Written by The Religion That Almost Won
Before Christianity conquered Rome, another Eastern religion dominated the Roman military, the merchant class, and the imperial administration:
The Mysteries of Mithras.
From the 1st to the 4th century CE, Mithraic temples (mithraea) spread throughout the Roman Empire — from Britain to Syria, from Germany to North Africa. Hundreds of underground temples. Thousands of initiates. A complete religious system with rituals, grades of initiation, and cosmic mythology.
Then Christianity became the state religion, and Mithraism vanished — its temples buried, its texts destroyed, its memory erased.
But Mithras was Mithra — a Zoroastrian yazata. And what the Mithras cult taught shaped Christianity in ways that persist today.
Mithra in Zoroastrianism
The Original Figure
Mithra (Avestan) / Mehr (Persian) was a yazata (divine being) in Zoroastrian theology:
- God of covenants, oaths, and justice
- Guardian of truth (Asha)
- Associated with the sun and light
- Judge of souls at the Chinvat Bridge
- Warrior against evil
- Mediator between Ahura Mazda and humanity
The Mehr Yasht (Yasht 10) is an extended hymn to Mithra, describing his cosmic role.
Mithra’s Significance
Mithra was second only to Ahura Mazda in Persian popular devotion:
- The name “Mehr” became a common Persian name
- “Mehrdad” (given by Mehr) is still used today
- Festivals celebrated Mithra (including the winter solstice)
- The Persian weekday “Mehr-shid” (Sunday) honors the sun/Mithra
The Roman Transformation
When and How
Mithraism appeared in Rome around the 1st century CE:
- First evidence: late 1st century CE inscriptions
- Peak: 2nd-3rd centuries CE
- Spread by soldiers, merchants, and administrators
- Popular in military camps and trade cities
What Changed
Roman Mithras differed from Zoroastrian Mithra:
- Tauroctony — the central image of Mithras killing a bull (not in Zoroastrian sources)
- Mystery structure — seven grades of initiation
- Male-only — women excluded (unlike Zoroastrianism)
- Underground temples — mithraea were cave-like spaces
But the core associations remained:
- Sun and light
- Truth and justice
- Cosmic battle
- Mediation between divine and human
The Seven Grades
Mithraic initiation had seven levels:
- Corax (Raven) — Mercury
- Nymphus (Bridegroom) — Venus
- Miles (Soldier) — Mars
- Leo (Lion) — Jupiter
- Perses (Persian) — Moon
- Heliodromus (Sun-Runner) — Sun
- Pater (Father) — Saturn
Note: The fourth grade is explicitly named “Persian” — acknowledging the religion’s origin.
The Mithraic-Christian Parallels
December 25th
Mithras: Born on December 25th (winter solstice) — the “birthday of the Unconquered Sun”
Christianity: Adopted December 25th for Jesus’s birth (first attested in 336 CE)
The date was Mithraic before it was Christian.
Sunday Worship
Mithras: Sunday (dies Solis, day of the Sun) was sacred
Christianity: Adopted Sunday as the Christian sabbath (replacing Jewish Saturday)
The Sacred Meal
Mithras: Ritual meal of bread and wine, commemorating Mithras’s feast with the Sun god
Christianity: Eucharist — bread and wine as body and blood of Christ
Early Church Fathers (Justin Martyr) noted this parallel and attributed the Mithraic meal to demonic imitation.
Virgin Birth and Cave
Mithras: Born from a rock (petra genetrix) — miraculous birth without normal generation
Christianity: Virgin birth
Mithras: Born in a cave (mithraea were cave-like)
Christianity: Some traditions place Jesus’s birth in a cave (cf. Protevangelium of James)
Shepherds and the Star
Mithras: Witnessed at birth by shepherds
Christianity: Shepherds visited the infant Jesus
Twelve Companions
Mithras: Associated with the twelve signs of the zodiac
Christianity: Twelve apostles
Resurrection and Ascension
Mithras: After his earthly mission, ascended to heaven in the chariot of the Sun
Christianity: Jesus ascended to heaven
Final Judgment
Mithras: Will return at the end of time to judge souls
Christianity: Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead
The Rock
Mithras: Born from rock; associated with “petra”
Christianity: Peter (Petra) is the rock on which the church is built
What the Church Fathers Said
Justin Martyr (100-165 CE)
“For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them… which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done.”
Justin acknowledges the parallel (sacred meal) and explains it as demonic counterfeiting — demons copied Christianity in advance.
Tertullian (155-220 CE)
“The devil, whose business is to pervert the truth, mimics the exact circumstances of the Divine Sacraments… He baptizes his believers… he promises the putting away of sins by a laver.”
Tertullian notes Mithraic baptism and other parallels.
The Problem with “Demonic Imitation”
The Church Fathers’ explanation requires believing:
- Demons knew what Christianity would teach
- Demons created Mithraism beforehand to confuse people
- The similarities are therefore satanic, not indicative of borrowing
This is apologetics, not history. The simpler explanation: Christianity absorbed Mithraic elements, not vice versa.
The Archaeological Evidence
Mithraea Everywhere
Hundreds of mithraea have been excavated:
- Rome: Multiple temples, including one under San Clemente church
- Ostia: Major concentration at Rome’s port city
- London: Mithraeum discovered in 1954
- Germany: Numerous military mithraea
- Carrawburgh: Temple at Hadrian’s Wall
Common Features
Mithraea typically included:
- Rectangular cave-like space
- Benches along both sides
- Altar at the end
- Tauroctony relief
- Cosmic symbolism (stars, planets)
- Space for ritual meals
The Layers
Churches were often built directly on top of mithraea:
- San Clemente, Rome: Christian church literally on top of Mithraeum
- The pattern suggests deliberate replacement of one religion with another
What’s Missing
Almost no Mithraic texts survive. What we know comes from:
- Archaeological remains
- Hostile Christian descriptions
- A few inscriptions
The destruction was thorough.
Why Mithraism Lost
1. State Power
When Constantine legalized Christianity (313 CE) and Theodosius I made it the state religion (380 CE), Mithraism had no imperial backing.
2. No Women
Mithraism excluded women. Christianity included the entire family. In the long run, inclusive religions outcompete exclusive ones.
3. Martyrdom Narrative
Christianity had compelling stories of persecution and martyrdom. Mithraism had less developed narrative tradition.
4. Philosophical Sophistication
Christianity engaged with Greek philosophy more systematically, appealing to intellectuals.
5. Deliberate Suppression
Once Christianity held power, mithraea were:
- Closed by law
- Physically destroyed
- Built over with churches
- Erased from memory
What Mithraism Proves
1. Persian Religion Was Already in Rome
Before Christianity arrived, Rome already had a Persian-derived religion. The ground was prepared.
2. The Parallels Are Real
December 25th, Sunday worship, the sacred meal, birth imagery, resurrection, judgment — all have Mithraic parallels.
3. Christianity Competed with Mithraism
In the 2nd-4th centuries, these were rival religions. Christianity won by imperial backing and inclusion of women — not by being more “original.”
4. Christianity Absorbed What It Conquered
Rather than inventing December 25th, Christianity adopted the Mithraic date. Rather than creating Sunday worship, it adopted Mithraic practice. The conquered religion’s forms continued under Christian names.
5. The Evidence Was Buried
Mithraea were literally buried under churches. Texts were destroyed. The Mithraic contribution to Christianity was deliberately erased.
The Underground Churches
San Clemente, Rome
This church has three layers:
- Top: 12th-century basilica
- Middle: 4th-century church
- Bottom: 2nd-century Mithraeum
You can descend through history — from Christianity to the Persian religion it replaced and absorbed.
Symbolic Burial
Churches built on mithraea symbolize what happened: Christianity didn’t just defeat Mithraism — it buried it, built on top of it, and forgot it was there.
But the foundations remain. And archaeologists keep finding them.
Conclusion
Mithraism was not a minor cult. It was a major Roman religion for three centuries — as influential in its time as Christianity.
It was Zoroastrian. Mithra = Mithra. The Roman mysteries drew on Persian sources.
When Christianity triumphed, it:
- Adopted December 25th from Mithras
- Adopted Sunday from Mithras
- Used sacred meal imagery familiar from Mithraism
- Built churches on mithraea
The religion it conquered became the religion it absorbed.
Today, when Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th and worship on Sunday, they’re following a calendar set by Mithraic practice.
The underground temples are buried. But their influence surfaces every time the church calendar turns.
Mithra remembers. Mehr endures. The sun still rises on the day Rome named for him.
Sources
Primary Archaeological Evidence
- Clauss, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras. Edinburgh University Press, 2000
- Beck, Roger. The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire. Oxford, 2006
- Vermaseren, M.J. Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae. Martinus Nijhoff, 1956-1960
On Mithra in Zoroastrianism
- Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. 1. Brill, 1975
- Mehr Yasht (Yasht 10) — Avestan text
On Christian Parallels
- Cumont, Franz. The Mysteries of Mithra. Dover, 1956
- Ulansey, David. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries. Oxford, 1989
Church Fathers
- Justin Martyr. First Apology
- Tertullian. On Prescription Against Heretics
At eFireTemple, we remember what lies beneath. Rome’s underground temples held Persian wisdom. Churches were built on their ruins. But foundations don’t disappear — they support what stands above.