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Question
#51161. Legolaschic
asks:
Who is the god Mithras, and according to legend, was he born on or near December 25th?
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Baloo55th
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First appeared in worship about 2000 BCE, but very interestingly (and upsettingly perhaps for some Christians) was incarnated as a saviour for man and born of a virgin mother in about 272 BCE (she was titled Mother of God). He was known as the God of Truth and Lord of Heavenly Light, and as the Light of the World. His priests bore the title Father, and the chief of them wore a red cap and a ring and caried a shepherd's staff. The early Christians were very upset about all this travesty of their beliefs and practices, especially as the cult of Mithras predated that of Jesus by about 200 years. It's very nasty when someone is copying your stuff. Even worse when they were doing it first. Oh, yes, his birthday was on or around 25th December, but then again Yule and Saturnalia fall about then as well, and Hanukah and Diwali aren't far off. Don't think the Moslems have anything much then, though.  http://www.crystalinks.com/mithra.html
Sep 25 04, 11:55 AM
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Stew54
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Some New Age books/websites contain a lot of unsubstantiated mythology about Mithraism. Mithras was an ancient Persian deity but the beliefs of that faith were adapted considerably when it was adopted by elements of (especially military) Roman society in the first two centuries CE. It was a competitor rather than a precursor of the early church, and it is a moot point who may have "borrowed" traditions from whom.
In its Roman manifestation Mithraism was an exclusive and secretive cult. It left no liturgy or writings, has not been practised for many centuries, and is really known only from archaeology. All of this is a shame for scholars, but a blessing for some who prefer to write their own history. There's a summary of what is known about it here:
http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/articles/mithraism.html
Sep 27 04, 2:45 AM
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