Who was Mithra?
In the Zoroastrian system, Mithra (also written as Mithras) was an ancient god in India and Persia (modern day Iran) around the 6 th century BC. He became elevated to the principle god of light and wisdom in the Persian Empire around the 5th century BC. Around the 2 nd century AD, Mithraism was popular among the soldiers in the Roman Empire because he was depicted as a warrior. The religion declined rapidly in the 3 rd century AD.1 The Encyclopedia Britannica provides the following description: The creation of the world is the central episode of Mithraic mythology. According to the myths, the sun god sent his messenger, the raven, to Mithra and ordered him to sacrifice the bull … But at the very moment of the death of the bull, a great miracle happened. The white bull was metamorphosed into the moon; the cloak of Mithra was transformed into the vault of the sky, with the shining planets and fixed stars One Mithraic hymn begins: Thou hast redeemed us too by shedding the eternal blood’
