Seven Mithraic Grades: An Initiatory or Priestly Hierarchy?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Religio: Revue pro religionistiku |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | Mithraism; Mithraic Grades |
| Description | The article re-opens the problem of Mithraic Grades in the light of some new important discoveries. It comes to conclusion that 1)they can still be seen as initiatory and at least theoretically a religious goal of all Mithraists; 2) they were vertically structured and initiation into them imitated a journey of the soul through planetary spheres; 3) they were universal and existed in all (or at least in the majority of) Mithraic communities; 4)they were an integral part of Mithraic ideology and were used from the very beginnings of the cult. |