Jump to content

Mitra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeMitra (disambiguation).

Mitra(Proto-Indo-Iranian:*mitrás) is the name of anIndo-Iraniandivinity that predates theRigvedicMitráandAvestanMithra.

The names, and some characteristics, of these established deities subsequently influenced other figures:

Indian religious texts[edit]

BothVedicMitra and Avestan Mithra derive from an Indo-Iranian common noun*mitra-,generally reconstructed to have meant "covenant,treaty,agreement,promise."This meaning is preserved in Avestanmiθra"covenant". InSanskritand modernIndo-Aryan languages,mitrameans "friend", one of the aspects ofbondingand alliance.

The Indo-Iranian reconstruction is attributed[2]to Christian Bartholomae,[3]and was subsequently refined by A. Meillet (1907), who suggested derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root*mey-"to exchange".

A suggested alternative derivation was*meh"to measure" (Gray 1929). Pokorny (IEW1959) refined Meillet's*meias "to bind". Combining the root*meiwith the "tool suffix"-tra-"that which [causes]..." (also found inman-tra-,"that which causes to think" ), then literally means "that which binds", and thus "covenant, treaty, agreement, promise, oath" etc. Pokorny's interpretation also supports "to fasten, strengthen", which may be found in Latinmoenia"city wall, fortification", and in an antonymic form, Old English(ge)maere"border, boundary-post".

Meillet and Pokorny's "contract" did however have its detractors. Lentz (1964, 1970) refused to accept abstract "contract" for so exalted a divinity and preferred the more religious "piety". Because present-day Sanskritmitrameans "friend", and New Persianmihrmeans "love" or "friendship", Gonda (1972, 1973) insisted on a Vedic meaning of "friend, friendship", not "contract".

Meillet's analysis also "rectified earlier interpretations"[2]that suggested that the Indo-Iranian common noun*mitra-had anything to do with the light or the sun. When H. Lommel suggested[4]that such an association was implied in the Younger Avesta (since the 6th century BCE), that too was conclusively dismissed.[5]Today, it is certain that "(al)though Miθra is closely associated with the sun in theAvesta,he is not the sun "and" Vedic Mitra is not either. "[2]

Old PersianMiθraorMiθra– both only attested in a handful of 4th-century BCE inscriptions ofArtaxerxes IIandIII– "is generally admitted [to be] a borrowing from the Avesta,"[6]the genuine Old Persian form being reconstructed as*Miça.(Kent initially suggestedSanskrit[7]but later[6]changed his mind).Middle Iranianmyhr(Parthian, also in living Armenian usage) andmihr(Middle Persian), derive from AvestanMithra.

Greek/Latin "Mithras," the focal deity of theGreco-Romancult ofMithraismis the nominative form of vocative Mithra. In contrast to the original Avestan meaning of "contract" or "covenant" (and still evident in post-Sassanid Middle Persian texts), the Greco-Roman Mithraists probably thought the name meant "mediator". In Plutarch's 1st-century discussion of dualistic theologies,Isis and Osiris(46.7) the Greek historiographer provides the following explanation of the name in his summary of the Zoroastrian religion: Mithra is ameson( "in the middle" ) between "the goodHoromazdesand the evilAremanius[...] and this is why thePérsaicall the Mediator Mithra ". Zaehner[8]attributes this false etymology to a role that Mithra (and the sun) played in the now extinct branch of Zoroastrianism known asZurvanism.

Indian Mitra[edit]

Main article:Mitra (Vedic)

VedicMitra is a prominent deity of theRigvedadistinguished by a relationship toVaruna,the protector ofrtaas described in hymn 2, Mandala 1 of Rigveda. Together with Varuna, he counted among theAdityas,a group ofsolar deities,also in later Vedic texts. Vedic Mitra is the patron divinity of honesty, friendship, contracts and meetings.

The first extant record of Indo-Aryan[9]Mitra, in the formmi-it-ra-,is in the inscribed peace treaty of c. 1400 BC betweenHittitesand theHurriankingdom of theMitanniin the area southeast ofLake VaninAsia Minor.Mitra appears there together with four other Indic divinities as witnesses and keepers of the pact.

Iranian Mithra[edit]

Mithra(left) in a 4th-century investiture sculpture atTaq-e Bostanin western Iran.
Main article:Mithra

InZoroastrianism,Mithra is a member of the trinity ofahuras,protectors ofasha/arta,"truth" or "[that which is] right". Mithra's standard appellation is "of wide pastures" suggesting omnipresence. Mithra is "truth-speaking,... with a thousand ears,... with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake." (Yasht10.7). As preserver ofcovenants,Mithra is also protector and keeper of all aspects of interpersonal relationships, such as friendship and love.

Related to his position as protector of truth, Mithra is a judge (ratu), ensuring that individuals who break promises or are not righteous (artavan) are not admitted toparadise.As also in Indo-Iranian tradition, Mithra is associated with (the divinity of) the sun butoriginally distinct from it.Mithra is closely associated with the feminineyazataAredvi Sura Anahita,the hypostasis of knowledge.

Mithra in Commagene[edit]

Mithras-Helios, in Phrygian cap with solar rays, with 1st century BCAntiochus I Theos of Commagene,found atMount Nemrut,in present-day eastern Turkey

There is a deity Mithra mentioned on monuments inCommagene.According to the archaeologist Maarten Vermaseren, 1st century BC evidence from Commagene demonstrates the "reverence paid to Mithras" but does not refer to "the mysteries".[b][10]

In the colossal statuary erected by KingAntiochus I(69–34 BC) atMount Nemrut,Mithras is shown beardless, wearing aPhrygian cap,[11][12] and was originally seated on a throne alongside other deities and the king himself.[13] On the back of the thrones there is an inscription in Greek, which includes the name Apollo-Mithras-Helios in the genitive case (Ἀπόλλωνος Μίθρου Ἡλίου).[14]

Vermaseren also reports about a Mithras cult in Fayum in the 3rd century BC.[c][15] R.D. Barnett has argued that the royal seal of King Saussatar of Mitanni fromc. 1450 BCdepicts a tauroctonous Mithras.[d][16]

Buddhist Maitreya[edit]

Main article:Maitreya

Maitreya is sometimes represented seated on a throne, and venerated both inMahāyānaand non-Mahāyāna Buddhism. Some have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from the ancientIraniandeityMithra.The primary comparison between the two characters appears to be the similarity of their names. According to Tiele (1917) "No one who has studied the Zoroastrian doctrine of theSaoshyantsor the coming saviour-prophets can fail to see their resemblance to the future Maitreya."[17]

Paul Williamsclaims that someZoroastrianideas like Saoshyant influenced the beliefs about Maitreya, such as expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness, the future millennium, and universal salvation.[citation needed]Possible objections are that these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya.

Graeco-Roman Mithras[edit]

Main article:Mithraic mysteries
Relief of RomanMithras,in atauroctonyscene

The name Mithra was adopted by the Greeks and Romans asMithras,chief figure in themystery religionof Mithraism. At first identified with the Sun-godHeliosby the Greeks, thesyncreticMithra-Helios was transformed into the figure Mithras during the 2nd century BC, probably atPergamon.This new cult was taken to Rome around the 1st century BC and was dispersed throughout theRoman Empire.Popular among the Roman military, Mithraism was spread as far north asHadrian's Walland theGermanic Limes.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^"The Iranian Manichaeans adopted the name of the Zoroastrian god Mithra (Av.Miθra;Mid. Pers.Mihr) and used it to designate one of their own deities. [...] The name appears in Middle Persian asMihr(myhr,unrelated to Old Persian form *miça-), in Parthian asMihr(myhr) and in Sogdian asMiši(myšyy;Sundermann, 1979a, p. 10, sub 3/11.2). The spellingsmytr, mytrg,however, are not variants of the nameMithra,they rather denoteMaitreya."[1]
  2. ^ Other early evidence of the first decades B.C. refers only to the reverence paid to Mithras without mentioning the mysteries: Examples which may be quoted are the tomb inscriptions of King Antiochus I of Commagene at Nemrud Dagh, and of his father Mithridates at Arsameia on the Orontes. Both the kings had erected on vast terraces a number of colossal statues seated on thrones to the honour of their ancestral gods. At Nemrud we find in their midst King Antiochus (69–34 BC and in the inscription Mithras is mentioned...[10]
  3. ^ According to Vermaseren, there was a Mithras cult in the Fayum in the third century BC, and according to Pettazzoni the figure of Aion has its iconographic origin in Egypt.[15]
  4. ^ I... see these figures, or some of them, in the impression of the remarkable royal seal of King Saussatar of Mitanni (c. 1450 BCgreat-great-grandfather of Kurtiwaza): The only royal Mitannian seal that we possess.... Mithratauroctonos– characteristically kneeling on the bull to despatch it. We can even see also the dog and snake... below him are twin figures, one marked by a star, each fighting lions... below a winged disc between lions and ravens, stands a winged, human-headed lion,...[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^Sundermann, Werner (2002)."Mithra; iii. in Manichaeism".Encyclopedia Iranica.
  2. ^abcSchmidt, Hans-Peter (2006),"Mithra i: Mithra in Old Indian and Mithra in Old Iranian",Encyclopaedia Iranica,New York: iranica.com(accessed April 2011)
  3. ^Bartholomae, Christian (1904),Altiranisches Wörterbuch,Strassburg: Trübner(fasc., 1979, Berlin: de Gruyter), at column 1183.
  4. ^Lommel, Herman (1970), "Die Sonne das Schlechteste?", in Schlerath, Bernfried (ed.),Zarathustra,Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, pp. 360–376
  5. ^Gershevitch, Ilya (1975), "Die Sonne das Beste", in Hinnells, John R. (ed.),Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies.,vol. 1, Manchester: UP/Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 68–89
  6. ^abWare, James R.; Kent, Roland G. (1924), "The Old Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III",Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association,55,The Johns Hopkins University Press: 52–61,doi:10.2307/283007,JSTOR283007at p. 55.
  7. ^Kent, Ronald G. (1953),Old Persian: Grammar, Lexicon, Texts(2nd ed.), New Haven: American Oriental Society, §78/p. 31b
  8. ^Zaehner, Richard Charles (1955),Zurvan, a Zoroastrian dilemma,Oxford: Clarendonat pp. 101–102.
  9. ^Thieme, Paul (1960), "The 'Aryan' Gods of the Mitanni Treaties",Journal of the American Oriental Society,80(4): 301–317,doi:10.2307/595878,JSTOR595878.pp. 301–317.
  10. ^ab Vermaseren, M.J. (1963).Mithras: The secret god.London, UK: Chatto and Windus. p. 29.
  11. ^ Hopfe, Lewis M. (1994). "Archaeological indications on the origins of Roman Mithraism". In Hopfe, Lewis M. (ed.).Uncovering Ancient Stones: Essays in memory of H. Neil Richardson.Eisenbrauns. pp. 147–158, esp. 156.
  12. ^ Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef, ed. (1956).Corpus inscriptionum et monumentorum religionis mithriacae.The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. CIMRM 29.Head of a beardless Mithras in Phrygian cap, point of which is missing.
  13. ^ Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef (1956).Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae.The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. CIMRM 28.The gods are represented in a sitting position on a throne and are: Apollo-Mithras (see below); Tyche-Commagene; Zeus-Ahura-Mazda; Antiochus himself and finally Ares-Artagnes.
  14. ^ Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef (1956).Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae.The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. CIMRM 32, verse 55.
  15. ^ab Barnett, R.D. (1975). Hinnells, John R. (ed.).Mithraic Studies.First International Congress of Mithraic Studies. Vol. II. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press ND. p. 467 ff.
  16. ^ab Barnett, R.D. (1975). Hinnells, John R. (ed.).Mithraic Studies.First International Congress of Mithraic Studies. Vol. II. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press ND. pp. 467–468.
  17. ^Tiele, C.P. (1917).The Religion of the Iranian Peoples.Translated by Nariman, G.K. Bombay: The Parsi Publishing Co. p. 159.

External links[edit]

The dictionary definition ofReconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/mitraat Wiktionary

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mitra&oldid=1229716793"