PERSIAN SUN GOD

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 71, 24 March 1926, Page 2

PERSIAN SUN GOD

. - —, ♦ ...... : , .. AN ANIMATED SYMBOL

EMOTIONAL LIFE OF MAN

: THE OUTLET OF BBLIGION.'.

' T.he r Religions. of mankind sprijj j- from the same roots in solar noil. As the centre of our planetary system, the sun, lifegiver and .fertiliser of 'Sartb, has been worshipped in some Way or other by all the races of the world. Cults, the origm of which- are liuried in- ancient astronomical mythology,. survive in pur • modern sacerdotal codes,: and present; phases in the continuous- evolution of" beliefs. • The : genealogy of divinity' is '.the subject of . speculation, the theme of nightmare metaphysics. • Demons have grown into - gods by inexplicable metamorphosis as jnen'a ■ minds'have' Become more' iuwlnoun. And with the help, o£.=art, whenever mythology. has' .wed .'idolatry, ' the nuptial -fires", of ' their'union in religion h&ve'benekindled by the sun. ' ••• ■ ' ' :'■•- , ■ . .-With an.lndian background .(.forall religions come put of the East) dating! b»ck to the Aryan invasion, Mithra, at first merely an animated symbol of the~»un, .became a particularly ;P*rsiati: e^t. After maw years it spread ■westward, conquering the Roman Empire through tli« conversion of the. soldiers <>f pompye,,vntil jn the early- eras of Christianity,--when' that religion w,as fighting,for a foothold , in the emotional life of man, the worship of Mithra became practically •■ uniTtreal throughout the known world. It appealed to slave* and freed men '.-. alike. Consuls were converted, Senator* subscribed ta it.. Even emperors embraced it. A- cave was dug in the Cepitolian Hill. In England, notably, in NorthurabisrMd, Cheshire, and O.xford, in Germany, the Alps, and Southern France, and along the coast of the Mediterranean as far w the Empire extended, Mithraic remains bare been found. Wherever the Roman legions went they toojt-their borrowed^ Persjan cult, the moral and ascetic element* of which made strong appeals to' war-Uke and barbaric peoples. ■.:,'■• :■• Much complicated symbolism -iw be-' come attached by the process of syucret-: ism to the worship of Mitfcra, and the Mithraic ritual has suffered many changes and additions during the lifetime, of the cult. Originally. » : sun spirijt", Mithra became, the god .of light and truth, haying. been created by and .living c**"d with the supreme Iran diety, and represented as mediator between the two great powers of good and evil. The orwin of the divine Trinity has been .lost in antiquity. It is the common possession of all preChristian cults. That of the Persinn culf consisted of Qrmazd;"the power of good; Aliriman, the power of evil; and Mithra, the seyiour, the redeemer: of mankind. To the Parsee Mithra wm the jifct of the world;; Kb: spirit, war blinding in beauty, radiant wfth the. effulgence of truth. To him all prayers wera: aadreesed,all oblations made. To him,orisons were offered, and by him were benJsona bestowed. He was almighty. Only Ahriman, the dweljer in darkness,; disputed pis sovereignty. Later MitHra .was associated by the Rowan converts with Man" -H:he warlike devotee being given a sword at his initiation. There remain in South Russia relics...depjetipg this phase of Mithraism, in which the war god ride* rough-shod over his prostrate fon, ihowmg that the warlike Scythians of the third century B.C. bad com* under the spell of Mithra, and carried the «ult with them to battle. . ■'...■ ■ < WRNOF A ROCK. ..-,, Mithra, according to tradition, sprang from a rock, His birth was facilitated without the aid of parent! in a cave, where shepherds watched their adoration. He is most often associated with the slayer of a bull, though sometimes seen as "a serpentine god bearing two keys." Speculation has been ewrcised in its ingenuity to explain the bull, and has called jt in turns the symbol of lust, the earth, the moon. It is probably of Indian origin, the explanation residing in. lodiacal-astro-Jatry; For, many - centuries' ago, when Mithraism was firpt conceived,* the sun at the vernal equinox was seen to enter the zodiac at the sign of the bull. But owing to the precession of the- equinoxes the constellation of the bull ceased to be the sun's place at Faster',' and it entered at the constellation of : the . ram or helanjb. Support is given to this theory in that jn the later decadei of Mithraism a lamb was substituted for thajjull-in ritualistic observance, bringing, the sawed symbol to absojutions through its blood down to the Christian era. ■ . .According^ the Julian calendar the 2ath December was reckoned as the day of the winter solstice, and h*n?e it was said to be.Mithra's birthday. On this date also, according to Persian Genesis, th«| fast man.and woman, Washy*, and Mashyana, who were alike both eexless and sinlesn, wre aaid to have been born. lhe day therefore became an important Persian feast day, when the Mithreists each year- commemorated the rebirth of their divine luminary by service, coming out of their shrines at mJdwjAt .with burning torches, crying "The Tirsrin has brough-t forth."' Tfi» W«Vth2?W t?l* a" cIo I ?. aJ»F*"t l W the "Feeat of Lights" which the Jews probably Borrowed from Babylon. Early in the fifth century St. Chrysostom (31st-Ho»iIy) «iid -"On this day (25thDecembirr.lii 'he birthday of Christ, wa« latejr ftied at Rome, m order that the ChrMianrejoic»M« might coincide with the Pagan birthdsy of the Invincible One, Mithra." Chrysostom quite approved of. Christ's birthday b»ing the Eanje date as that of Mithra, for in his opinion Christ was the §un of Righteousness.', :V :: „". ■■-, ■■ PURQED OF GROSSER ELEMENT*. In Mithraic infancy, like other religions, the god no 4oiiDt was placated with human sacrifice, but aa the cult spread it reached a higher; %*■ broader ethical plane, becoming purgecpf all the grosser elements of licentiousness and blood, fhe Mithraic mysteries were.esoteric. '■ A cave his templei he had -no tabernacle. His altar was cut from roclc, at which the priests celebrated the sacred rites. They hailed the rising: »un with joy, end they offered up prayers in the.darkness for his return. Sunday, the . first day: of: the week, they consecrated to Mithra; It 'was set apart for special worship, hallowed^for devotional-meaitation. The initiated were called "Brethren." These partook cf Sne sacraments of baptism, by. honey," the use of holy water, and the eucharistie breaking: of: .bread and " drinking of wine,.after which they ware marked upon the fprehea4vwjth a secret.sign. At tile .celebrations.' of the vernal eflumox the death and resuireetion of Mithra Were dramatically portrayed. :,A.,graven image of the god upon a. stone slab wan. conveyed into the cave to?symboHse h» 4»ff««nt to the nether world amid sorrow, fatiiog, and praycy. Later tha1 prlesta .brought forth the image with triumph; jjibiUtiin, .and ions. Mfthra is said to have had twelve disciples corespon^ing' to the, signa of the 'zodiac or. tlie months pf thf year, find paralleled py the I^'elve, labour*'-of Hercules, the twelve shields -of Mars, and the twelve Apostles' of Osnis. ■ The ij^d, unhke Apollo, Aghi, and I*Attis,1 *Attis, though spmetiwes represented as ■bi'sexual, seems to have been without amour; nor is there1 any sexua] element discoverable in Mitbrsie ntuol. Women held no status in the practice of the cult, a»d no "love fea»tr' arose to disfigure the religion a* they ai*: figured the e»rjy Christian sects. Sensuality found no place in the worahip df the Wrnte Ideal. '. ■ .""""" Heliolatry appealed to th# Bom*n», who held: tlit creed of the piona OalUeau 'In dread. So the early. Fathers, wliiJo incpjppvatmg many Mithraic practices into the tenets of tiieip ov.-n religion, -took care to destroy all »ueh Pagan reeorde. Porphyry instances severa) vast works on Mithraisin; but thesis the chuw has demolished. Justin MartjT with diwiming naivety (Apol, Ixvi.) explains that "She wicked devils" initiated the vi«titu.tio& of the Lord's Supt)«- in the mysteries of Jlithra.. Tertullian also accuses "the devils" of. plagiarism from the Christian ritual. But the priority of the pagan claim still stands., ... ■ "-: Creeds change and systems alter;- religions: evolve. The fittest survive.- . siithra, ■ originally put on the vestmeiits of Mazdeiem and took'--'-root in Persia. Attributes were added to;, serve Economic ends. Humanity was blent with divinity. Mythical endo-ivments. supcrx-oiicd :on simplci' rites to meet psychic needs. In the way Jlithra, a. Kolaf spirit, became a Pagan Christ.. ■.■;■■. .-•• r