The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism [1911] - Get a Free Blog

v
150 THE ORIENTAL RELIGIONS.
entire Roman world. In the year 307 Diocletian,
Galerius and Licinius met in a solemn interview at
Carnuntum on the Danube and dedicated a sanctuary
there to Mithra, "the protector of their empire" (fan-
tori imperil sui*). 32
In previous works on the mysteries of Mithra we
have endeavored to assign causes for the enthusiasm
that attracted humble plebeians and great men of the
world to the altars of this barbarian god. We shall
not repeat here what any one who has the curiosity
may read either in a large or a small book according
to his preferences,33 but we must consider the problem
from a different point of view. Of all Oriental re
ligions the Persian cult was the last to reach the
Romans. We shall inquire what new principle it con
tained ; to what inherent qualities it owed its superior
ity; and through what characteristics it remained dis
tinct in the conflux of creeds of all kinds that were
struggling for supremacy in the world at that time.
The originality and value of the Persian religion lay
not in its doctrines regarding the nature of the celestial
gods. Without doubt Parseeism is of all pagan religions
the one that comes closest to monotheism, for it elevates
Ahura Mazda high above all other celestial spirits.
But the doctrines of Mithraism are not those of Zoro
aster. What it received from Persia was chiefly its
mythology and ritual ; its theology, which was thor
oughly saturated with Chaldean erudition, probably
did not differ noticeably from the Syrian. At the
head of the divine hierarchy it placed as first cause an
abstraction, deified Time, the Zervan Akarana of the
Avesta. This divinity regulated the revolutions of the
stars and in consequence was the absolute master of