View source for Mithra

{{Short description|Zoroastrian divinity of covenant, light, and oath}}
{{About|the Zoroastrian yazata|other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Zoroastrian
| deity_of =  God of Covenant and Light
| image = [[File:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief of Ardeshir II investiture.jpg|260px]]
| caption = [[Coronation of Ardashir II|Relief]] from [[Taq-e Bostan]] in [[Kermanshah]] [[Iran]]. In this relief, [[Ardashir II]] is in the middle and to his right is [[Ahura Mazda]] and to the left of the king, the god Mithra, with beams of light like the [[sun]] emanating from his head in all directions, and he is standing on a [[Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea|sacred lotus flower]].<ref>[http://www.aftabir.com/articles/view/art_culture/architecture/c5c1132071940_taghbostan_p2.php/طاق-بستان-نقش-ها-و-سازهایش طاق بستان، نقش‌ها و سازهایش | صفحه ۲<!-- عنوان تصحیح شده توسط ربات -->]</ref><ref name="تمدن ایران ساسانی، ص ۳۲۲">تمدن ایران ساسانی، ص ۳۲۲</ref><ref>کریستن سن، ص ۱۶۶</ref>
| script_name = [[Avestan]]
| script = Miθra 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀
| gender = Male
| attributes = God of the Covenant, God of Light and Brightness, God of War, God of Truth, Guardian of the Covenant, Judge of Deeds on the Final Day
| symbol = Sunlight, light, Lion, [[Cypress]] tree
| affiliation = The Thirty-Three Deities, [[List of Zoroastrian month days|Guardians of the Days of the Month]], The Twelve Deities
| mount = [[Chariot]]
| day = 16th of each month in the [[Iranian calendar]]، [[Sunday]] of each week
| associated_deities = [[Verethragna]], [[Rashnu]], [[Sraosha]]
| sacred_flower = [[Rose|Scarlet Rose]]
| abode = [[Hara Berezaiti|Mount Hara]]
| festivals = [[Mehregan]], [[Yalda Night]] (Birth of Mithra)
| temples = [[Mithraeum]]
| greek_equivalent = [[Mithras (name)|Mithras]]
| roman_equivalent = [[Mithraism|Mitras]]
| equivalent1_type = Indian Equivalent
| equivalent1 = [[Mitra (Hindu god)|Mitra]]
}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}
'''Mithra''' ({{langx|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀}}}} {{Lang|ae-Latn|Miθra}}; {{langx|peo|𐎷𐎰𐎼}} {{Lang|peo-Latn|Miθraʰ}}{{px2}}) is an ancient Iranian deity (''[[yazata]]'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mithraism {{!}} Definition, History, Mythology, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mithraism |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> contracts, and friendship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Storm |first=Rachel |title=Myths & Legends of India, Egypt, China & Japan Lorenzo Books |year=2011 |editor-last=Sudell |editor-first=Helen |edition=2nd |location=Wigston, Leicestershire |pages=12, 52}}</ref> In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of [[Asha|Truth]] (''Asha''), and the guardian of cattle, the harvest, and [[Aban|the Waters]]. 

The [[ancient Rome|Romans]] attributed their [[Mithraic mysteries]] to [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] [[Ancient Persia|Persian]] sources relating to Mithra. Since the early 1970s, the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between the Persian and Roman traditions, making it, at most, the result of Roman ''perceptions'' of Zoroastrian ideas.<ref>Beck, Roger (2002-07-20). "[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mithraism Mithraism]". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 2012-09-07.</ref>

==Etymology==
Together with the [[Historical Vedic Religion|Vedic]] common noun ''[[Mitra (Vedic)|mitra]]'', the [[Avestan]] common noun ''miθra'' derives from [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] ''[[mitra|*mitrám]]'' (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|date=April 2011}}

In [[Middle Iranian]] languages ([[Middle Persian]], [[Parthian language|Parthian]] etc.), ''miθra'' became ''mihr'', from which [[New Persian]] {{lang|fa|مهر}} ''mehr'' and [[Armenian language|Armenian]] {{lang|hy|Միհր}} ''Mihr'' and {{lang|hy|Մհեր}} ''Mher'' ultimately derive.

==In scripture==
{{see also|Mihr Yasht}}
Like most other divinities, Mithra is not mentioned by name in the [[Gathas]], the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and traditionally attributed to [[Zoroaster]] himself, or by name in the ''[[Yasna Haptanghaiti]]'', a seven-verse section of the [[Yasna]] liturgy that is linguistically as old as the Gathas. As a member of the Iranian [[Ahura|ahuric triad]], along with [[Ahura Mazda]] and [[Ahura Berezaiti]] ([[Apam Napat]]), Mithra is an exalted figure. Together with [[Rashnu]] "Justice" and [[Sraosha]] "Obedience", Mithra is one of the three judges at the [[Chinvat Bridge]], the "Bridge of Judgement" that all souls must cross. Unlike Sraosha, however, Mithra is not a [[psychopomp]], a guide of souls to the place of the dead. Should the Good Thoughts, Words, and Deeds outweigh the Bad, Sraosha alone conveys the Soul across the Bridge. As the god of contract, Mithra is indeceivable, 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 [[Aban|the waters]] and ensures that those pastures receive enough of it.

The lack of Mithra's presence in the Gathas was once a cause of some consternation amongst Iranians. 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 ''[[Argument from silence|ex silentio]]'' speculation is no longer followed. Building on that speculation was another series of speculations, which postulated that the reason why Zoroaster did not mention Mithra was that 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&nbsp;– or any other divinity&nbsp;– ever enjoyed a separate cult of his or her own outside either their ancient or their Zoroastrian pantheons."<ref name="Boyce_2001_243n18">{{harvnb|Boyce|2001|p=243, n.18}}.</ref>

The Avestan [[Mihr Yasht|Hymn to Mithra]] (''Yasht'' 10) is the longest, and one of the best-preserved, of the ''[[Yasht]]s''. 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),<ref name="avesta.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/yasna/y0to8s.htm|title=AVESTA: YASNA (English): Chapters 0-8|work=avesta.org}}</ref> "the Lofty, and the Everlasting... the Province Ruler," (''Yasna'' 1:11),<ref name="avesta.org"/> "the [[Yazad]] (Divinity) of the Spoken Name" (''Yasna'' 3:5),<ref name="avesta.org"/> and "the Holy," (''Yasna'' 3:13).<ref name="avesta.org"/> 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),<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/ka/niyayesh.htm|title=AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA: Niyayeshes (Litanies)|work=avesta.org}}</ref> "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),<ref name="ReferenceA"/> "I shall sacrifice to his mace, well-aimed against the Skulls of the Daevas" (''Khwarshed Niyayesh'' 15).<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Some recent theories have claimed Mithra represents the Sun itself, but the Khorda Avesta refers to the Sun as a separate entity – as it does with the [[Mah|Moon]], with which the Sun has "the Best of Friendships," (''Khwarshed Niyayesh'' 15).<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==In inscriptions==
Although there is no known Mithraic iconography in the [[Achaemenid]] period,<ref name=iranica /> the deity is invoked in several royal Achaemenid inscriptions:

In [[Artaxerxes II]]'s (r. 404 – 358 B.C.) trilingual (Old Persian, [[Elamite language|Elamite]], and Babylonian) inscription at Susa (A<sup>2</sup>Sa) and Hamadan (A<sup>2</sup>Hc), which have the same text, the emperor appeals to "Ahuramazda, [[Anahita]], and Mithra protect me against all evil," and beseeches them to protect what he has built.

Although the [[Behistun inscription]] of [[Darius I]] (r. 522 – 486 B.C.) invokes Ahuramazda and "the Other Gods who are", this inscription of Artaxerxes II is remarkable as no Achaemenid king before him had invoked any but Ahura Mazda alone by name. Boyce suggests that the reason for this was that Artaxerxes had chosen Anahita and Mithra as his patron/protector Divinities.

Mithra is invoked again in the single known inscription of [[Artaxerxes III]], A<sup>3</sup>Pa, found at [[Persepolis]]. In that inscription, that emperor appeals to "Ahuramazda and the God<!-- the term used originally is ''bag'', do not link, the connotation is different & it's not known what it means in the Iranian context. It could even be a stock epithet of Mithra, and 'Baga' is invoked several times in the Avesta as a proper name. In Sogdian, 'Baga' appears as a God of Marriage. --> Mithra preserve me, my country, and what has been built by me."

==In tradition==
[[File:Artabanosiia.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Artabanus II of Parthia]] (c. 128–124 BC). The Hellenistic depiction on the reverse shows the king kneeling before an [[Apollo]]-like god, which is thought to be Mithra.<ref name=iranica>Franz Grenet, "MITHRA ii. ICONOGRAPHY IN IRAN AND CENTRAL ASIA", Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2016, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mithra-2-iconography-in-iran-and-central-asia (accessed on 19 May 2016).</ref>]]
[[File:Kanishka I with Miiro.jpg|thumb|Coinage of [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] ruler [[Kanishka I]] with Miiro (Μιιρο), "Mithra". {{Circa|120}}–150 CE]]
[[File:A marble relif of the Indo-Iranian Sun god Mithra, II-III AD.jpg|thumb|A marble relief of the [[tauroctony]] in later [[Mithraism|Roman Mithraism]], 2nd – 3rd century CE]]
[[Image:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief of Ardeshir II investiture.jpg|thumb|[[Investiture]] of [[Sassanid]] emperor [[Ardashir II]] (3rd century CE bas-relief at [[Taq-e Bostan]], [[Iran]]. On the left stands the ''yazata'' Mithra with raised ''[[barsom]]'', sanctifying the investiture.<ref name=iranica />]]

In the [[Zoroastrian calendar]], the sixteenth day of the month and the seventh month of the year are dedicated to and are under the protection of Mithra. The [[Iranian calendar|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 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 Mehregan'', or just [[Mehregan]] for short.

In [[Zoroastrian literature|Zoroastrian scripture]], Mithra is distinct from the divinity of the Sun, [[Hvare-khshaeta]] (literally "Radiant Sun", from which the [[Middle Persian]] word ''Khorshed'' for the Sun). However, in Zoroastrian tradition, Mithra evolved from being an all-seeing figure (hence vaguely associated with the Sun) into a divinity co-identified with the Sun itself, effectively taking over Hvare-khshaeta's role. It is uncertain how and when and why this occurred, but it is commonly attributed to conflation with the Babylonian sun god [[Shamash]] and/or the Greek deity [[Apollo]], with whom Mithra shares multiple characteristics such as a judicial function and association with the Sun. This characteristic is part of Mithra's Indo-Iranian inheritance in that the Indic [[Rigveda]] has solar divinities that are not distinct from Mithra, who is associated with sunrise in the [[Atharvaveda]]. ''Om Mitraya Namaha'' is a Hindu mantra chanted in the practice of [[Sun Salutation]], wherein Mitra is a name of the god of the Sun, [[Surya]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stec |first=Krzysztof |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUjhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 |title=Suryanamaskar: Sun Salutations |date=2007-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-4092-8 |pages=138 |language=en}}</ref>

In the apocalyptic ''[[Zand-i Wahman yasn]]'', the god Mithra intervenes on [[Peshotanu]]’s side in the struggle against the [[daeva]]s, who have exceeded their term of rule by 1,000 years, and defeats the daeva [[Aeshma]], whereupon Aeshma and his followers flee back to hell.<ref>Sundermann, W. (1988-12-15). "[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahman-yast-middle-persian-apocalyptical-text/ Bahman-yast-middle-persian-apocalyptical-text]". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 2025-06-18.</ref>

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

The youthful Apollonian-type Mithra is found in images from other countries of [[Greater Iran|Iranian culture]] in the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] period, such as [[Commagene]] in the Roman-Parthian border and the [[Kushan Empire]] on the Indo-Iranian border.<ref name=iranica />

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

# The first, called ''Mihryazd'' by the Persians, was the "Living Spirit" (Aramaic ''rūḥā ḥayyā''), a savior-figure who rescues the "First Man" from the demonic Darkness into which he had plunged.
# 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.

The second figure mentioned above, the Third Messenger, was the helper and redeemer of mankind, and identified with another Zoroastrian divinity, ''Narisaf'' (derived from [[Zoroastrian Middle Persian|Pahlavi]] ''Narsēh'' from [[Avestan]] ''Nairyō.saȵhō'', meaning 'Potent Utterance', the name of a [[Yazata]]).<ref name="Sundermann_1979">{{Citation|last=Sundermann|first=Werner|title=The Five Sons of the Manichaean God Mithra|editor= Ugo Bianchi|encyclopedia=Mysteria Mithrae: Proceedings of the International Seminar on the Religio-Historical Character of Roman Mithraism|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|year=1979}}</ref> Citing Boyce,<ref>{{Citation |last=Boyce |first=Mary |title=A Locust's Leg: Studies in Honour of S. H. Taqizadeh |work= |year=1962 |editor-last=Henning |editor-first=Walter B. |chapter=On Mithra in the Manichaean Pantheon |location=London |editor2-last=Yarshater |editor2-first=Ehsan}}.</ref> 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."<ref>{{Citation|title=Mithra in Manicheism|last=Sundermann|first=Werner|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |year=2002|location=Costa Mesa|publisher=Mazda Pub}}</ref>

Unrelated to these ''Mihr''s are Parthian and [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] ''Mytr'' or ''Mytrg''. Although sharing linguistic roots with the name Mithra, Werner Sundermann established that those names denote [[Manicheanism]]’s equivalent of [[Maitreya]].

==In literature==

According to Boyce, the earliest literary references to the Mithraic mysteries are by the Latin poet [[Statius]], about 80 CE, and [[Plutarch]] (c. 100 CE).<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Boyce | first1 = Mary | last2 = Grenet | first2 = Frantz | title = Zoroastrianism under Macedonian and Roman rule, Part 1 | publisher = Brill | year = 1975 | pages = 468, 469 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MWiMV6llZesC&q=inauthor%3Amary+inauthor%3Aboyce+mithra&pg=PA468 | access-date = 2011-03-16 | isbn = 90-04-09271-4 |quote=... the Persian affiliation of the Mysteries is acknowledged in the earliest literary reference to them. This is by the Latin poet Statius who, writing about 80&nbsp;CE., described Mithras as one who "twists the unruly horns beneath the rocks of a Persian cave". Only a little later (c.&nbsp;100&nbsp;CE.) Plutarch attributed an Anatolian origin to the Mysteries, for according to him the Cilician pirates whom Pompey defeated in 67&nbsp;BCE. "celebrated certain secret rites, amongst which those of Mithras continue to the present time, having been first instituted by them".}}</ref>

==See also==
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
*[[Jesus]]
*[[List of solar deities]]
*[[Mahdi]]
*[[Mithraic reliefs of Jort]]
*[[Varuna]]
*[[Verethragna]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|chapter=Mithra the King and Varuna the Master|last=Boyce|first=Mary|title=Festschrift für Helmut Humbach zum 80.|location=Trier|publisher=WWT|year=2001|pages=239–257}}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |last=Dumézil |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Dumézil |year=2023 |orig-year=1940 |title=Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty |edition= 2nd revised and critical|publisher=HAU Books |translator=Derek Coltman |editor=Stuart Elden |isbn=978-1-912808-97-7}}.
*{{citation|last=Jacobs|first=Bruno|chapter=Mithra|title=Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East|location=Leiden|publisher=University of Zürich/Brill| year=2006|chapter-url=http://www.religionswissenschaft.unizh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_mithra.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927120308/http://www.religionswissenschaft.unizh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_mithra.pdf|archive-date=2007-09-27}}.
*{{citation|last=Malandra|first=William|year=1983|isbn=0-8166-1115-7|title=An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion|location=Minneapolis|publisher=University of Minnesota Press}}.
*{{citation|last=Schmidt|first=Hans-Peter|chapter=Mithra i: Mithra in Old Indian and Mithra in Old Iranian|year=2006|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|volume=OT 10|location=New York|publisher=iranica.com|chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mithra-i}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Zoroastrian Calendar}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Light gods]]
[[Category:Deities of oaths]]
[[Category:Justice gods]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Mithraism]]
[[Category:Mitra]]
[[Category:Yazatas]]
[[Category:Ancient Iranian gods]]

[[ca:Mitra (mitologia)]]
[[de:Mithra]]
[[et:Mithra]]
[[el:Μίθρας]]
[[fr:Mitra]]
[[id:Mithra]]
[[lt:Mitra (dievas)]]
[[no:Mithra]]
[[ro:Mithra]]
[[ru:Митра (бог)]]
[[tr:Mithra]]