Mithras and Sol

[Nathan Ross]

What was the relation between the worship of Sol Invictus and the Mithraic cult?

I know that Sol features in the Mithraic tableau - although in exactly what capacity seems unclear - and that the names were sometimes conflated: 'Deus Sol Invictus Mithras', for example. Later Roman syncretism is a shifty field, but I was wondering more about the practical expressions of devotion to one or both gods.

Would an initiate of Mithras also be a devotee of Sol Invictus, or vice versa? Was there also a cult of Sol, or was Mithraism the cultic version of Sol-worship? Or did Romans see the two dieties as essentially the same? Mithras was (in 308) invoked as the patron god of the tetrarchy, which seems odd for a cult diety, unless this was seen by the invoking emperors as somehow identical to the official state worship of Sol...

Thanks - Nathan

[Jona Lendering]

You may like the PhD thesis of Steven Hijmans, Sol. The sun in the art and religions of Rome, which you can download here. The online summary is in Dutch, the book in English.

[Nathan Ross]

You may like the PhD thesis of Steven Hijmans

I may indeed! Thanks Jona. Chapter 9 looks especially interesting, and it has some epic footnotes...

Incidentally, just to be clear, I wasn't wondering so much about the mythology or religion of either Sol or Mithras per se (which has been discussed on this board before), but rather the way that the relation between them would have been perceived and expressed by the Romans themselves.

[Vindex]

I have to admit to not looking at all the references on this site but another forum member sent me this link. It's not just about the conference (which has been and gone) but has other links too; you may find something useful.

http://www.mithracon.org/wp/

[D B Campbell]

What was the relation between the worship of Sol Invictus and the Mithraic cult?

The Mithraic expert Roger Beck believes that Mithras is Sol Invictus. We can say that Mithras is, at least, an aspect of the deity called Sol (perhaps in the way that a deity like Juppiter has several different "flavours"). It's all highly confusing. And intriguing! :wink:

[Jona Lendering]

It's all highly confusing. And intriguing! :wink:

I think any religion will always be intriguing to its outsiders. Just take the Christian creed that "Christ died for our sins". If you do not know who Christ was, what it meant to be a Messiah, what his death implied, what sin is, how sin is connected to a second death, and how a person can accept someone else's death, it is incomprehensible. The profound meaning of "Deus Sol Invictus Mithras" is incomprehensible to us, non-believers.

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