The Cult of Mithras
In Our Time
BBC
4.6 • 9.9K Ratings
🗓️ 27 December 2012
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the cult of Mithras, a mystery religion that existed in the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD. Also known as the Mysteries of Mithras, its origins are uncertain. Academics have suggested a link with the ancient Vedic god Mitra and the Iranian Zoroastrian deity Mithra, but the extent and nature of the connection is a matter of controversy.
Followers of Mithras are thought to have taken part in various rituals, most notably communal meals and a complex seven-stage initiation system. Typical depictions of Mithras show him being born from a rock, enjoying food with the sun god Sol and stabbing a bull. Mithraic places of worship have been found throughout the Roman world, including an impressive example in London. However, Mithraism went into decline in the 4th century AD with the rise of Christianity and eventually completely disappeared. In recent decades, many aspects of the cult have provoked debate, especially as there are no written accounts by its members. As a result, archaeology has been of great importance in the study of Mithraism and has provided new insights into the religion and its adherents.
With:
Greg Woolf Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews
Almut Hintze Zartoshty Professor of Zoroastrianism at SOAS, University of London
John North Acting Director of the Institute of Classical Studies, University of London.
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
Transcript
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| 0:47.0 | Hello in 1954 construction work was taking place in Walbrook Street in the City of London following the Second World War. |
| 0:55.0 | One day the builders made a surprising discovery, the remains of an ancient Roman building. |
| 1:00.0 | What they had found was a Mithra, a place of worship for members of the cult of Mithras. |
| 1:05.0 | Also known as the mysteries of Mithras, this religion emerged in the Roman Empire in the First |
| 1:10.6 | Century AD. It's believed to have involved a number of obscure practices |
| 1:14.4 | and rituals including a sacred communal meal and a complex seven-stage initiation system. |
| 1:20.7 | The God existed across the Roman world but had almost completely disappeared by the 5th century. |
| 1:25.0 | Much about misraism remains unknown as there are no written accounts by the cult's followers |
| 1:30.0 | and those texts we have are often by the cult's enemies. |
| 1:33.0 | Most of the evidence we have is archaeological, |
| 1:35.0 | and it's mainly this that academics have used to build a picture of Mithraism. |
| 1:39.0 | With me to discuss the cult of Mithras are |
| 1:42.0 | Greg Wolf, Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews, |
| 1:46.1 | Almat Hinser, D'Artoshty Professor of Zoroastrianism at SARS University of London, |
... |
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