Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Bas-relief of Mithras looking to Sol Invictus as he slays the bull. Inscription top line: Soli Invicto Deo. It is often stated (e.g. by Encyclopaedia Britannica, [20] [21] the Catholic Encyclopedia, [22] [c] and others [23] [24]) that Mithras was born on December 25. Beck (1987) [25] argues that this is unproven. He writes:
In AD 362, the emperor Julian wrote in his Hymn to King Helios that the Agon Solis was held in late December, between the end of the Saturnalia and the New Year. [54] Julian says it is dedicated to Helios and the "Invincible Sun". [55] Most scholars therefore date the festival to December 25 and associate it with the Natalis Solis Invicti. [56]
The festival of Natalis Invicti, held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras." [44] Mithraic initiates were required to swear an oath of secrecy and dedication. [45] Mithras was thought to be a "warrior hero" similar to Greek heroes. [46]
Since the 12th century, [26] there have been speculations that the near-solstice date of 25 December for Christmas was selected because it was the date of the festival of DIES NATALIS SOLIS INVICTI, but historians of late antiquity make no mention of this, and others speculate Aurelian chose December 25 to shadow early Christian celebrations ...
In Artaxerxes II's (r. 404 – 358 B.C.) trilingual (Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian) inscription at Susa (A 2 Sa) and Hamadan (A 2 Hc), which have the same text, the emperor appeals to "Ahuramazda, Anahita, and Mithra protect me against all evil," and beseeches them to protect what he has built.
Aurelian dedicated the Sol Invictus Temple on Dec 25, 274. Constantine on Mar 7, 321 decreed SUNday (dies Solis) as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]. The date of December 25th is too close to the winter solstice to completely discount the pagan origin of Christmas. Saturnalia also ended on the winter solstice around 2 days before the 25th.
December 27, 2023 at 3:00 AM. Show comments. Advertisement. Advertisement. In Other News. Entertainment. Entertainment. People. Vanessa Carlton reveals she and Julia Stiles met 30 years ago in ...
The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri, [1] numbered PGM IV.475–829. [2]Albrecht Dieterich, the first translator of the text in 1903, coined the name it is known by today, [3] [4] based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of immortality. [5]