2006-12-23 01:55:51 · 4 answers · asked by intwhite 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Check out the link below. Apparently, Mithra (meaning "friend") killed a bull (which symbolized all of the evil in the world). As a result, we got all of the good things in the world.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mithra.html
2006-12-23 02:12:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anpadh 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mithraism was a mystery religion present in the Roman world. It is uncertain when it began; some say in the 1st century BC[1], some in the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD.
It was centered around worship of the god Mithras.
Only limited information about Mithras has come down to us, and scholars disagree on how it should be interpreted. It was believed to have had a Persian origin, but whether this is really so is disputed: see Mithra. It is most famous for suggestions in ancient and modern times that it was a rival of or resembled Christianity.
Mithraism apparently originated in the Eastern part of today's Iran around the 7th century BC [citation needed]. It was practiced in the Roman Empire since the first century BC, and reached its apogee around the third through fourth centuries AD, when it was very popular among the Roman soldiers. Mithraism disappeared after the Theodosian decree of AD 391 banned all pagan rites.
In every Mithraic temple, the place of honor was occupied by a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull, called a tauroctony., possibly a symbolic representation of the constellations rather than an animal sacrifice scene.
Mithras is associated with Perseus, whose constellation is above that of the bull.
2006-12-23 10:07:37 · answer #2 · answered by jd 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Scholars are uncertain, but it's generally believed that the figure "Mithras slaying the bull" is actually derived from a series of constellations rather than being a depiction of an actual sacrifice. Every "Mithraeum" or ritual gathering-place of the cult contained a statue called a "tauroctony," which depicted Mithras, aided by two smaller figures, slaying the bull, while a scorpion stings the bull's balls; the whole scene takes place in a wheat-field in which there are also the figures of a dog and a serpent. The Bull has been linked with the constellation Taurus, and the Scorpion with Scorpio.
It's nice that the cheap cut-and-paste job below basically backs up what I wrote - even if it IS from Wikipedia.
2006-12-23 10:00:35 · answer #3 · answered by jonjon418 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mithraism...
2006-12-23 14:41:19 · answer #4 · answered by myangel_101211 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋