THE ORIGINS OF MITHRA

Mithras’ roots can be traced back to the ancient Indo-Iranian traditions of Central Asia and Iran. His name appears for the first time in Asia Minor in the 15th century BCE in an alliance treaty signed between two kings.

In the 1st millennium BCE, the god is mentioned in numerous documents as the guarantor of royal sovereignty. Zoroastrianism, the main religion of Iranian peoples, also had a significant influence on the cult. Incidentally, Mithras means “contract”. So he was the judge, bringing prosperity to those who honoured an agreement, and woe to those who did not. As a sun god, he was revered for all the benefits he offered the Earth – light, warmth and fertility – and was often seen as a protector, associated with justice and cosmic order.

In the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, during the Hellenistic era, some monarchs bore the name Mithridates, suggesting that the god was still worshipped in the kingdoms created when the conquests of Alexander the Great were shared out. His name came up again in the small kingdom of Commagene, in the south-east of present-day Turkey, around 60 BCE. This was during the reign of Antiochus I, a king of Eastern traditions steeped in Greek culture.

Mithras then arrived in the West, but research to date has not revealed exactly how or in what form.