Trade as a cause of the spread of Mithraism
Introducing the Mithras Cult
On this page you will find information about the Mithras cult and the way it spread across the Roman Empire. This Mithras cult was a private and mystic cult, which means that everything that happened in and around the cult was kept secret. Because of this, very few literary sources have survived, so our main sources are archaeological discoveries.
Within the Mithras cult only men were allowed. Those men worshiped the god Mithras and within their temples, which are called mithraea (singular: mithraeum), they celebrated the Tauroctony. This was the bull-slaying-scene, which is depicted alongside. In this Tauroctony, Mithras slayed a bull, whereupon he had a feast with the sungod Sol. Beside the celebrations of this Tauroctony, not much is known about what happened in the mithraea. |
The cult flourished in the second an third century AD. However from the fourth century it started declining. The last evidence from the cult dates back to the fifth century. A possible reason for this fall is the fact that the cult became more public and the increasing interference of authorities. Beside this, also the rise of Christianity can be seen as a cause for the fall of the Mithras cult.
Origin |
Debate |
There has been some discussion about the origin of the Mithras Cult. Because the name Mithras derives from the Persian god Mitra, it was believed for a long time that the cult its origin would lay in the East. Research however showed that there was no archaeological evidence for this theory. Roger Beck, a modern scholar of the Mithras cult, stated that the origin of the cult lays within Europe itself: in the Imperial city of Rome.
In the southeast of today's Turkey, there was the kingdom of the Commagene dynasty. When emperor Vespasian attempted to preserve control in the eastern part of the Empire he took the Kingdom of Commagene. In exchange the emperor offered the members of the Commagene dynasty to have a safe and wealthy life within the city of Rome. The Commagenes accepted the offer and took with them their eastern habits and culture. The Commagenes living in Rome, possesed the eastern culture and learned the Roman and western tradition. The combination of both worlds made them start the new mystery cult of Mithras. |
About the spread of the Mithras cult, from Rome all over the Roman Empire, exist a long and though debate. Initially it was mainly thought that only the army was responsible for the spread of the cult. Charles M. Daniëls has given two arguments for this theory. Firstly, in the first century BC, when the cult came into being, there were a lot of soldiers in the east, where the cult has it's roots. Secondly, Daniëls points at the high concentration of mithraea along the Limes. Especially here stayed a lot of soldiers.
Manfred Claus didn't fully agree with Daniëls. He indicates that the theory of Daniëls can't explain why so much mithraea have been found in Ostia and in Dalmatia, because here were almost no soldiers operative. Claus suggest that also trade played a significant role in the spread of the Mithras cult. Finally, Roger Beck came with the idea that the cult spread by individual initiatives. Just like the cult came into being in Rome by individual activity, Beck expects that the cult spread because of individual actions. |
Research
In my research I studied the spread of the Mithras Cult throughout the Roman Empire and the role that trade played within it. A problem with every research concerning the Mithras cult is the (lack of) evidence. To by-pass this constraint I used social network theory as method to study the subject. Quite a similar method was used by Mark Humphries when he looked to the role of trade in the spread of early Christianity in Northern Italy.
Firstly I looked to the spread of the cult throughout the Roman Empire. For this I mapped all the locations where mithraea have been found. The visual result is shown alongside (for a more detailed map one can visit http://www.mithraeum.eu/map.php). Hereby it is conspicuous that there are a few clusters of mithraea. Especially in the Italian cities Rome and Ostia and along the limes in Germany are a few enormous clusters of mithraea. After this I didn't only looked at uncovered mithraea, but at all archaeological discoveries with reference to the Mithras cult. This view caused an important shift of clusters. When looking to North Africa for example, as one can see on the image above, it is conspicuous that there are a lot of archaeological findings in that region. This didn't become clear when I only looked at the mithraea. A similar patern became clear on Sicily and in the Black Sea Region.
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After looking to the spread of the cult, I focused on the trade networks, because my aim was to compare the cult with trade. The Roman trade-network s in the first and second century AD however are extremely diverse and extensive. Therefor I have chosen to look at some of the most important cities and regions concerning the Roman trade. Those locations are: North Africa , the Black Sea region, Alexandria, Ostia and Puteoli.
Looking at North Africa and the Black Sea region it is remarkable that there were a lot of soldiers and veterans, but that they are never mentioned in the sources about the Mithras cult. In other places where a lot of soldiers have been, this is for sure the case. When looking at the important role trade played in those two regions and the great amount of contact between this regions and the Romans, it is very plausible that trade was the cause that the cult came in this regions. Another important city for the Romans' trade-network was Alexandria. However, contrary to North Africa and the Black Sea region, almost no archaeological evidence concerning the Mithras cult has been uncovered.
When looking to Italy itself, the great harbour-city Ostia contains no less than seventeen Mithraea. The fact that it was the most important harbour-city, that there were hardly no soldiers and that it was an epicentre of the Mithrascult, would confirm the correlation between the cult and trade. In and around the other important harbour-city Puteoli, no evidence of the presence of the Mithras cult has been found. This can be explained by the fact that emperor Claudian moved, during his reign, a lot of commercial activity from Puteoli to Ostia. This was during the first century AD, the same period as the Mithras cult began to rise. The harbour in Ostia was eventually completed by Nero, as the coin alongside shows.
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Sextes Pompeius Maximus
Looking only at the general trade networks, would be an limited view on the subject. Therefor I took into account some more concrete cases. One of this examples will be presented here: the figure Sextes Pompeius Maximus.
In 1924 the Italian archaeologist Guido Calza discovered the Mitreo Aldobrandini and the altar within it in the city Ostia. On the alter an inscription was carved, at which the name Sextes Pompeius Maximus could be seen. This very name was also recovered on an inscription on a bronze tablet which was possessed by the British Museum. The museum had bought the tablet in 1873 from the Italian jeweler and collector Alessandro Castellani. He had lived for a long time in Rome, but had to move to London, because his banishment from Rome for political activities. Because Castellani had lived so close near the the mithraeum, because he collected this type of artifacts and because the names match, it is very likely that this bronze tablet originated from Mitreo Aldobrandini. Because of this tablet we can say some things about a member of the Mithras cult in the city Ostia.
In 1924 the Italian archaeologist Guido Calza discovered the Mitreo Aldobrandini and the altar within it in the city Ostia. On the alter an inscription was carved, at which the name Sextes Pompeius Maximus could be seen. This very name was also recovered on an inscription on a bronze tablet which was possessed by the British Museum. The museum had bought the tablet in 1873 from the Italian jeweler and collector Alessandro Castellani. He had lived for a long time in Rome, but had to move to London, because his banishment from Rome for political activities. Because Castellani had lived so close near the the mithraeum, because he collected this type of artifacts and because the names match, it is very likely that this bronze tablet originated from Mitreo Aldobrandini. Because of this tablet we can say some things about a member of the Mithras cult in the city Ostia.
According to the inscription, which can be seen beneath, Sextes was the high priest of the Mithras cult in Ostia, so he was an important man within the cult. The inscription also sais that he was the president of the ferrymen guild. This was a guild which was very involved in the trade business. From this we can conclude that it is very probable that there was a connection between trade and the Mithras cult, because such an influential person within the trade business in Ostia also was very engaged within the cult.
Inscription English translation
SEX ~POMPEIO~ SEX~FIL~ Dedicated to Sextus Pompeius Maximus, MAXIMO~ son of Sextus, SACERDOTI~SOLIS~ IN High Priest of the Sun God, Mithras, VICTI~MT~PATRI~PATRVM all powerful, And Father of Fathers, QQ~ CORP ~TREIECT~TOGA President of the Guild of Master Ferrymen. TENSIVM~SACERDO We, Priests of the all powerful TES~SOLIS~INVICTI~MT Sun God, Mithras, do this on account of OB~AMOREM~ET~MERI high regard and affection we would hold TA~EIVS~SEMPER~HA for him and his worthy deeds. BET He has this for ever. |
Conclusion
Concluding, when we look at the role that trade played in the spread of the Mithras cult, we can say that it's almost certain that trade played that important role. The presence of the cult in some big commercial centres like North Africa, the Black Sea region and Ostia confirm this importance of trade. However it still can't be said with a hundred percent certainty that it was trade which was responsible for the spread or in how far the trade contributed to that spreading. For this, more concrete sources are needed. Especially sources like the one described above about Sextes Pompeius Maximus. Only with more sources like that which confirm the role of trade, the thesis can be validated.
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Literature and Sources
Figures
Figure 1: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=cimrm736
Figure 2: Maarten J. Vermaseren, Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae Volume I (Den Haag: Martinus Nijfhof, 1956): 85.
Figure 3: http://www.mithraeum.eu/map.php
Figure 4: http://webspace.webring.com/people/lg/gaiusulpius/nero_ostia.jpeg
Figure 5: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=cimrm234
Literature
- Beck, Roger. ‘’The Mysteries of Mithras: A New Account of Their Genesis.’’ The Journal of Roman Studies 88, no. 1 (1998): 115-128.
- Claus, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and his Mysteries. Translated by Richard Gorden. New York: Routledge, 2000.
- Daniëls, Charles M. ‘’The role of the Roman Army in the spread and practice of Mithraism.’’ In Mithraic Studies Volume II, ed. John R. Hinnells, 249-274. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1975.
- Humphries, Mark. ‘’Trading gods in northern Italy.’’ In Trade, Traders and the Ancient City, eds. Helen Parkins en Christopher Smith, 203-224. Londen: Routledge, 1998.
- Schreiber, John. ‘’The Environment of Ostian Mithraism.’’ In Mithraism in Ostia: Mystery Religion and Christianity in the Ancient Port of Rome, ed. Samuel Laeuchli, 22-45. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1967.
- Vermaseren, Maarten J. Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae Volume I. Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, 1956.
- Volken, Marquita. ‘’The development of the cult of Mithras in the western Roman Empire: a socio-archaeological perspective.’’ Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies IV, no. 1 (2004): 1-20.
Figure 1: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=cimrm736
Figure 2: Maarten J. Vermaseren, Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae Volume I (Den Haag: Martinus Nijfhof, 1956): 85.
Figure 3: http://www.mithraeum.eu/map.php
Figure 4: http://webspace.webring.com/people/lg/gaiusulpius/nero_ostia.jpeg
Figure 5: http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/mithras/display.php?page=cimrm234
Literature
- Beck, Roger. ‘’The Mysteries of Mithras: A New Account of Their Genesis.’’ The Journal of Roman Studies 88, no. 1 (1998): 115-128.
- Claus, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and his Mysteries. Translated by Richard Gorden. New York: Routledge, 2000.
- Daniëls, Charles M. ‘’The role of the Roman Army in the spread and practice of Mithraism.’’ In Mithraic Studies Volume II, ed. John R. Hinnells, 249-274. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1975.
- Humphries, Mark. ‘’Trading gods in northern Italy.’’ In Trade, Traders and the Ancient City, eds. Helen Parkins en Christopher Smith, 203-224. Londen: Routledge, 1998.
- Schreiber, John. ‘’The Environment of Ostian Mithraism.’’ In Mithraism in Ostia: Mystery Religion and Christianity in the Ancient Port of Rome, ed. Samuel Laeuchli, 22-45. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1967.
- Vermaseren, Maarten J. Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae Volume I. Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, 1956.
- Volken, Marquita. ‘’The development of the cult of Mithras in the western Roman Empire: a socio-archaeological perspective.’’ Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies IV, no. 1 (2004): 1-20.