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Mithraic Worship.
MITHRAIC WORSHIP .
AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW THE POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ANCIENT PERSIANS AND THE CEREMONIES AND RITUAL or FREE-MASONRY .
( Continued from page 207 J . CHAPTER I .
In Hamilton's list of the Pauranic genealogies taken from the Bhagavat Parana , we find names connected with Agni , or Fire , such as Agnidhra , King of Jambudwipa , and Wilson also mentions as belonging to the Dwarpa Yuga , or brazen age—one of that line called Agni-verna , or Aparverma ,
Agni , or Vahmi , was also one of the names of the Dikpalas , or Guardians of the Cardinal points ( the South East . ) What seems to show that Mithra was regarded both as a god of the sun and of Fire in a list of the Sunga dynasty , B . C . 178 , is the name Agni-Mitra , or Sun and Fire combined .
Mitra was used as a name , or a termination annexed to a name , about B . C . 1400 . According to the Harivansa , it was also given to the third of the twelve monthly names , or emblems of the sun . We may possibly form a very fair guess as to the approximate date of the transit of Mithraic worship from Asia to Europe , from the circumstance that the King of Pontiis , in Asia Minor , was named Mithridates ( the gift of the god Mithra , or the Sun . ) ( He began his reign B . C . 124 , when in his thirteenth year ) .
According to Plutarch , the worship of Mithra came to the Romans through Sicilian pirates , who , he states , offered strange sacrifices , and celebrated mysterious rites . About the year 101 A . D ., Mithraism was publicly established in Rome under the reign of Trajin ( birn 52 AD ., ascended throne 98 A . D . ) and under the reign ot Severus , it spread through the western provinces of the Empire . About the year 37 S , a prefect of Rome destroyed a cave of Mithras , but these mysteries continued down to 390 A . D .
As we have seen above , it was permitted and tolerated by the Emperors in the first years of the second century of the Christian era ; Christianity was then , however , beginning to gain ground , it having been recognised by Constat * - tine ( he began to reign about 320 A D . ) as the only true religion . It would appear that ( like the early Christians ) the worshippers of Mithra in Italy for nearly a century and a half found themselves obliged to carry out their religious rites in caves and grottoes . Emblems of Mithraic worship have been found in a cave on the island of Capri . ( 2 )
In Naples itself there was also a Mithraic temple , some of its columns may still be seen in the church of S - Maria a Cappella on the Chiatamone * At Milan , too , was a cavern or grotto of Mithra and his sacrificing priests , as appears from an inscription , discovered near the Monastery of St . Ambrose . Sokratis , author of the Ecclesiastical History who lived in the fifth century A . D . relates that in his time— " The Christians of Alexandria ,
having discovered a cavern which had been consecrated to Mithra , but long closed up , resolved to explore it , and see what remnants of that superstition it contained . To their astonishment , the principal thing they found was a great quantity of human skulls with other bones of men that had been sacrificed . These were brought out , and publicly exposed—they excited the utmost horror in the inhabitants of that great city . " According to certain ancient writers , the candidate , when seeking
initiation into the Mithraic mysteries , had to undergo several severe and appalling ordeals . Tertullian states that the neophyte encountered a drawn sword on the threshold of the cavern , and that , if he persisted in entering , he received more than one wound from this weapon . He had then to pass repeatedly through the flames of a fierce fire and to undergo a rigid fast , which—as some have stated—lasted 50 days , during which time he was to remain far from all human habitations . He was then beaten with rods for two whole
days , and during the last 20 days of his trial he was buried up to his neck in snow . If he endured all these privations and sufferings , he was made a disciple of Mithra ; a golden serpent was placed in his bosom—this was given him as a sign of his regeneration , for as the snake renews its vigour in the spring by casting its skin , so the vivifying heat of the sun is annually renewed . He was also alternately plunged into baths of fire and cold water to test his resolution and to purify him .
Our knowledge of Mithraic symbolism would seem to be mainly confined to what we can gather from the Roman sculptures of this subject , many of which have been found in Italy—the Tyrol and othtr parts of the Austrian dominions as well as in other countries which were colonised by the Romans . Some of these we now propose to describe in detail .
Montfaucon in his " Antiquities " gives a description of a statue , suppos'd to be that of Mithra , which was discovered at Rome at the close of the ifi . h century , between the Viminal and the Quirinal hills . His account of it is taken from that of an Italian sculptor named Vaced , who examined the temple at the time it was excavated . " The building was circular , as were all the temples of the Sun and of Fire . In the centre was a statue of white
marble rather less than four feet in height . It stood erect upon a globs , out of which a serpent issued ( the emblem of life ) twined in numerous folds round the body of the deity . The form of the body was that of a man , the head that of a lion ( one of the signs of the Zodiac ) . The hands grasped two keys ( 3 ) pressed to the breast , to indicate the gods power over the two hemispheres , and his Solar origin . Around him was suspended a circle of
lamps in regular order , these were apparently made of baked earth . The most remarkable thing about these lamps was , that they were so arranged as to turn the side which gave the light towards the statue , which would seem to show that these ancient people knew that the planets were opaque bodies , and derived their light from the Sun , the central orb , around which they revolved . " The temple , the statue , and its accessories seem to have disappeared , and to be only known from the above description of them . A bas-relief in white marble , still existing in the Casino of the Villa Albani at Rome , represents a sacrifice to Mithra . In the centre of the
( 2 ) Lactantius avers that the votaries of Mithra celebrated their mysterious rites in caverns and grottoes in order to denote thc eclipses of ths solar luminary ; gloom and darkness would also naturally be favourabl ; to the more complete absorption of the mind tn the mysteries they celebrated . ( 3 ) The well known symbol of Vanus with which he was fabled to unlock the gates of light at dawn , and close them ag ? in at night .
Mithraic Worship.
group isa youth standing over a prostrate bull ; he holds the head of the animal with the left hand , and with the right is thrusting a dagger into its flank . He is attired in the manner in which the Romans represented those whom they wished to delineate as foreign deities . This figure has a peaked , or so-called Phrygian , cap , flowing hair , a loose-sleeved robe , reaching only to the knees , and confined at the waist with a broad girdle , tight trousers down to the ankles , and pointed shoes .
In the foreground is a small dog , and a serpent in an erect position seems to be watching the course of the dagger . Near the serpent are two scorpions ; behind and to the right of the principal figure is a half moon , within which is a human head , with long , flowing Jocks ; it has a half bust . To the left is another human head , more masculine in cnaracter than either of the others : this may have been intended for Mithra himself or for the
Sun and _ Moon . Both the pieces of sculpture described above are interesting and instructive as regards their symbolism . In each case the presence of zodiacal signs serves to show us that in Italy Mithra was recognised as a Sun-god . We are also enabled to connect the snake with Sunworship . In each instance the serpent plays an important part . The later Kamer Herr Dr . Worsaee , the head of the
Archaeological Department in Denmark , was , we believe , the first to advance the idea that with the ancients the snake had its place amongst the heavenly bodies , a conjecture born out by the torso , or technically speaking , the Hermes in the Museum at the Aries in the South of France , a place known to have been colonised by the Greeks . This most striking piece of sculpture the learned have decided to be a statue of Mithra . Tne head is
wanting unfortunately , the neck and shoulders are those of a man , the arms are kept close to the body by the folds of an enormous snake . Between the coils of the serpent ( three in number ) several of the signs of the Zodiac are sculptured in bas-relief . To this day many of the inhabitants of Aries possess a perfect Grecian type of features , and are said to keep themselves as a distinct class .
For the Austrian Tyrol and other parts of the Austrian Empire , a good many specimens of Mithraic sculpture have been found , some of which are in the Museum at Innspruck , others in the Imperial Art and Historical Museum at Vienna , where in Room No . X . first floor , is abas-relief labelled Mithras , representing a prostrate bull , a young man in Persian dress and Phrygian cap , kneeling upon the animal , drives a dagger into its flank . Below the wound a dog is licking the blood . In front of the bull is a youth
holding an inverted torch , and behind this again a youth in a chariot drawn by four horses , also a tree , two goats and a ram—these form a portion of the border of the whole fragment . Underneath the bull ' s body a scorpion is seen biting its hind leg , and near that a serpent , in each instance the serpent plays an important part from which we may gather that Sun—Fire —and Snake worship were intimately bound together by subtle links and gradations .
In the basement of the same building , there are some still more interesting sculptures of the same type . One of these is especially so , in that , in addition to the youth and the prostrate bull , and medallions of the Sun and moon , it has on either side a border divided into several compartments containing sculptures illustrative of the process of the initiation of a candidate into the Mithraic mysteries . To the proper left of the principal figure in the central portion , is a youth , with a lighted torch , and a similar figure on its proper right holds an inverted torch .
The subject of the Medallions on j On the proper left of the figure the proper right are : j the subjects are : A ' o . / . The Candidate going into the j No . 1 . A man and an animal bath . j ( a dog ?) on its hind A ' o . 2 . He appears buried up to the neck \ legs .
with snow ? j No . 2 . An old man leads the No . , ? . Flames are surrounding him . j Candidate forward by No . 4 . He is prostrate on the ground the right hand . with out-stretched arms . j Wo . . j . Candidate attacked by A ' o . 5 . Much injured—the subject is un- j an armed man .
distinguishable . j No . 4 . Candidate kneeling be-At the base is the Dedicatory j fore a seated superior . inscription : j No . 5 . Candidate attacked by a DEO invicto-IUL PACA I goat . ( Worldly temp-Ex Voto I tations ?)
In his Mithratca , De Hammer gives an engraving of a piece of sculp ' . ure in which the same subject is treated , he states that this was found in the Tyrol , and that in 1833 , when he wrote it , was in tha Imperial Cabinet of Antiquities in Vienna ; the subjects of the medallions diff-r considerably from those above described . On the proper right of the central figure , there are six compartments , and on the proper left five are represented :
No . 1 . A figure ( apparently kneel- No . 1 . Two men . in a chariot ( 1 ) ing ) with out-stretched endeavouring to restrain arms . A man who is several fiery horses , standing over him is plac- No . 2 . A youth parting from a man ing his left hand on the of certain age . head of the forms , at the No . 3 . This latter , with his left
same time extending his hand , grasps the arm of right hand and pointing a youth who is kneeling upwards . before him , with his right No . 2 . A recumbent figure , the head hand he points upwards , isrestingupontheleftarm . the neophyte , with his left A ' o .. ; . A figure with out-stretched hand , me in while grasping
arms is buried up to the his girdle . waist with either earth or No . 4 . A youth miking obeisance snow . _ to a seated figure , he has No . 4 . A man warming himself be- been introduced to his prefore a fire . sence by a man in the No . 5 . A man with left knee bent , background ( as it would
right leg extended , and appear ) , right arm held up as if in No . j . In this group a powerful defence , or in the act of looking man is seizing a throwing some object . bull by its hind legs and No . 6 . A bull in an offensive attitude . holding it up thus , the animal resting only on its fore legs .
[ ( 1 ) Mithra and Varuna . Count Goblet D'Alviella in his work on the "Migration of Symbols " says , " that the worsHip of Mithra was certainly practized in Belgium at the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Mithraic Worship.
MITHRAIC WORSHIP .
AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW THE POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ANCIENT PERSIANS AND THE CEREMONIES AND RITUAL or FREE-MASONRY .
( Continued from page 207 J . CHAPTER I .
In Hamilton's list of the Pauranic genealogies taken from the Bhagavat Parana , we find names connected with Agni , or Fire , such as Agnidhra , King of Jambudwipa , and Wilson also mentions as belonging to the Dwarpa Yuga , or brazen age—one of that line called Agni-verna , or Aparverma ,
Agni , or Vahmi , was also one of the names of the Dikpalas , or Guardians of the Cardinal points ( the South East . ) What seems to show that Mithra was regarded both as a god of the sun and of Fire in a list of the Sunga dynasty , B . C . 178 , is the name Agni-Mitra , or Sun and Fire combined .
Mitra was used as a name , or a termination annexed to a name , about B . C . 1400 . According to the Harivansa , it was also given to the third of the twelve monthly names , or emblems of the sun . We may possibly form a very fair guess as to the approximate date of the transit of Mithraic worship from Asia to Europe , from the circumstance that the King of Pontiis , in Asia Minor , was named Mithridates ( the gift of the god Mithra , or the Sun . ) ( He began his reign B . C . 124 , when in his thirteenth year ) .
According to Plutarch , the worship of Mithra came to the Romans through Sicilian pirates , who , he states , offered strange sacrifices , and celebrated mysterious rites . About the year 101 A . D ., Mithraism was publicly established in Rome under the reign of Trajin ( birn 52 AD ., ascended throne 98 A . D . ) and under the reign ot Severus , it spread through the western provinces of the Empire . About the year 37 S , a prefect of Rome destroyed a cave of Mithras , but these mysteries continued down to 390 A . D .
As we have seen above , it was permitted and tolerated by the Emperors in the first years of the second century of the Christian era ; Christianity was then , however , beginning to gain ground , it having been recognised by Constat * - tine ( he began to reign about 320 A D . ) as the only true religion . It would appear that ( like the early Christians ) the worshippers of Mithra in Italy for nearly a century and a half found themselves obliged to carry out their religious rites in caves and grottoes . Emblems of Mithraic worship have been found in a cave on the island of Capri . ( 2 )
In Naples itself there was also a Mithraic temple , some of its columns may still be seen in the church of S - Maria a Cappella on the Chiatamone * At Milan , too , was a cavern or grotto of Mithra and his sacrificing priests , as appears from an inscription , discovered near the Monastery of St . Ambrose . Sokratis , author of the Ecclesiastical History who lived in the fifth century A . D . relates that in his time— " The Christians of Alexandria ,
having discovered a cavern which had been consecrated to Mithra , but long closed up , resolved to explore it , and see what remnants of that superstition it contained . To their astonishment , the principal thing they found was a great quantity of human skulls with other bones of men that had been sacrificed . These were brought out , and publicly exposed—they excited the utmost horror in the inhabitants of that great city . " According to certain ancient writers , the candidate , when seeking
initiation into the Mithraic mysteries , had to undergo several severe and appalling ordeals . Tertullian states that the neophyte encountered a drawn sword on the threshold of the cavern , and that , if he persisted in entering , he received more than one wound from this weapon . He had then to pass repeatedly through the flames of a fierce fire and to undergo a rigid fast , which—as some have stated—lasted 50 days , during which time he was to remain far from all human habitations . He was then beaten with rods for two whole
days , and during the last 20 days of his trial he was buried up to his neck in snow . If he endured all these privations and sufferings , he was made a disciple of Mithra ; a golden serpent was placed in his bosom—this was given him as a sign of his regeneration , for as the snake renews its vigour in the spring by casting its skin , so the vivifying heat of the sun is annually renewed . He was also alternately plunged into baths of fire and cold water to test his resolution and to purify him .
Our knowledge of Mithraic symbolism would seem to be mainly confined to what we can gather from the Roman sculptures of this subject , many of which have been found in Italy—the Tyrol and othtr parts of the Austrian dominions as well as in other countries which were colonised by the Romans . Some of these we now propose to describe in detail .
Montfaucon in his " Antiquities " gives a description of a statue , suppos'd to be that of Mithra , which was discovered at Rome at the close of the ifi . h century , between the Viminal and the Quirinal hills . His account of it is taken from that of an Italian sculptor named Vaced , who examined the temple at the time it was excavated . " The building was circular , as were all the temples of the Sun and of Fire . In the centre was a statue of white
marble rather less than four feet in height . It stood erect upon a globs , out of which a serpent issued ( the emblem of life ) twined in numerous folds round the body of the deity . The form of the body was that of a man , the head that of a lion ( one of the signs of the Zodiac ) . The hands grasped two keys ( 3 ) pressed to the breast , to indicate the gods power over the two hemispheres , and his Solar origin . Around him was suspended a circle of
lamps in regular order , these were apparently made of baked earth . The most remarkable thing about these lamps was , that they were so arranged as to turn the side which gave the light towards the statue , which would seem to show that these ancient people knew that the planets were opaque bodies , and derived their light from the Sun , the central orb , around which they revolved . " The temple , the statue , and its accessories seem to have disappeared , and to be only known from the above description of them . A bas-relief in white marble , still existing in the Casino of the Villa Albani at Rome , represents a sacrifice to Mithra . In the centre of the
( 2 ) Lactantius avers that the votaries of Mithra celebrated their mysterious rites in caverns and grottoes in order to denote thc eclipses of ths solar luminary ; gloom and darkness would also naturally be favourabl ; to the more complete absorption of the mind tn the mysteries they celebrated . ( 3 ) The well known symbol of Vanus with which he was fabled to unlock the gates of light at dawn , and close them ag ? in at night .
Mithraic Worship.
group isa youth standing over a prostrate bull ; he holds the head of the animal with the left hand , and with the right is thrusting a dagger into its flank . He is attired in the manner in which the Romans represented those whom they wished to delineate as foreign deities . This figure has a peaked , or so-called Phrygian , cap , flowing hair , a loose-sleeved robe , reaching only to the knees , and confined at the waist with a broad girdle , tight trousers down to the ankles , and pointed shoes .
In the foreground is a small dog , and a serpent in an erect position seems to be watching the course of the dagger . Near the serpent are two scorpions ; behind and to the right of the principal figure is a half moon , within which is a human head , with long , flowing Jocks ; it has a half bust . To the left is another human head , more masculine in cnaracter than either of the others : this may have been intended for Mithra himself or for the
Sun and _ Moon . Both the pieces of sculpture described above are interesting and instructive as regards their symbolism . In each case the presence of zodiacal signs serves to show us that in Italy Mithra was recognised as a Sun-god . We are also enabled to connect the snake with Sunworship . In each instance the serpent plays an important part . The later Kamer Herr Dr . Worsaee , the head of the
Archaeological Department in Denmark , was , we believe , the first to advance the idea that with the ancients the snake had its place amongst the heavenly bodies , a conjecture born out by the torso , or technically speaking , the Hermes in the Museum at the Aries in the South of France , a place known to have been colonised by the Greeks . This most striking piece of sculpture the learned have decided to be a statue of Mithra . Tne head is
wanting unfortunately , the neck and shoulders are those of a man , the arms are kept close to the body by the folds of an enormous snake . Between the coils of the serpent ( three in number ) several of the signs of the Zodiac are sculptured in bas-relief . To this day many of the inhabitants of Aries possess a perfect Grecian type of features , and are said to keep themselves as a distinct class .
For the Austrian Tyrol and other parts of the Austrian Empire , a good many specimens of Mithraic sculpture have been found , some of which are in the Museum at Innspruck , others in the Imperial Art and Historical Museum at Vienna , where in Room No . X . first floor , is abas-relief labelled Mithras , representing a prostrate bull , a young man in Persian dress and Phrygian cap , kneeling upon the animal , drives a dagger into its flank . Below the wound a dog is licking the blood . In front of the bull is a youth
holding an inverted torch , and behind this again a youth in a chariot drawn by four horses , also a tree , two goats and a ram—these form a portion of the border of the whole fragment . Underneath the bull ' s body a scorpion is seen biting its hind leg , and near that a serpent , in each instance the serpent plays an important part from which we may gather that Sun—Fire —and Snake worship were intimately bound together by subtle links and gradations .
In the basement of the same building , there are some still more interesting sculptures of the same type . One of these is especially so , in that , in addition to the youth and the prostrate bull , and medallions of the Sun and moon , it has on either side a border divided into several compartments containing sculptures illustrative of the process of the initiation of a candidate into the Mithraic mysteries . To the proper left of the principal figure in the central portion , is a youth , with a lighted torch , and a similar figure on its proper right holds an inverted torch .
The subject of the Medallions on j On the proper left of the figure the proper right are : j the subjects are : A ' o . / . The Candidate going into the j No . 1 . A man and an animal bath . j ( a dog ?) on its hind A ' o . 2 . He appears buried up to the neck \ legs .
with snow ? j No . 2 . An old man leads the No . , ? . Flames are surrounding him . j Candidate forward by No . 4 . He is prostrate on the ground the right hand . with out-stretched arms . j Wo . . j . Candidate attacked by A ' o . 5 . Much injured—the subject is un- j an armed man .
distinguishable . j No . 4 . Candidate kneeling be-At the base is the Dedicatory j fore a seated superior . inscription : j No . 5 . Candidate attacked by a DEO invicto-IUL PACA I goat . ( Worldly temp-Ex Voto I tations ?)
In his Mithratca , De Hammer gives an engraving of a piece of sculp ' . ure in which the same subject is treated , he states that this was found in the Tyrol , and that in 1833 , when he wrote it , was in tha Imperial Cabinet of Antiquities in Vienna ; the subjects of the medallions diff-r considerably from those above described . On the proper right of the central figure , there are six compartments , and on the proper left five are represented :
No . 1 . A figure ( apparently kneel- No . 1 . Two men . in a chariot ( 1 ) ing ) with out-stretched endeavouring to restrain arms . A man who is several fiery horses , standing over him is plac- No . 2 . A youth parting from a man ing his left hand on the of certain age . head of the forms , at the No . 3 . This latter , with his left
same time extending his hand , grasps the arm of right hand and pointing a youth who is kneeling upwards . before him , with his right No . 2 . A recumbent figure , the head hand he points upwards , isrestingupontheleftarm . the neophyte , with his left A ' o .. ; . A figure with out-stretched hand , me in while grasping
arms is buried up to the his girdle . waist with either earth or No . 4 . A youth miking obeisance snow . _ to a seated figure , he has No . 4 . A man warming himself be- been introduced to his prefore a fire . sence by a man in the No . 5 . A man with left knee bent , background ( as it would
right leg extended , and appear ) , right arm held up as if in No . j . In this group a powerful defence , or in the act of looking man is seizing a throwing some object . bull by its hind legs and No . 6 . A bull in an offensive attitude . holding it up thus , the animal resting only on its fore legs .
[ ( 1 ) Mithra and Varuna . Count Goblet D'Alviella in his work on the "Migration of Symbols " says , " that the worsHip of Mithra was certainly practized in Belgium at the