic ritual for the nourishing of a new
spiritual life. At initiation, honey was placed in the mouth of the
candidate, in both the Lion and the Persian grades of initiation. It was
also customary to put honey in the mouths of new-born children; so in
Mithraism the spiritually new-born were fed honey, it is said. Honey was of
both mystical and practical value for the priests of Mithra.
There is archaeological evidence indicating a communion including bread and
wine, of which the Mithraic initiates partook. The bread consisted of tiny
leaves, each distinctively marked with a cross. The participants ate the
bread and then drank the wine from a cup. The Christians of the day, noting
the likeness, accused the demons of thievery. Both ceremonies, Christian and
Mithraic, were believed to have been memorial services celebrating the
divine, and it is known that Mithra, at the close of his redemptive career
and just before his ascension to heaven, partook of a last supper with his
comp
