Ancient Roman Religion  

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Ancient Roman Religion Image
Mithraism was practised from as early as 4000 B.C. The Persians, who were Zoroastrians, infused Mithraism into their own religion in the Babylonian period in the 7th century B.C. The Jews who were in captivity in Babylon were exposed to Mithraism.

Tenets Amazingly, seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, the belief system of Mithraism, according to the Book of Mithra which influenced the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, was based on the following tenets:

Mithra was the son of Azura - Mazda, the divine God of the Heavens;

He was sent by the Father God to Earth to confirm His contract with man;

Mithra was a saviour of mankind;

He was part of a Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit);

Mithra was born in a stable of a virgin, Anahita, through immaculate conception;

His birthday was celebrated on December 25; At his birth, Mithra the infant child was visited by wise men bearing gifts;

He made a contract between man and God. Mithra is the Persian word for contract;

Mithra had 12 disciples. He was called the Messiah, or Christos, by the Jews while in captivity;

He performed miracles and healed the sick;

He celebrated a last supper with his disciples before his death;

Mithra died to atone for the sins of man; Mithra was resurrected on a Sunday;

He ascended into Heaven to rejoin his father;

Mithra will return to pass judgement on man; the dead will rise and be judged by Mithra on judgement day; He will send sinners to Hell and the faithful to Heaven;

On judgment day there will be a final conflict between Good and Evil. The forces of Evil will be destroyed and the saved will live in paradise forever; Mithra is depicted with a halo or band of light around his head; His followers drank wine and ate bread which represent his blood and flesh; The discs of bread which Mithra worshippers ate to symbolise the flesh of their god, were marked with a cross; Mithra's followers were baptised;

Followers called each other 'brother' and were led by a priest called 'father' whose symbols were a staff, a hooked sword, a ring and a hat; Saturday and Sunday were the two days in the week to rest and celebrate.

Mithra was worshipped in the Roman Empire, largely by the army and the ruling class, including many Emperors. His birthday on December 25 was the most important day of the year. The closeness of Christianity to Mithraism is so stunning that it begs an answer to the question, how could such a replication occur?

Constantine The key was Constantine who claimed that, in a decisive battle for succession in the Roman Empire, he was told by a voice as he prepared for battle at the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD to put a cross on the shields of his soldiers and he would be victorious. Constantine, who was a follower of Mithra, did as he was told and was successful in this decisive battle which led him to eventually become Emperor of the Roman Empire.

Constantine attributed the voice to the Christian God and became converted to Christianity. In the same year he signed the Edict of Milan extending tolerance to Christians. He freed Christian prisoners and restored properties owned by them. Constantine directed his army to worship on Sundays and declared December 25, the birthday of Mithra, to be the birthday of Jesus Christ.

The conversion of Constantine to Christianity did not result in his denial of Mithraism. He worshipped both, which made it easy for Romans to adopt the beliefs of Mithraism into Christianity. In these and many other ways the Emperor Constantine was responsible in large part for the christianisation of the Roman Empire by absorbing Mithraism which eventually faded as a religion. This does not derogate from the important roles of the Apostles Peter and Paul who waged their own incessant campaigns. Constantine created great monuments which helped Christianity to eventually become the dominant religion: the Church of High Wisdom in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), the first St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. (from The meeting of east and west by Edward Seaga via Jamaica Gleaner News)

Also read:


Christianity or Mithraism

Saul of Tarsus, Mithraic Cults, and Christ's Blood

Mithraism and Christianity from Metareligion


History of Mithraism

Mithraism.org

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Blessings,
Sadiq



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Izanami Goddess Of Life And Death  

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Izanami Goddess Of Life And Death Image
"IZANAMI" (THE FEMALE WHO INVITES) IS THE JAPANESE GODDESS OF LIFE AND DEATH, THE GODDESS OF THE EARTH AND THE FERTILE SOIL WHICH GAVE BIRTH TO ALL OF THE GODS AND THE GODDESSES. IZANAMI IS A PRIMAL GODDESS AND THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE EARTH AND OF DARKNESS. SHE AND HER BROTHER, AZANAGI (THE MALE WHO INVITES) ARE THE CREATORS OF JAPAN AND ITS GODS.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, AFTER THEIR BIRTH, THE PAIR STOOD UPON THE FLOATING BRIDGE OF HEAVEN AND STIRRED THE PRIMEVAL OCEAN WITH A JEWELED SPEAR. AND, WHEN THE SPEAR WAS LIFTED, A FEW DROPS OF SALTY WATER FELL FROM THE SPEAR AND FORMED THE FIRST SOLID LAND. IZANAMI AND AZANAGI DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENLY BRIDGE AND MADE THEIR HOME ON THE ISLAND..BECOMING THE FIRST HUSBAND AND WIFE. AN IZANAMI THEN BORE A CHILD, BUT THE CHILD WAS A WATER SERPENT, AN UGLY BEAST, AND EVERYONE DECLARED THAT NOT ONLY WAS THE BIRTH VERY TRAGIC, BUT IT OCCURRED BECAUSE IZANAMI HAD COMMITTED THE MOST UNFORGIVEABLE SIN. SHE HAD SPOKEN TO HER HUSBAND FIRST AT THEIR MARRIAGE CEREMONY. (EVEN HERE THE WOMAN WAS SUBORDINATE.)

THE COUPLE THEN PERFORMED ANOTHER WEDDING CEREMONY, AND THIS TIME IT WAS DONE CORRECTLY. AND THIS TIME, IZANAMI BROUGHT FORTH THE ISLES OF JAPAN. AND THEN, THEY CREATED THE GODS AND GODDESSES THAT REPRESENTED THE MOUNTAINS, WATERFALLS, STREAMS, WINDS, THE SUN AND THE MOON, AND ALL THINGS THAT GROW. AND, AFTER THAT, IZANAMI LABORED AND BROUGHT FORTH THE FIRE GOD, KAGUTSUCHI, BUT IN DOING SO, SHE WAS FRIGHTFULLY BURNED AND TRANSFORMED INTO AN UNSIGHTLY OLD WOMAN. NO LONGER FIT FOR THE NATURAL WORLD, SHE MADE HER WAY TO THE UNDERWORLD WHERE SHE REIGNED AS THE GODDESS OF DEATH.

IZANAGI WAS HEARTBROKEN AND FULL OF DESIRE FOR HIS WIFE, SO HE UNDERTOOK A JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD. IZANAMI HID IN THE SHADOWS AS HE APPROACHED AND WARNED HIM NOT TO LOOK AT HER; SHE TOLD HIM THAT SHE HAD ALREADY EATEN THE FOOD OF THE UNDERWORLD AND COULD NO LONGER RETURN TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING. IZANAGI REFUSED TO GIVE IN TO HER WISHES OF BEING LEFT IN THE DARK; HE LIT A TORCH AND GAZED UPON HER, AND UNDER THE LIGHT, WHAT HE SAW WAS THE HORRID FORM OF THE ONCE BEAUTIFUL AND GRACIOUS IZANAMI. UNABLE TO CONTROL HIMSELF, HE CRIED OUT LOUD AND STARTED TO RUN...INTENDING TO RETURN TO THE LIVING AND ABANDON HIS WIFE.

SHE WAS ANGRY THAT HE HAD NOT RESPECTED HER WISHES, AND SHE SENT FORTH HIDEOUS FEMALE SPIRITS. IZANAGI BURST OUT OF THE ENTRANCE AND BLOCKED IT BY PUSHING A HUGE BOULDER IN THE MOUTH OF THE CAVERN. AND HE FELT UNCLEAN SO HE BATHED HIMSELF. HIS BATH IS THE BASIS OF THE SHINTO PURIFICATION RITUAL.

AND SO IT WAS THAT THE ONE WHO HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO ALL OF CREATION AND MORTALLY WOUNDED HERSELF BY GIVING BIRTH TO FIRE, SPENT THE REST OF TIME ALONE IN HER CASTLE IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD.

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Anshar  

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Anshar Cover
Anshar (also spelled Anshur), which means "sky pivot" or "sky axle", is a sky god. He is the husband of his sister Kishar. They might both represent heaven (an) and earth (ki). Both are the second generation of gods; their parents being the serpents Lahmu and Lahamu and grandparents Tiamat and Apsu. In their turn they are the parents of Anu another sky god. During the reign of Sargon II, Assyrians started to identify Anshar with their Assur in order to let him star in their version of Enuma Elish. In this mythology Anshar's spouse was Ninlil

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Feast Of Sekhmet  

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Feast Of Sekhmet Cover
In ancient Egypt, the saving of mankind was commemorated every year on the feast day of Hathor/Sekhmet. Everyone drank beer stained with pomegranate juice and worshipped " the Mistress and lady of the tomb, gracious one, destroyer of rebellion, mighty one of enchantments ". A statue of Sekhmet was dressed in red facing west, while Bast was dressed in green and faced east. Bast was sometimes considered to be Sekhmet's counterpart (or twin depending on the legend), and in the festival of Hathor they embodied the duality central to Egyptian mythology. Sekhmet represented Upper Egypt while Bast represented Lower Egypt.

WHO IS SEKHMET?

Sekmet (Sakhmet) is one of the oldest known Egyptian deities. Her name is derived from the Egyptian word "Sekhem" (which means "power" or "might") and is often translated as the "Powerful One". She is depicted as a lion-headed woman, sometimes with the addition of a sun disc on her head. Her seated statues show her holding the ankh of life, but when she is shown striding or standing she usually holds a sceptre formed from papyrus.

Sekhmet was represented by the searing heat of the mid-day sun (in this aspect she was sometimes called "Nesert", the flame) and was a terrifying goddess. However, for her friends she could avert plague and cure disease. She was the patron of Physicians, and Healers and her priests became known as skilled doctors. As a result, the fearsome deity sometimes called the "lady of terror" was also known as "lady of life". Sekhmet was mentioned a number of times in the spells of The Book of the Dead as both a creative and destructive force, but above all, she is the protector of Ma'at (balance or justice) named "The One Who Loves Ma'at and Who Detests Evil".

She was often closely associated with Hathor (the goddess of joy, music, dance, sexual love, pregnancy and birth). In this partnership, she was seen as the harsh aspect of the friendly Hathor.

Sekhmet's main cult centre was in Memphis (Men Nefer) where she was worshipped as "the destroyer" alongside her consort Ptah (the creator) and Nefertum (the healer).

She was also known as the "Lady of Pestilence" and the "Red Lady" and it was thought that she could send plagues against those who angered her. When the centre of power shifted from Memphis to Thebes during the New Kingdom the Theban Triad (Amun, Mut, and Khonsu), Sekhmet's attributes were absorbed into that of Mut (who sometimes took the form of a lion).

She was associated with the goddesses given the title "Eye of Ra". According to myth, Ra became angry because mankind was not following his laws and preserving Ma'at (justice or balance). He decided to punish mankind by sending an aspect of his daughter, the "Eye of Ra". He plucked Hathor from Ureas on his brow, and sent her to earth in the form of a lion. She became Sekhmet, the "Eye of Ra" and began her rampage. The fields ran with human blood. However, Ra was not a cruel deity, and the sight of the carnage caused him to repent. He ordered her to stop, but she was in a blood lust and would not listen. So Ra poured 7,000 jugs of beer and pomegranate juice (which stained the beer blood red) in her path. She gorged on the "blood" and became so drunk she slept for three days. When she awoke, her blood lust had dissipated, and humanity was saved.

In one version of the myth, Ptah is the first thing she sees on awaking and she instantly fell in love with him. Their union (creation and destruction) created Nefertum (healing) and so re-established Ma'at.

Sekhmet was closely associated with Kingship. She was often described as the mother of Maahes, the lion god who was a patron of the pharaoh and the pyramid texts suggest that the Pharaoh was conceived by Sekhmet. This ancient myth is echoed in the New Kingdom reliefs in the temple of Seti I which depict the Pharaoh being suckled by Hathor whose title is "mistress of the mansion of Sekhmet". Ramesses II (Seti's son) adopted her as a symbol of his power in battle. In friezes depicting the Battle of Kadesh, Sekhmet appears on his horse, her flames scorching the bodies of enemy soldiers. But, one Pharaoh in particular seems to have had an obsession with Sekhmet. Amenhotep III built hundreds of statues of Sekhmet in the precinct of Mut's temple south of the Great Temple of Amun in Karnak. It is thought that there was one for every day of the year and that offerings were made every day.

Source: Ancient Archeology Online



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