Date Thesis Awarded
5-2024
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Classical Studies
Advisor
Molly Swetnam-Burland
Committee Members
Jessica Paga
Alexander Angelov
Abstract
The time has come to implement a new approach to Mithras and his worship. This ancient Roman belief system, spread across three continents and enduring for more than three centuries, remains one of the least understood aspects of the ancient Roman world, yet has enormous potential to reveal the experiences and emotions of its people. In this honors thesis, I seek to rectify the challenges preventing a holistic reconstruction of Mithraism, offering a new methodology for understanding the establishment, development, and maintenance of Mithraic communities across the Roman Empire. I argue for a new approach in four parts. In Chapter 1, I introduce the diverse religious phenomenon of Mithras worship. In Chapter 2, I offer a brief overview and interpretation of archaeological and textual evidence and a short history of scholarship regarding Mithraism, establishing the hermeneutical problems inherent in past paradigms. In Chapter 3, I explore the ‘Ideal Mithraeum’ of Mithraic scholar Roger Beck, deconstructing his use of evidence and criticizing his generalizing conclusions about the astral meanings of this ancient belief system. Particularly important are Beck’s claims that all Mithraic temples mean the same. In Chapter 4, I present a new methodological approach to Mithraism based on "lived religion" techniques and focusing on human perception and agency in localized contexts. I argue that Mithras worship is best understood through the experiences and expressions of individuals, who adapted the diverse idioms of Mithraism to fit environmental and cultural panoramas across the Roman Empire. I demonstrate my approach through two case studies: the Močići Mithraeum (Konavle, Croatia) and the Mithraeum of Les Bolards (Nuits-Saint-Georges, France). The final conclusions of my thesis reveal that all Mithraic communities did not mean the same, but rather manipulated a broad set of symbolism to fit local circumstances, transforming understandings of Mithras from a static deity to a god for all places.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Ian, "A God For All Places: Experiencing a Localized Mithraism" (2024). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2080.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2080
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons
