Mithra

Cumont traces how Mithra's original Persian character was deeply modified by contact with Babylonian religion. The Babylonians contributed their sophisticated astral science -- the theology of the seven planets, the zodiacal cosmology, and the doctrine of the soul's ascent through celestial spheres. This fusion of Persian ethical dualism with Babylonian cosmic mysticism created the complex theology of Roman Mithraism.

Cumont traces Mithra to the deepest antiquity of the Indo-Iranian peoples: 'In that unknown epoch when the ancestors of the Persians were still united with those of the Hindus, they were already worshippers of Mithra.' His name appears in both the Vedas and the Avestan hymns. Originally a god of light, contracts, and cosmic order, Mithra evolved through Persian, Babylonian, and ultimately Roman transformations.

In the Avesta, the Mihir Yasht -- one of the longest hymns -- depicts Mithra as a god of light, truth, and cosmic order. He watches over contracts (his very name may mean 'covenant'), punishes liars, protects the righteous in battle, and drives his chariot across the sky. These ancient Iranian qualities persisted even as Mithraism was transformed by Babylonian astrology and Roman military culture.

Mithra was an ancient Indo-Iranian god of light, truth, and cosmic order who became the center of a major Roman mystery religion. His mysteries taught the soul's ascent through seven planetary spheres, the cosmic significance of sacrifice (the bull-slaying), and the moral virtues of truth, courage, and fraternal loyalty. Mithraism competed directly with Christianity in the late Roman Empire.

Cumont describes how Mithraism escaped the persecutions that befell earlier Oriental cults because it arrived in Rome at a more tolerant period. Roman emperors increasingly identified with Mithra as Sol Invictus -- the Unconquered Sun. The Mithraic emphasis on loyalty, duty, and cosmic justice aligned naturally with imperial ideology, making it the unofficial religion of the Roman military.