The end of Mithraism.

The end of Mithraism. The origin of the cult of Mithras in the Roman Empire has been theobject of considerable enquiry. The circumstances in which Mithraism metits last end have aroused less interest, though the evidence for thefinaldays of Mithraism could shed light on larger questions concerningthe ending of non-Christian cult in the Roman Empire. Paganism wasbrought to an end by many means. Laws made by emperors played a part;their primary target, from the time of Constantine onwards, wastraditional public sacrifice (Bradbury 1994; Turcan 1984: 209-19). Sodid bishops and gangs of monks, men 'who eat more thanelephants' in the complaint of an unsympathetic observer, whodelighted to dismember dis��mem��berv.To amputate a limb or a part of a limb.dis��member��ment n. pagan temples, and could assemble substantialmobs to help them (Libanius Oration 30: 8; Fowden 1978). Less coercivecauses for the end of pagan cult are not so easy to discern; sometemples, for instance, must simply have succumbed to the fire riskendemic to ancient cities (cf. Pliny Letter 10: 33, with Sherwin-White1966: 606-8). Understanding will come only when we have a comprehensivestudy of the fate of pagan cult-sites. (Deichmann (1939) is anything butcomprehensive. There is considerable matter in Trombley (1993-4), thoughthe assumption that taurobolium was a Mithraic ritual (I: 340; II: 26)does not inspire confidence.) In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified"meantime, meanwhile a brisk consideration ofthe evidence from Mithraea raises some questions.Temples of Mithras are of interest not because Mithraism posed aparticular threat to the success of Christianity, but because thetemples form a body of evidence that is well-defined and widelydispersed. The remains of Mithraea are known from as far afield asHadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall,ancient Roman wall, 73.5 mi (118.3 km) long, across the narrow part of the island of Great Britain from Wallsend on the Tyne River to Bowness at the head of Solway Firth. It was mainly built from c.A.D. in Britain and the foothills of the Atlas mountains Atlas Mountains,system of ranges and plateaus in NW Africa, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) from SW Morocco, through N Algeria, to N Tunisia; Jebel Toubkal (13,671 ft/4,167 m), in SW Morocco, is the highest peak. The Atlas Mts. in Algeria. The internal layout of these temples is singularly uniform.If they were not actually underground, they were made to look as thoughthey were - artificial crags around the entrance were sometimes added togive the sanctuary the appearance of a cave, as at one temple atCarnuntum on the Danube frontier (CIMRM 1664). The fact that so manyMithraea were constructed underground ought to be a benefit to those whomight wish to date their abandonment. It makes them less likely thanconventional temples to have been re-used for other purposes, or robbedof their stone by enterprising epigonoi. The excavator ex��ca��va��torn.An instrument, such as a sharp spoon or curette, used in scraping out pathological tissue.excavator (eks´k of one gloomyvault under Rome found it undisturbed since it had been left in LateAntiquity Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. AD 300 - 600) used by historians and other scholars to describe the interval between Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally between the decline of the western Roman Empire : 'il complesso rimasce intatto fino fi��no?n. pl. fi��nosA pale, very dry sherry.[Spanish (jerez) fino, dry (sherry), from fino, fine, from Latin f al momento della suavenuta in lace durante lo scavo' (Lissi-Caronna 1986: 47). Thefortunate investigator may find direct evidence of the manner in which atemple of Mithras was abandoned and the date at which this occurred.Two obstacles have prevented the assembly of a full dossier of thesecircumstances. One is the character of the operations in which someMithraic sanctuaries were originally uncovered, the other is a tendencyon the part of those who have studied them to assume that the lastcondition of Mithraea was always the product of violent action byChristian opponents of the cult. The first obstacle is easily described,though not so easily overcome. Many Mithraea were first uncovered in thelast century and the excavators - in their enthusiasm to ascertain theappearance of the temples when they were in use - often destroyed orfailed to record evidence about the conditions of their abandonment. Thefamous Mithraeum under the apse of the church of San Clemente San Clemente(săn klĭmĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 41,100), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; inc. 1928. Camp Pendleton, a large U.S. marine base, adjoins the city, which is chiefly residential. in Romemay be taken as one of many. The wall which sealed its entrance might,says a recent writer, have provided valuable indications about the datewhen the Christians invaded the building to provide an apse for theirchurch, but unfortunately the evidence was destroyed in the excavationsof 1869-70 (Guidobaldi 1978: 249). A thorough perusal of the CorpusInscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae (CIMRM) revealsrelatively few temples where the recorded evidence of their conditionsuggests the manner of their end.The assumption that Christians destroyed Mithraic temples is in somecases justified. In 367/7, to the amazement of St Jerome, the Prefect prefector praefect(both: prē`fĕkt), in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 B.C. ofthe City of Rome smashed up and burnt a Mithraic cave as evidence of thesincerity of his conversion to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. The exact understanding of what it means to attain salvation varies somewhat among denominations. and went to seek baptisminto the Church (Jerome Letter 107: 2; Prudentius Against Symmachus I:11. 561-5). Some temples that have been excavated indeed suggest suchviolence. The Mithraeum at Pons Saravi (Saarburg) in Gaul shows signs ofburning. On the site of the principal relief was found the skeleton of amiddle-aged man, his hands tied behind his back and his wrists chained.Smashed fragments of the relief lay around him. The presence of largenumbers of 4th-century coins might indicate that the violent eventswhich brought to an end the history of this sanctuary took place afterAD 395, or they may have occurred somewhat earlier and the place havebeen used subsequently as a tip for rubbish in which coins wereaccidentally included (CIMRM 965-84; Walters 1974: 17-22, no. 5). Thethorough destruction of the Pons Saravi temple certainly suggestshostile action.Other Mithraic temples witnessed destruction more or less severe. AtKonigshofen on the Rhine the great relief of the bull-slaying was brokeninto 360 pieces (CIMRM 1359; cf. 133575), and the Mithraeum at Biesheim,Oedenburg (Alsace) similarly suffered a violent and systematicdestruction (Turcan 1978). The bull-slaying of San Stefano Rotondo inRome, by contrast, retains much of its paint and gilding and seems tohave suffered no more than a blow to its top right corner (Lissi-Caronna1986: 325, tavola VIII); if we were told how the relief had beenoriginally fixed to the wall and why its fall, and the disarray of othersculpture in the temple, might not be the result of the ground settlingover the centuries, it would be easier to agree that this damage was theresult of 'una violenta devastazione' (1986: 46).The destruction of other temples seems to have been methodical butnot thorough. The three Mithraea on Hadrian's Wall, at Rudchester(CIMRM 838-43), Carrawburgh (CIMRM 844-51) and Housesteads (CIMRM852-3), were dismantled systematically. Destruction of their furnishings'did not extend beyond those objects most intimately related to thecult' (Gillam et al. 1954: 201). In each temple the main relief ofthe bull-slaying was destroyed and largely or totally removed and thetorch-bearers Cautes and Cautopates damaged and partially removed, butthe altars were left in place. At Carrawburgh, for instance, thepressure on the end wall which pushed the altars over did not bring thebull-slaying down on top of them because it was already missing; thebeheaded be��head?tr.v. be��head��ed, be��head��ing, be��headsTo separate the head from; decapitate.[Middle English biheden, from Old English beh Cautes stood out in the wind and weather before he finally fellforward into the six inches of peat which had accumulated on the floorof the Mithraeum (Richmond et al. 1951: 41). Such uniformity oftreatment in a military area might suggest that the closing was theresult of a single military order (Gillam et al. 1954: 218); the armydominated the area and the Mithraic temples had previously been able torely on successive commanding officers for support and benefaction ben��e��fac��tion?n.1. The act of conferring aid of some sort.2. A charitable gift or deed.[Late Latin benefacti (Gillam et al. 1954: 203-8, 211-13; Richmond et al. 1951: 28, 45-51). Itseems that the slighting of these Mithraea occurred early in the 4thcentury AD; a coin of the usurper Magnentius (AD 350-53) was found inthe peat on the floor at Carrawburgh (Richmond et al. 1951: 29; cf.34-5, 74-9), and at Rudchester 'no pottery of types exclusive tothe fourth century was found sealed by the fallen masonry of the eastend of the temple' (Gillam et al. 1954: 218). If the condition ofthe temples is 'suggestive of deliberate desecration'(Richmond et al. 1951: 43), it is a desecration which lacked theferocity apparent at Pons Saravi. They might rather be compared to theMithraeum at Mandelieu (Alpes-Maritimes), where the coins suggestabandonment soon after 390. The altars remained, but not the reliefs orfigure sculpture; 'the place had not actually been sacked'(Fixot 1986: 118).The fate of some Mithraea was complex and protracted pro��tract?tr.v. pro��tract��ed, pro��tract��ing, pro��tracts1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations.2. . That atSegontium in Wales Wales,Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. was left roofless and weed-grown when the army pulledout around AD 290, and burnt when the fort was again occupied in the mid4th century - there was a coin of 346/50 in the burnt layer (Boon 1960).That at Les Bolards, Nuits-Saint-Georges (Burgundy) was also bothdemolished, 'no doubt systematically', and burnt; the lastcoins are of the late 4th century (Martin 1970: 379-80). A sanctuary atAlexandria was apparently long-abandoned when Christians decided to'cleanse' it in 361, the first year of the reign of theneo-pagan Emperor Julian the Apostate Julian the Apostate(Flavius Claudius Julianus), 331?–363, Roman emperor (361–63), nephew of Constantine I; successor of Constantius II. He was given an education that combined Christian and Neoplatonic ideas. He and his half brother Gallus were sent (c. . The ensuing riots led to thelynching of George, Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope (etymologically 'Father', like Abbot etc.), and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome. , and the temple was notfinally cleared till the time of the Patriarch Theophilus (385-412)(Sozomen V: 7; Socrates III: 2 and V: 16).Other Mithraea may simply have fallen into disuse dis��use?n.The state of not being used or of being no longer in use.disuseNounthe state of being neglected or no longer used; neglectNoun 1. as their devoteesdied or were dispersed. From the time before Christianity became athreat to the worship of Mithras, there are examples of Mithraic templeswhich were destroyed by fire. One sanctuary at Stockstadt on the Rhineseems to have burnt out in the early 3rd century (CIMRM 1209-22;Schwertheim 1974: 146-7, no. 117), whilst that at Mackwilier (Alsace)was gutted by fire in the late 3rd century (Hatt 1958: 336). No doubtnormal ancient fire risks were amplified in places given over tonocturnal sacrifice. From the same early time there are instances ofMithraic sanctuaries which were deserted, in one case for 50 years, andthen subsequently revived. Inscriptions record the rehabilitation ofruins at six Mithraea in the Balkans in the 3rd and early 4th centuries(CIMRM 1438 & 1431 Virunum Noricum; 2208 Lopata Moesia; 1661Stix-Neusiedl Pannonia; 1485 Atrans-Trojana Pannonia; 1673 CarnuntumPannonia). It may be that the successive floors of the CarrawburghMithraeum indicate that it was intermittently disused (Richmond et al.1951: 28). In the time before Christianity became dominant, a local lossof interest could eventually be rectified; under the Christian Empire itwould contribute to a general decline of Mithraic observance.In places there are signs that the impedimenta of Mithraic cult weredisposed of in a deliberate but respectful manner. The bull-slayingrelief at Osterburken was 'covered carefully with sand' (CIMRM1291-93); the sculptures from the London Mithraeum also were 'verycarefully buried by people who had a considerable respect for them'(Merrifield 1977: 376). Such concealment of sculpture was not uncommonin other contexts - one thinks of the statuary stat��u��ar��y?n. pl. stat��u��ar��ies1. Statues considered as a group.2. The art of making statues.3. A sculptor.adj.Of, relating to, or suitable for a statue. buried in the wells ofLate Roman Athens (Fowden 1990: 496). But in Italy two entiresanctuaries appear to have been buried in a peculiarly laborious manner.The Mithraeum at Santa Maria Capua Vetere 'was not destroyed butfilled up with rubbish in order to make it inaccessible'(Vermaseren 1971: 1); the paintings on the walls were found unmarked andremarkably fresh. The Mithraic temple at Santa Prisca on the AventineHill The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome. EtymologyIts etymology is traced either from Aventinus (king) or a son of Hercules and a Latin priestess Rhea, also called Aventinus. in Rome was found in a similar condition. Here, too, the paintingswere remarkably well preserved, though in some cases the faces had beenscratched out. The temple had been deliberately filled with sand,brickbats, potsherds and other debris; it took the excavators and threemen, working eight hours a day, four weeks to shift the rubble from oneroom alone. Some inside doors were damaged, but the work of filling inthe Mithraeum was accomplished through holes made in the ceilings of thesubterranean sanctuary. The entrance to the main complex was sealed withbricks and masses of amphorae. From the rather various debris whichformed its contents, the excavators dated the filling of this temple toabout AD 400 (Vermaseren & van Essen 1965: 40-45). By contrast withthe violence witnessed at Pons Saravi, the filling with detritus detritus/de��tri��tus/ (de-tri��tus) particulate matter produced by or remaining after the wearing away or disintegration of a substance or tissue. de��tri��tusn. pl. of theMithraea at Santa Prisca and at Capua seems a sober and deliberate act.The excavators of Santa Prisca blame vengeful Christians for the longlabour whose results they were obliged to undo: 'one can imaginehow the Christians must have toiled to blot this Mithraeum out ofexistence' (Vermaseren & van Essen 1965: 43). It is at leastpossible that this exhausting method of desecration was chosen not byhostile Christians but by the Mithraists themselves; it suggests respectfor the temple in a way that simpler methods, such as fire and casualvandalism, do not.If the filling of the Mithraea at Capua and Santa Prisca was done bythe devotees of the temple there would be a precedent from the Iranianpast. The excavators of the 7th-century BC fire-temple at Tepe Nush-iJan in Media had to dig their way through a considerable volume oftightly-packed shale and mud-brick with which the temple had been filledwhen it was abandoned. The filling had been done with some care; thefire altar had been packed round with gravel chippings to save it frominjury. Some inside doors were damaged, and a hole had been cut in thevaulting of one room to let out the workmen who had done the job. Thewhole temple was sealed with a covering of mud-brick. Nush-i Jan wasclearly filled in deliberately, and one might reasonably suppose that itwas done not by enemies but by those who respected the temple, andperhaps in accordance with some ritual (Stronach & Roaf 1973: 137).Clearly vast differences of time and context separate a fire-templewhose presence could be sensed for miles across Media in the 8th and 7thcenturies BC from the artificial caves consecrated to the devotions ofRoman initiates; recent work (starting with R.L. Gordon 1972) hasemphasized the Roman character of Roman Mithraism. But a sense of thesanctity of materials and places could have been one of the elementsderived from the East by Roman Mithraists, and the filling-in of aMithraeum might be a ritual act marking the end of Mithraic cult in aparticular place and returning the temple to the earth from which it hadbeen formed.Whether or not the filling of the sanctuaries at Capua and SantaPrisca was a deliberate act done by Mithraists, the circumstances inwhich Mithraea went out of use were far from uniform. It is too simpleto blame the Christians. It is not as if Christians had a particulargrudge against the cult of Mithras; Tertullian, it is true, denouncesthe Mithraic mysteries The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras was a mystery religion practised in the Roman Empire, best attested in Rome and Ostia, Mauretania, Britain and in the provinces along the Rhine and Danube frontier. as a travesty of the Eucharist (On thePrescription of Heretics 40), but the other Latin apologists, Cyprian,Arnobius, Minucius Felix and Lactantius, who fulminate fulminate(fŭl`mĭnāt), any salt of fulminic acid, HONC, a highly unstable compound known only in solution. The term is most commonly applied to the explosive mercury (II) fulminate, also called fulminate of mercury, Hg(ONC)2. at length againstthe public Gods, mention Mithras nowhere The evidence we have assembledsuggests something more interesting than violence. If it were inpractice possible to diagnose from more of the known Mithraea the mannerof their abandonment, we should have a more exact idea of the way thatancient cults in the Roman Empire came to an end.Acknowledgements. The author expresses thanks to Dr Roaf, Dr Fowdenand Dr Henig for advice and to Professor Stronach for allowing him, over20 years ago, to work on the finds from Nush-i Jan. None of thesescholars is responsible for the views expressed here.ReferencesBOON, G.C. 1960. A Temple of Mithras at Caernarvon-Segontium,Archaeologia Cambrensis 109: 136ff.BRADBURY, S. 1994. Constantine and the problem of anti-paganlegislation in the fourth century, Classical Philology For the journal, see .Classical philology is the study of the language systems of Latin, specifically ancient Latin, and of Ancient Greek. It is called classical philology due to the use of the term Classics to refer to the general studies of ancient Greece and Rome. 89: 120-39.CIMRM: VERMASEREN, M.J. 1960. 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Budapest: Akademiai Kiado.VERMASEREN, M.J. 1971. Mithriaca I: The Mithraeum at Santa MariaCapua Vetere. Leiden: Brill.VERMASEREN, M.J. & C.C. VAN ESSEN. 1965. The excavations in theMithraeum at Santa Prisca in Rome. Leiden: Brill.WALTERS, V.J. 1974. The cult of Mithras in the provinces of RomanGaul For Gaul before the Roman conquest, see Gaul. Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in the Roman Empire, in modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. Roman control of the area lasted for 600 years. . Leiden: Brill.OLIVER NICHOLSON, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies,University of Minnesota (body, education) University of Minnesota - The home of Gopher.http://umn.edu/.Address: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. , 330 Folwell Hall, 9 Pleasant Street SE,Minneapolis MN 55455, USA.