David Ulansey - The Cosmic Mysteries of Mithras
Related book
The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries. Cosmology & Salvation in the Ancient World
In the centuries following the conquests of Alexander the Great the dramatic unification of the Mediterranean world created exceptionally fertile soil for the growth of new religions.
Comments
Fascinating and groundbreaking work on Mithraism! It is still not clear how much the Emesa syncretists knew from ancient empires. If Hipparchus could work out the precession of the equinoxes from observation and records, why could not earlier civilisations, especially with centuries of star records? Julia Domna is recorded as introducing an Assyrian-style wig. She visited Babylonia. And Perseus, the exile from Persia who killed an Assyrian, relates to the Age of Taurus. Julia opened the Mithraeum in Rome and her coins bear the titles: Augusta, Diana Lucifera, the lightbringer. The imperial couple also came to Britain with its megalithic circles associated with planetary calendars. The aim of the syncretists was to bring all religions under the central control of the Roman Pontifex Maximus, thus securing unitary powers in the political field as well.