The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri, numbered ''PGM'' IV.475–829. Albrecht Dieterich, the first translator of the text in 1903, coined the name it is known by today, based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of immortality. The text is generally considered to be a product of the

religious syncretism Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition. This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each ...

characteristic of the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and Roman Imperial era, as were the

Mithraic mysteries Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity ('' yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras was ...

themselves. Some scholars have argued that the text has no direct connection to Mithraic ritual practice; others consider it an authentic reflection of Mithraic liturgy, or view it as Mithraic material reworked for the syncretic tradition of magic and esotericism. The

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

containing the text was acquired by the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

in 1857. It is thought to date to the early 4th century AD, though Dieterich proposed a date of composition as early as 100–150 AD. Its likely provenance in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where evidence of the Mithraic cult is rare, presents a major challenge to the possibility of it being an original Mithraic liturgy.

Structure

Marvin Meyer divides the Mithras Liturgy into two sections: Lines 475–750 are a liturgy for the mystic ascent of the soul through seven stages, and 751–834 provide instructions on how to enact the liturgy. The text begins by invoking Providence ''(Pronoia)'' and Psyche ("Soul") or in other readings

Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman mythology, Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the dau ...

. The speaker of the invocation announces that he is writing down the mysteries to offer instruction and not for gain, and that he seeks a revelation of the universe and immortality guided by an ''archangelos'' (ἀρχάγγελος, "high messenger") of Helios Mithras (lines 475–485).

Ascent

The ascent through seven grades is viewed by Meyer as representing Mithraic initiation, but it also bears a more general resemblance to the ascent of the initiate in

theurgy Theurgy (; from the Greek θεουργία ), also known as divine magic, is one of two major branches of the magical arts, Pierre A. Riffard, ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 340. the other being practical magic or thau ...

, with parallels in fragments from the Chaldaean Oracles.

1. Four Elements

The speaker invokes the four classical primordial elements, punctuated by '' voces magicae'', magical sounds, in the following sequence: * PPP SSS PHR /small>, a popping and hissing sound characteristic of incantations *''

pneuma ''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breathing, breath", and in a religious context for "spirit (animating force), spirit". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in rega ...

'' (wind, breath, spirit) * MMM *

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

* ĒY ĒIA EĒ *

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

* ŌŌŌ AAA EEE *

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

* YĒ YŌĒ These elements he refers to as "first origin of my origin" from which his "complete body" is made. He identifies himself by name, and by the name of his mother. The soul's encounter with the four elements is rehearsed as both generation and regeneration (lines 485–537).Alvar, "Mithraism and Magic," p. 525.

2. Lower powers of air

At this level (lines 537–585), the revelation-seeker is supposed to breathe deeply and feel himself lifted up, as if in midair, hearing and seeing nothing of mortal beings on earth. He is promised to see instead the divine order of the "visible gods" rising and setting. Ritual silence is prescribed, followed by another sequence of hissing, popping, and thirteen magic words: "Then you will see the gods looking graciously upon you and no longer rushing at you, but rather going about in their own order of affairs." After a shocking crash of thunder, another admonition of silence, and a magic incantation, the disk of the sun is to open and issue five-pointed stars. The eyes are to be closed for the following prayer.

3. Aion and powers

In this prayer (lines 585–628), the speaker again names himself and his mother, followed by an extensive list of translatable epithets such as "Light-maker" and "Fire-driver" interspersed with magic names. These are "planetary guardians of the gates of heaven". Among the invocations are Aion and Iao. An extensive series of vowels are pronounced "with fire and spirit." After thunder and a feeling of physical agitation, another series of magic words elicits a vision of Helios.

4. Helios

Helios is described as "a youthful god, beautiful in appearance, with fiery hair, and in a white tunic and a scarlet cloak, and wearing a fiery crown." He is to be given the "fire greeting" (lines 628–657), and asked for protection while kissing phylacteries.

5. Seven ''Tychai''

The celestial doors are thrown open to reveal seven virgins dressed in linen and with faces of asps, an element identified as Egyptian. They carry golden wands, and are to be hailed individually (lines 657–672).

6. Seven Pole-Lords

Next to come forth are the seven Pole-Lords, wearing linen loincloths and with faces of bulls. They have seven gold diadems, and are also to be hailed individually by name. These have powers of thunder, lightning, and earthquakes, as well as the capacity to grant physical health, good eyesight and hearing, and calmness (lines 673–692). The two groups of seven, female and male, are both depicted in an Egyptian manner and represent the "region of the fixed stars."

7. Highest god

In the midst of lightning and tremors of the earth, the highest god appears, youthful and bright in appearance, wearing a white tunic, a golden crown, and trousers. He holds the shoulder of a bull in what seems to be an astronomical reference (lines 696–724). His eyes project lightning bolts, and stars issue from his body. The instructions are to "make a long bellowing sound, straining your belly, that you may excite the five senses; bellow long until out of breath, and again kiss the phylacteries." The encounter with the highest god is intended to result in

divine revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and theology. Types Individual revelation Thomas A ...

and ''apathanatismos'', a technical term for the temporary achieving of a state of immortality.

Enactment and use

Lines 751–834 are instructions on how to enact the liturgy. The practitioner is warned not to misuse the ''mysterion'' (lines 724–834), and is given instructions on the preparation of magical accoutrements: a sun scarab ointment (751–778), the herb ''kentritis'' (778–792), and the protective phylacteries for the ritual (813–819). The section also offers some additional information and incantations.

Magic context

In Book IV of the ''Greek Magical Papyri'' in which the "Mithras Liturgy" occurs, lines 1–25 are a spell calling on Egyptian and Jewish powers in order to obtain information. Lines 1127–1164 are a spell for exorcising a demon, using Coptic words of Christian origin, with instructions for preparing an amulet. Lines 1716–1870 are headed "Sword of Dardanos" and is a love spell. The Mithras Liturgy shares several elements found widely in magic as practiced in the

Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

, which drew on or claimed the authority of Egyptian religion and magic. These include the preparation of

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s and ointments, the timing of rituals based on astronomical phenomena or

horoscope A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...

s, and the manipulation of breath and speech. Vocalizations include popping and hissing sounds for

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

, variations on the sequence of Greek vowels,

glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...

, and words that are untranslatable but seem to derive from or are intended to ''sound'' like

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and other languages. The "Mithras Liturgy" is the only text in Betz's collection of the ''Greek Magical Papyri'' that involves a request for immortality. It is an example of the difficulty in distinguishing between "magic" and "religion" in the ancient world.

Questions of Mithraic content

The name "the Mithras liturgy" was given to it by Dieterich, who dedicated the edition to Franz Cumont. But Cumont could not see the text as being Mithraic in origin. Gee believes that its origins should be sought in this context, while Hans Dieter Betz thinks rather of a wandering philosophical origin. Classicist Johan C. Thom notes that opinions regarding the context of the text differ, for example, Mithraism or another mystery cult, ancient magic, the Egyptian cult regarding the dead, or

. Mithraic scholars such as Cumont,

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literatur ...

, Martin P. Nilsson, and

Walter Burkert Walter Burkert (; 2 February 1931 – 11 March 2015) was a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult. A professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, he taught in the UK and the US. He has influenced generations of student ...

do not identify the text as a Mithraic liturgy. Cumont argued that the text lacked Mithraic

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

, the Mithraic doctrine of the passage of the soul through the seven planetary spheres, and Mithras as a guide in the ascension. Betz believes that the Mithras Liturgy is a product at the meeting-point of Greek, Egyptian, and Mithraic traditions, finally identifying the central 'ascent' section as a product of early

Hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretism, syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system e ...

. Richard Gordon, however, doubts that Hermeticism influenced the text. Marvin Meyer is certain that the text has connections to

Mithraism Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

and believes that it "contributes a great deal to the study of magic, miracle, and ritual in religions in antiquity and

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, including Christianity, and the stories of miracles attributed to Jesus and others may profitably be studied with texts like the Mithras Liturgy at hand."