Mithra

This article is about the Zoroastrian yazata Mithra. For other divinities with related names, see the general article Mitra.

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Mithra (Miθra) is the Zoroastrian divinity (yazata) of covenant and oath. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth, and the guardian of cattle, the harvest and of The Waters.

The term Mithra is from the Avestan language. In Middle Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian etc.), Mithra became Mehr, Myhr etc., from which New Persian and Armenian Mihr ultimately derive.

Etymology

Together with the Vedic common noun mitra, the Avestan common noun miθra derives from proto-Indo-Iranian *mitra, from the root mi- "to bind", with the "tool suffix" -tra- "causing to." Thus, etymologically mitra/miθra means "that which causes binding", preserved in the Avestan word for "covenant, contract, oath".^{[citation needed]}

In scripture

Mithra is described in the Zoroastrian Avesta scriptures as, "Mithra of wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and of the myriad eyes,"(Yasna 1:3),^[1] "the lofty, and the everlasting...the province ruler,"(Yasna 1:11),^[1] "the Yazad (divinity) of the spoken name"(Yasna 3:5),^[1] and "the holy,"(Yasna 3:13)^[1]

The Khorda Avesta (Book of Common Prayer) also refer to Mithra in the Litany to the Sun, "Homage to Mithra of wide cattle pastures,"(Khwarshed Niyayesh 5),^[2] "Whose word is true, who is of the assembly,Who has a thousand ears, the well-shaped one,Who has ten thousand eyes, the exalted one,Who has wide knowledge, the helpful one,Who sleeps not, the ever wakeful.We sacrifice to Mithra, The lord of all countries,Whom Ahura Mazda created the most glorious, Of the supernatural yazads. So may there come to us for aid, Both Mithra and Ahura, the two exalted ones,"(Khwarshed Niyayesh 6-7),^[2] "I shall sacrifice to his mace, well aimed against the skulls of the Daevas,"(Khwarshed Niyayesh 15).^[2] Some recent theories have claimed Mithra represents the sun itself, but the Khorda Avesta refers to the sun as a separate entity as well as the moon with which the sun has "the best of friendships,"(Khwarshed Niyayesh 15)^[2]

Like most other divinities, Mithra is not mentioned by name in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and generally attributed to Zoroaster himself. Mithra also does not appear by name in the Yasna Haptanghaiti, a seven-verse section of the Yasna liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. The lack of Mithra's presence in these texts was once a cause of some consternation amongst Iranists. An often repeated speculation of the first half of the 20th century was that the lack of any mention (i.e. Zoroaster's silence) of Mithra in these texts implied that Zoroaster had rejected Mithra. This ex silencio speculation is no longer followed. Building on that speculation was another series of speculations that postulated that the reason why Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was because the latter was the supreme god of a bloodthirsty group of daeva-worshipers that Zoroaster condemned. However, "no satisfactory evidence has yet been adduced to show that, before Zoroaster, the concept of a supreme god existed among the Iranians, or that among them Mithra – or any other divinity – ever enjoyed a separate cult of his or her own outside either their ancient or their Zoroastrian pantheons."^[3]

As a member of the ahuric triad, a feature that only Ahura Mazda and Ahura Berezaiti (Apam Napat) also have, Mithra is an exalted figure. As the divinity of contract, Mithra is undeceivable, infallible, eternally watchful, and never-resting. Mithra is additionally the protector of cattle, and his stock epithet is "of wide pastures." He is guardian of the waters and ensures that those pastures receive enough of it.

Together with Rashnu "Justice" and Sraosha "Obedience", Mithra is one of the three judges at the Chinvat bridge, the "bridge of separation" that all souls must cross. Unlike Sraosha, Mithra is not however a psychopomp. Should the good thoughts, words and deeds outweigh the bad, Sraosha alone conveys the soul across the bridge.

The Avestan hymn to Mithra (Yasht 10) is the longest, and one of the best preserved, of the Yashts.

In tradition

Investiture of Sassanid emperor Ardashir I or II (3rd century CE bas-relief at Taq-e Bostan, Iran. On the left stands the yazata Mithra with raised barsom, sanctifying the investiture.

In the Zoroastrian calendar, the sixteenth day of the month and the seventh month of the year are dedicated to, and under the protection of, Mithra. (The Iranian civil calendar of 1925 adopted Zoroastrian month-names, and as such also has the seventh month of the year named 'Mihr'). The position of the sixteenth day and seventh month reflects the Mithra's rank in the hierarchy of the divinities; the sixteenth day and seventh month are respectively the first day of the second half of the month and the first month of the second half of the year. The day on which the day-name and month-name dedications intersect is (like all other such intersections) dedicated to the divinity of that day/month, and is celebrated with a Jashan (from Avestan Yasna, "worship") in honor of that divinity. In the case of Mithra this was Jashan-e Mihragan, or just Mihragan in short.

While Mithra is not the divinity of the Sun in Zoroastrian scripture (or in Indian scripture either), this being the role of Hvare.khshaeta (literally "radiant Sun", whence also Middle Persian Khorshed for the Sun), in Zoroastrian/Iranian tradition, Mithra became the divinity of the Sun. How, when or why this occurred is uncertain, but is commonly attributed to a conflation with Babylonian Shamash, who – in addition to being a Sun god – was a judicial figure like Mithra. In the Hellenistic era (i.e. in Seleucid and Parthian times), Mithra also seems to have been conflated with Apollo, who – like Mithra – was an all-seeing divinity of the truth.

Royal names incorporating Mithra's (e.g. "Mithradates") appear in the dynasties of Parthia, Armenia, and in Anatolia, in Pontus and Cappadocia.

In Manichaeism

Persian and Parthian-speaking Manichaeans used the name of Mithra current in their time (Mihryazd, q.e. Mithra-yazata) for two different Manichaean angels.

1. The first, called Mihryazd by the Persians, was the "The Living Spirit" (Aramaic rūḥā ḥayyā), a savior-figure who rescues the "First Man" from the demonic Darkness into which he had plunged.
2. The second, known as Mihr or Mihr yazd among the Parthians, is "The Messenger" (Aramaic īzgaddā), likewise a savior figure, but one concerned with setting up the structures to liberate the Light lost when the First Man had been defeated.

German academic Werner Sundermann has asserted that the Manicheans adopted the name Mithra to designate one of their own deities. Sundermann determined that the Zoroastrian Mithra, which in Middle Persian is Mihr (in Russian "Mir" = world), is not a variant of the Parthian and Sogdian Mytr or Mytrg; though sharing linguistic roots with the name Mithra, those names denote Maitreya.

In Parthian and Sogdian however Mihr was taken as the sun and consequently identified as the Third Messenger. This Third Messenger was the helper and redeemer of mankind, and identified with another Zoroastrian divinity Narisaf.^[4] Citing Boyce,^[5] Sundermann remarks, "It was among the Parthian Manicheans that Mithra as a sun god surpassed the importance of Narisaf as the common Iranian image of the Third Messenger; among the Parthians the dominance of Mithra was such that his identification with the Third Messenger led to cultic emphasis on the Mithraic traits in the Manichaean god."^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.avesta.org/yasna/y0to8s.htm
2. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.avesta.org/ka/niyayesh.htm
3. ^ Boyce 2001, p. 243, n.18.
4. ^ Sundermann, Werner (1979), Bianchi, Ugo, ed., The Five Sons of the Manichaean God Mithra, Leiden: Brill 
5. ^ Boyce, Mary. (1962) On Mithra in the Manichaean Pantheon. In Henning, Walter B. and Yarshater, Ehsan (eds.), A Locust's Leg: Studies in Honour of S. H. Taqizadeh, London 
6. ^ Sundermann, Werner (2002), Mithra in Manicheism, Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub 

Bibliography

• Boyce, Mary (2001), "Mithra the King and Varuna the Master", Festschrift für Helmut Humbach zum 80., Trier: WWT, pp. 239–257 
• Malandra, William (1983), An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-1115-7 
• Schmidt, Hans-Peter (2006), "Mithra i: Mithra in Old Indian and Mithra in Old Iranian", Encyclopaedia Iranica, OT 10, New York: iranica.com, http://www.iranica.com/articles/mithra-i .
• Jacobs, Bruno (2006), Iconography of Mithra "Mithra", Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East, (Electronic Pre-Publication), Leiden: U Zürich/Brill, http://www.religionswissenschaft.unizh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_mithra.pdf Iconography of Mithra .