Mithras and the Roman Adoption of Foreign Gods

Recognising the existence of foreign deities, and accepting them into their own religion, played a central part in the development of Roman mythology from its inception. Many of the central Roman deities were derived from Greek counterparts; from the Greek Zeus, the Roman Jupiter; from Ares, Mars; and from Poseidon, Neptune. Of particular note is the God Apollo, whose name remained unchanged as he was adopted by Roman society, in contrast to the renaming of most of his peers. Apollo therefore provides one of the earliest examples of the Romans’ willingness to accept the gods of other cultures unaltered.

This practice of integration and acceptance was important in allowing the Roman Republic and early Empire to keep control of their territory. By allowing conquered peoples to maintain their own Gods rather than being forced to abandon them, the Romans fostered goodwill and the idea of coexistence. Cultures whose deities were incompatible with the Roman pantheon, such as the monotheistic Judaism and Christianity, tended to suffer much more harshly under Roman rule, and this often led to significant unrest among their followers.

One of the most famous of Rome’s adopted Gods was Mithras, and the associated cult of Mithraism. The exact origins of Mithras are somewhat unclear: earlier interpretations have suggested an origin in Persia based on the existence of the god Mitra, although more modern scholarship has instead tended toward viewing the cult as an essentially Roman construct, albeit one based on contact with the religions of the east. What is certain, regardless of its exact origins, is that the cult’s beliefs was heavily derived from Persian religious doctrines and practices.

Mithraism itself lies somewhere between the traditional Roman gods and those Celtic deities featured in the Set in Stone exhibition in its forms of worship. Like other Roman gods, his physical representations and associated mythology tended to be consistent throughout the breadth of the Empire: like Celtic deities, the exact doctrines and dogmas involved in his worship probably varied between individual cults.

While its temples, known as ‘mithraeums’, were designed in a manner wildly different from the ordinary Roman style, being sunk into the ground rather than raised above it, this is almost certainly more due to its driving themes of mysteries and secrecy rather than any conflict with wider Roman religion. Instead, mithraeums usually contained depictions of other Roman gods, demonstrating a comfortable coexistence with Roman society.

Mithras is particularly important in understanding Roman religious tolerance not simply due to his acceptance, but in his widespread presence throughout the Empire. In particular, Mithras seems to have been extremely popular with Rome’s army: mithraeums, reliefs of and dedications to Mithras have survived from across the breadth of the Empire’s territory as far away from his Persian origins as Hadrian’s wall, the farthest frontier of the Empire.

Worship of Mithras gradually declined, along with the rest of the Roman pantheon, as the Empire became increasingly Christian: by the 5th century, worship had died out almost completely. However, for the duration of his cult’s existence, Mithras provides a vital example of the Roman Empire’s willingness not just to tolerate the existence of other cultures, but to allow itself to be shaped by them in return, standing in stark contrast with common perceptions of Roman society as a monolithic, wholly oppressive culture.

(Image Credit: Bridgeman Education)

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