5 September 2013

Here is a list of Recommended Reading books on Mithras and other Mithraic related writings for my fellow Mithraic Brothers and Sisters and for those who are interested in learning more about the faith.

Books that have an before and after the title are suggested for beginners.

1. Julian. Vols 1,2,3 by W.C. Wright
2. Marcus Aurelius: A Life
3. Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
4. The Mysteries of Mithras, by Payam Nabarz
5. Mithras: Mysteries and Initiation Rediscovered, by Jason Cooper
6. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries, by Ulansey
7. Enchiridion, by Epictetus
8. Julian Against the Galileans
9. Julian, by Gore Vidal
10. Creation, by Gore Vidal
11. Chronicle of the Roman Republic
12. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors
13. Seneca - Letters from a Stoic
14. Early History of Rome, Livy
15. Rome and Italy, Livy
16. The Cults of the Roman Empire, by Robert Turcan
17. Roman Religion, by Valerie Warrior
18. Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism
19. The Golden Ass, by Apuleius
20. The Aeneid, by Virgil
21. Appollonius of Tyanna, by GRS Mead
22. The Roman Cult of Mithras, by Manfred Claus
23. The Lord of the Cosmos
24. Christ and the Taurobolium, by DK Malloch
25. Mithras Reader Vol 1,3. Vol 2 is currently out of print.
26. Anahita, by Payam Nabarz
27. A Guide to the Good Life, by William irvine
28. The Mysteries of Mithra, by Franz Cumont
29. The Ancient Mysteries, by Marvin Meyer
30. The Path to Enlightenment in the Mithraic Mysteries, by Julius Evola
31. The Eagle of the Ninth trilogy, by Rosemary Sutcliff
32. In Search of Zarathustra, by Paul Kriwaczek
33. The Gathas of Zarathustra: Hymns in Praise of Wisdom, by Piloo Nanavutty
34. Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras, by Carl Ruck
35. The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire:
Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun, by Roger beck
36. The Last Pagan
37. The Outcast, by Rosemary Sutcliff

All of the above mentioned books can be purchased from Amazon.
That's where I got mine.

The following 2, I got on Ebay

1. Mithras the Fellow in the Cap, by Esme Wynne Tyson
2. Mithras the Secret God, by MJ Vermaseren

Note:

Christ and the Taurobolium is an expensive book. I paid $75 for mine. Because it is no longer in print and the few that are on Amazon are still pricey. So prices for it can run from $75-$150.

Mithras the Secret God is also pricey and out of print so the copies
that are left will most likely run you $65 or more depending on the seller and the books condition.

Mithras the Fellow in the Cap is out of print but there are still many copies around online for around $30-$60. The thing that I found about this book is that the first half of the book the author tries to debunk Christianity and the so-called miracles of Jesus, but later on she does a complete turnaround and attacks Mithras.
Now maybe when she was writing it in 1958 she realized that people wouldn't want to read a book that casts their faith in a bad light so she had to do a 180. Being a female scholar back then it would have been very hard to get anyone read her work if it even hinted at being anti-christian. And sadly authors even today cater to their public in order to get read.

Lord of the Cosmos was a disappointing read it is about the author trying to justify his faith in Christ and the Apostle Paul and casting Mithras as the one who was stealing the rituals and other aspects of Christianity. When history has proven that it is the other way around.

Julian. Vols 1,2,3 are available for a cheap price. They are pocket sized hardbacks that contain the writings of Emperor Julian who was the last Pagan/Mithraic Emperor and was known to Christians as Julian the Apostate.

The Eagle of the Ninth Trilogy, by Rosemary Sutcliff is a good book set to read. The first book "The Eagle of the Ninth" is the most famous of the 3 and it was recently made into a movie in 2011 called "The Eagle", starring Channing Tatum. There is a nice scene about the 6:30 mark where he is praying to Mithras. It is a very touching scene, but sadly it's a short one. And there is also a scene a few minutes later where he is going into battle and he can be heard saying a short prayer to Lord Mithras.
Her other book on this list "The Outcast" is also about Roman Britain and it was written for teens and it has some, not much info about the Celtic and Mithraic religions.

Mithras Reader Vol 1 and 3 are currently available and are not your typical 8X11 sized books. They are oversized, but sadly volume 2 is out of print. Hopefully Brother Payam Nabarz will release it to be published again soon.

These books can be seen in my photo album: "Mithras". As well as how I have them arrayed on my altar to Lord Mithras. In the 2 Altar pics that I have put in the album. You can see that some of them because of their size don't fit too well so I had to reposition them.