MITHRAS IN ROME

It is still difficult to pinpoint the date the cult appeared in the Roman Empire.

In his work The Life of Pompey, the philosopher Plutarch recounts how pirates from Cilicia (Turkey), celebrated the mysteries of Mithras in secret. After they were defeated and captured around 60 BCE, the pirates were exiled to the Puglia region by the Roman General Pompey. It was then that they spread the word of the Mithras religion throughout the western territories of the Roman Empire. However, despite archaeological research, no proof of the presence of this god has ever been discovered in this region in southern Italy.

The image of tauroctony, the sacrificing of a bull, was doubtless inspired by the scene depicted on the coins minted by Emperor Augustus to celebrate his victory over Armenia in 19 BCE. The cult’s spiritual foundations doubtless appeared at the same time.

The conflict between Rome and Armenia and the Parthian Empire, which raged from 58 to 64, probably made it easier to set up the first communities. Corbulo, the Roman General victorious in Armenia, apparently discovered the cult of Mithras which was practised in that region. He is said to have brought a Roman influence to bear, which would explain the divergences from the Eastern version of the cult.

Mithraism first spread through the Empire along the defence lines or limes during military manoeuvres. However, it appears that merchants, Roman civil servants and travellers moving within the Empire carried it much further.