'On the origins of the “mysteries of Mithras”: A reflection on Franz Cumont's hypothesis & his use of Statius' Thebaid & Plutarch's Life of Pompey,' Revista Historiador 15, December 2022
- https://revistahistoriador.com.br/index ... ew/272/263, and
- https://www.academia.edu/96261326/On_th ... anz_Cumont
This article proposes a reflection on the origins of the so-called “mysteries of Mithra”, based on the hypothesis formulated by the Belgian historian Franz Cumont, in The Mysteries of Mithra, published in an English edition of 1903. An analysis is carried out around the propositions of Cumont and his use of literary documents from Greco-Roman antiquity, more specifically the works Life of Pompey of Plutarch and Thebaid of Statius. In the end, a few limitations of Cumont's approach are presented, as well as new possibilities using these literary documents.
CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS
[Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator]
In general, the texts of Greco-Roman antiquity provide us with only a few clues about the origins of the "mysteries of Mithra" in the Roman Empire. Although the literary documents of Statius and Plutarch, considered in this article, offer us clues about the possible origins of the cult, all they offer us in any substantial way at the moment are possible links with Persia, a probable initial insertion of the cult through the pirates of Cilicia as early as the first century BC, and the possibility of the circulation of the representation of the myth of tauroctony in Rome as early as the end of the first century of our era. Thus, using only these documents, ignoring more recent discoveries of material culture, would certainly be quite problematic.
Regarding Cumont's use of literary documents to construct his hypothesis about the origins of the "mysteries of Mithra", we conclude that he gives them great authority, without adequately problematizing them, which is in line with the way historians of his generation used to treat them. In this way, even though Cumont had a great deal of archaeological knowledge within what was possible in his time, his stance at no time seemed to confront the narratives of Statius and Plutarch, but only to "harmonize" them with material culture.
The most recent studies on the "mysteries of Mithra" present new historiographical views on the development of literary criticism and archaeology, which in short have made it possible in recent decades for the literary documents of Antiquity to be studied in the light of material culture. After all, they are no longer treated as superior as they were by the positivist scholars of the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Overcoming this conception of documents (BELTRÃO; SOUSA, 2022, p. 422), together with the proliferation of material culture on Mithra, has allowed scholars to try to overcome the limitations imposed by literary documentation, without abandoning it. The research by Clauss, Beck and Chalupa, cited throughout this article, is proof of this. The "evolutionary" view of the history of religions, adopted by Cumont, has also been replaced by perspectives that do not confer status of superiority or inferiority to different religions, which has also affected the way in which researchers have carried out their analyses and narratives of history, including that of the "mysteries of Mithra".
Finally, it's worth pointing out that the more up-to-date look at literary documents doesn't end the old end old discussions about the "mysteries of Mithra", but it does allow us to take new approaches. From this perspective, the debate around the origins of the cult in its Roman experience can and should be further explored in the light of the most recent archaeological discoveries. We are sure that over the years new reflections can be made, but probably without offering a definitive conclusion to the subject. This does not mean that Cumont's work and the texts of Statius and Plutarch will be disregarded. However, new perceptions and exegetical possibilities could re-signify the meanings we find in them today.
Furthermore, the search for the "origins" of the religion of Mithra remains important for us to understand not only the paths taken by this cult in the Roman Empire, but also for a better understanding of adult theology in the representations that we can observe in material culture, as well as its cosmovision, its rites and the "religion lived" (RÜPKE, 2016, p. 1 (RÜPKE, 2016, p. 1-7) by followers in different places and periods in which the cult was practiced within the imperial territory. Given its importance, this topic will certainly be revisited many, many times over the coming years.
Cited therein (as by RL Beck): https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mithraism