I think I should add this one as well From Mithras Mysteries and initiation rediscovered by D Jason Cooper 1996 Samuel Weiser Inc York Beach Maine 12 95 Pages 1 8 When the Aryan tribes swept down from the Russian steppes they brought their gods with them Some time between 2000 and 1500 B C E these tribes entered India and Iran bringing with them one particular deity These people the Mitanni gave us the first written reference to Mitra in a treaty between themselves and the Hittites Signed about 1375 B C E the treaty calls on divine witnesses to pledge its terms The Hittites called on the sun go The Mitanni called on Mitra Mitra had been worshipped by the Iranians for centuries when Zarathustra we call him Zoroaster the Greek version of his name founded the first revealed religion Zarathustra announced the primacy of Ahura Mazda the Wise Lord who was served by the Amentas Spenta or bounteous immortals Among these was Mithra whom Ahura Mazda declared to be as worthy of worship as myself Thus Zarathustrian reform did not replace Mithra in the Iranian Pantheon It merely changed his role Mithra may also have been worshipped by the Mani Some branches of Manicheism identified Mithra as the ruler of the second or third emanation an occultist would say ray aeon or sepheroth But whether there were actual rites of worship dedicated to him or whether he simply functioned as an anthropomorphic principle is impossible to say In the Roman Empire this same deity was called Mithras and was the central figure of a mystery religion that for almost five hundred years vied with Christianity for dominance Roman Mithrasism differed so markedly however from other traditions that some scholars have claimed Mithras to be a unique deity distinct from Mitra or Mithra Although this book deals primarily with Mithrasism in its Roman form it will demonstrate that there is good reason to connect the Roman Mithras with his other forms in other traditions In the beginning was a word The names Mitra Mithra and Mithras all derive from the Indo European root Mihr which translates both as friend and as contract While both translations are correct however neither gives a full account of the word Mihr itself derives from mei an Indo European root meaning exchange But Aryan society did not use the word exchange to describe a transaction Ancient societies were hierarchical Neither the concept of an exchange between equals after which a relationship ended our meaning of contract nor the concept of an open ended exchange between equals our meaning of friendship were contained in the original meaning of the word Mihr or Mei For our concept of friendship the Rg Veda uses the word sakhi The friendship or contract offered by Mihr or Mitra as he became known was an exchange between unequal partners with Mitra as a just lord Like any feudal relationship this friendship imposed certain obligations on both sides Mitra oversaw the affairs of his worshippers He established justice for them In return his worshippers had to be upright in their dealings with others Mitra was thus lord of the contract a title frequently applied to him The Iranian Mithra and Zarathustra As the Aryan tribes swept south they split into two major branches the Indian in the east and the Iranis in the west Both Worshipped the god of the contract in similar ways Like the Indians the Iranis sacrificed cattle to Mithra They invoked him to preserve the sanctity of the contract They associated him with fire And like both Indian and Roman worshippers the Iranis concluded contracts before fires so that they might be made in the presence of Mithra Like Mitra Mithra saw all things The Avestan Yast hymn dedicated to him describes him as having a thousand ears ten thousand eyes and as never sleeping And like Mitra Mithra has a partner Apam Nepat whose name means Grandson of Waters Note that the same elemental connection of fire and water is maintained as in the Indian tradition Mithra was a moral god upholding the sanctity of the contract even when the contract was made with one who was sure to break it His primary responsibility was to the rightness of the action In this he stood above the various national gods of the time who had little function other than to look after the welfare of the state and its wealthiest members In fact Mithra was the first such moral deity and stands above the notions of many worshippers of many gods today The Iranis had a deep reverence for Mithra as is proved by their reception of the prophet Zarathustra Zarathustra is the most important person in the recorded history of religion bar none The first man to promulgate a divinely reveale