The religion of the Mithras cult in the Roman Empire mysteries of the unconquered sun

302 Pages·2007·2.773 MB·English

by  Beck, Roger

THE RELIGION OF THE MITHRAS CULT IN THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Religion of
the Mithras Cult in the
Roman Empire
Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun
ROGER BECK
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp
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ISBN0-19-814089-4 978-0-19-814089-4
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To Richard Gordon, John Hinnells, and Luther Martin
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Preface
This book has been many, many years in the making. So it is appropriate that
Idedicateittothethreescholarswhoovertheyearshavehelpedmemostalong
thewaywiththeirfriendship,encouragement,andwisecounselontheMysteries
ofMithrasandhowtoaddressthem.Thereareofcoursemanyotherswhohave
generouslyaidedme,andIhopetheywillexcusemeifIdonotrepeatherethe
acknowledgements recently made in the collection of my past articles and new
essays,BeckonMithraism.
I do however want to thank my editor Hilary O’Shea for her trust and
forbearance over what must surely be one of the lengthiest projects to come to
fruition and a record-holder in deadlines overrun. I also want to thank my
researchassistantNormanValdezforhisskilfulproductionofthediagrams.
SinceChapter1isentirelyprogrammatic,Ishallrefrainfromintroducingmy
subjectandoutliningmymethodshere.LettheTableofContentswhichfollows
serveasamapoftheroadahead.
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Contents
ListofFigures xiv
Abbreviations xv
1. IntroductiontoInterpretingtheMysteries:OldWays,NewWays 1
1. Anagenda 1
2. Awordonontology 8
3. Templateforare-descriptionoftheMithraicmysteries 10
4. Oncomparisons 12
5. Oncognition 13
6. Synchronicversusdiachronic;structureandmeaningversus
historiccauseandeVect;interpretationversusexplanation 14
7. Conclusion 15
2. OldWays:TheReconstructionofMithraicDoctrinefrom
Iconography 16
1. Agatewaytoaninterpretationofthemysteries:Porphyry,
Deantronympharum6,ontheformandfunctionofthe
mithraeum 16
2. Thetraditionalroute:fromtheiconographyofthemonuments
tothemythofMithrastothebeliefsofMithraists 17
3. Themeritsandachievementsofthetraditionalheuristicprocedure 20
4. Theshortcomingsofthetraditionalheuristicprocedure 22
Appendix:someremainingmethodologicalproblemsforthe
explicationoftheMithrasmythasrepresentedontheWgured
monuments 25
3. TheProblemofReferents:InterpretationwithReferencetoWhat? 26
1. Iconographyandtheproblemofreferents 26
2. Referentsinthesurroundingculture? 26
3. Iranianreferents? 28
4. Celestial(astronomical/astrological)referents? 30
5. Conclusion 39
4. DoctrineRedeWned 41
1. BacktoPorphyry,Deantro6 41
2. ‘Inductionintoamystery’:thedoctrinalmisconstructionof
Deantro6 41