In the late Republic, a Roman woman, a wife and mother, died and left a funeral epitaph which was rediscovered in modern times in Rome, near the Bridge of St. Bartholomew.

CLAS / HIST 4091 / 5091: The Roman Empire

Reading (9) for Friday October 28, 2011. The Cults of Isis and Mithras: Universal Religions?

Reading (in Lewis and Reinhold collection)

Apuleius The Golden Ass (p. 195-214)

R. Turcan The Cults of the Roman Empire p. 195-247 (on e-reserves in Norlin Library)

Today we will examine texts relating to two of the most popular "mystery cults" in the Roman empire. Our word "cult" derives from the Latin word "cultus", which means something like caring for and is applied to everything from farming (hence our word agriculture) to religion ("religious cult"). When we use the word to describe ancient religion, we are thus sticking close to the ancient terminology and must not import our modern pejorative preconceptions about the word "cult." These cults were not fringe religious movements based on charismatic monomaniacs, but rather different ways of 'caring for' or 'worshiping' the divine. We must also keep in mind that mainstream religion in Greco-Roman antiquity (indeed, in most ancient cultures) was polytheistic, i.e. it was normal to worship multiple gods. It was thus not inherently strange to a Roman that she might worship traditional Roman deities like Jupiter and Minerva right alongside a mystery deity like Isis or Mithras. That said, however, certain mystery cults - including the cults of Isis and Mithras - were frowned upon and even punished at various times in Roman history by the state religious apparatus.

Our term "mystery" religion derives from the Greek verb 'muein' (to keep silent). The fundamental characteristic of mystery religions in antiquity is that they involved some degree of secrecy. Participation in the cult involved initiation, or even multiple initiations that allowed the worshipper to experience a religiously charged moment and thus to be taken in as a 'member' of the cult. Over time, these initiation rituals grew in number and became more elaborate and, often, more demanding (even downright terrifying). The fact that these rites were performed in secret contexts and that their secrets were closely guarded by ancient initiates renders it difficult to say precisely what happened during these ceremonies. This is at once frustrating and intriguing for the modern student. The one advantage to both Isis and Mithras' cult, and particularly the Mithras cult, is that the efforts made to create secret environments - the creation of closed temples in the case of Isis and 'caves' in the case of Mithras - has left considerable traces in the archaeological record. The abundance of archaeological material makes it possible to reconstruct hypothetically what went on.

Because, the evidence for Mithras in particular is primarily archaeological, our reading on this cult will be from a secondary study and will thus give us one person's interpretation of the evidence rather than simply laying out the primary evidence so that we can judge for ourselves. Caution is advised!

Questions

1. Outline in brief the history of the spread of Mithraism as it is described in Turcan. Do you feel there is adequate evidence to support Turcan's model for the genesis of this cult?

2. How did Mithraism spread across the empire? What is our evidence for its spread? Was its dissemination slow or fast? What social and political organizations helped it spread?

3. What was the experience of the Mithraic initiate? Was this a public or private religion? Did its arcane (hidden) nature help increase the popularity of the cult or limit it? What other factors limited or increased Mithraism's chances for success?

4. In Apuleius' Metamorphoses, what was Lucius' experience of Isiac initiation? What were the Isiac communities he encountered like? How were they structured? How were they financed?

5. What appealed to Lucius about the experience of Isis worship? What were the cult's central tenets and what buzzwords were used to express these?

6. To what degree to hierarchies play a role in both cults? To what degree did the establishment of these hierarchies of initiation and authority affect the success or failure of these religions?

7. Why do you think these mystery cults were so successful in the Roman Empire? Was their message something that appealed to a universal human need or was it instead inextricably bound up in their historical context?