THE RE\^ W. ST. CLAIK TISDALL, D.D.^ ON MITHRAISM. 25^ 



therefore to state that Mithraists in the AVest believed Mithra 

 to have died and risen again. Certainly no such idea ever 

 existed in Persia,* and we have not the shghtest indication 

 that it did elsewhere, either in the East or in ihe West. 



Fancy sketches have been drawn of Mithraic theology, anct 

 it has been stated that the titles Holy Word, Mediator, 

 Incarnate Word, were given to Mithra, that he vv^as regarded 

 as son of the Most High God, as equal to xihiira Mazda 

 (Ormazd), as his Manifestation, and as a suffering Saviour.f 

 Much of this is due to a misunderstanding. We have seen 

 that, in Persia, Mithra was one of Ahura Mazda's numerou?? 

 offspring, as were most of the other gods and goddesses. He- 

 was a rival of Ahura Mazda, and finally in the West entirely 

 eclipsed him, being spoken of as the Creator. In ancient 

 Persia he was doubtless said to be equal to Ahura Mazda, but 

 so were other deities, such for instance as Tistrya.J This 

 probably indicates Henotheism, as a similar phenomenon does 

 in India. In no sense is Mithra called a manifistcttion of 

 Ahura Mazda, nor is he ever represented as a " suffering- 

 Saviour." The latter idea has been suggested only l)y the fact 



What Mr. Robertson quotes (p. 323 of Pagan Christs, neAv edition) 

 from Wait is so obviously a blunder of an ignorant Arab (in the Burluui 

 i Qdtl') who mistook mihr for mh% root of murdan, " to die,'' and gdn for 

 Khan, that, though repeated (with other and more probable stories as 

 substitutes) in the Shamsu'l Lvghdt, it forms no exception to this state- 

 ment. 



t By Mr. Robertson, Mr. Vivian Phelips (" Philip Vivian ") and others* 

 X Yasht viii, 50 : — 



Azem dadham, spitama Zarathustra, 

 aom starem, yim Tistrlm, 

 avajutem yesnyata, 

 avcoiitem vahmyata, 

 avcoiitem klishnaothwata, 

 avcoiitem frasastata, 

 yatha mamcit, yim Ahurem Mazdam. 

 " T created, O bountiful (?) Zoroaster, 

 this star, Tistrya (Sirius), 

 as great in worshipfulness, 

 as great iu venerableness, 

 as great in worthiness of being propitiated, 

 as great in praise, 

 as even myself, Ahura Mazda." 

 If we compare this with what is said about Mithra in Yasht x, 1 (above^ 

 p. 247, note |), it will be evident that even more is here said of the 

 greatness of the Dog-star than is said of the dignity of Mithra. So in 

 the Shdyast Id Shdyast, cap. xxiii, §§ 2 and 3, it is said : ' Dln-pa-Ataro- 

 is just like Afiharmazd . . . Din-pa-Mitro is just like Ailharmazd, 

 Mitro is more judicial, Srosh is more vigorous." 



