Paganism and Christianity - Mithraic Mysteries, Christian Views on Magic, Orosius, Folk Christianity, Daemon, Unclean Spirit, Themes in Avatar (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 72. Chapters: Mithraic mysteries, Christian views on magic, Orosius, Folk Christianity, Daemon, Unclean spirit, Themes in Avatar, Jesus Christ in comparative mythology, Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism, Christianity and Paganism, Agora, Idolatry and Christianity, Christianised calendar, Christianised sites, Hellenistic religion, Christianized myths and imagery, Demogorgon, Confession inscriptions of Lydia and Phrygia, Anastenaria, Taurobolium, Kriophoros, Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai, Hypsistarians, Christianity and Neopaganism, Virtuous pagan. Excerpt: The Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. The name of the Persian god Mithra, adapted into Greek as Mithras, was linked to a new and distinctive imagery. Romans also called the religion Mysteries of Mithras or Mysteries of the Persians; modern historians refer to it as Mithraism, or sometimes Roman Mithraism. The mysteries were popular in the Roman military. Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation, with ritual meals. Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those "united by the handshake." They met in underground temples (called a mithraeum), which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its epicentre in Rome. Numerous archeological finds, including meeting places, monuments, and artifacts, have contributed to modern knowledge about Mithraism throughout the Roman Empire. The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering a bull, and sharing a banquet with the god Sol (the Sun). About 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult. Among the items found are about 1000 inscriptions, 700 examples of the bull-killing scene (tauroctony), and about 400 other monuments. It has been estimated that there would have been at least 680-690 ...