| Menu | Western Mithraism | 4020.01 |
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The original Iranian Mithra was the god of the covenant. In the Iranian Avestan Hymn to Mithra, he forcefully defends the covenant (i.e. contracts people made with each other) by punishing those who break their promises. In the Parthian era and perhaps before he becomes the god of male brotherhoods (mannerbunds) (i.e. oath-bound societies) which eventually formed the model for the Roman version. To my mind mind Western Mithraism is a modern movement that we are still discovering and developing what it should be. I see it as the European counterpart to Hinduism - i.e. a tradition encompassing several different approaches to religion and not laying down one single path. I am very interested in Zoroastrianism and see this as part of the heritage of Mithraism. However I have come to agree that Mithraism can't be a purely dualist religion - and needs both a monistic (seeing the world as one thing) and polytheistic (seeing the world made of lots of beings/powers) side to it. Similarly it needs to incorporate more than one ethic - both the Zoroastrian/Christian ethic of 'being a good person and improving the world' and the pagan ethic of developing one's strengths as individuals, families, fellowships and tribes etc. (Possibly a third ethic is the Gnostic ethic of developing one's knowledge and becoming an enlightened person free from illusion). |