Mithras

In Persian mythology, the god of light, son of the sublime god, Ahura Mazda. Mithras represented the power of morality and goodness against Ahriman, the personification of evil, and promised his followers compensation for present evil after death. Mithraism was introduced into the Roman Empire in 68 BC and spread rapidly, gaining converts especially among soldiers; by about AD 250, it rivalled Christianity in strength.

Ritual Mithras was said to have captured and killed the sacred bull from whose blood all life sprang; its death vanquishing wickedness. The Mithraic cult was based on the religious ideals of redemption and salvation, and baptism in blood was the pledge. The celebration of the taurobolium, a bath in the blood of a sacrificed bull, formed part of the initiation ceremony into the Mithraic Mysteries which offered seven stages of transformation for the initiate. The cult produced masters in the arts of magic, astrology, and healing.

Development Mithras originally derived from an ancient sun god of Indo-Iranian origin, closely related to the Indian god Mitra. His popularity spread throughout Asia Minor, Greece and the Roman Empire; according to Plutarch, the cult was introduced to Rome by Pompey's pirate captives from Cilicia.