• Login/Register

    Search β):

    * Mitra *


    (Wikipedia) - Mitra
    Look up Mitra or mitra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
    For other uses, see Mitra (disambiguation).

    *Mitra (Proto-Indo-Iranian, nominative *Mitras) was an important Indo-Iranian divinity. Following the prehistoric cultural split of Indo-Aryan and Iranian cultures, names descended from *mitra were used for the following religious entities:




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

    A suggested alternative derivation was *meh "to measure" (Gray 1929). Pokorny (IEW 1959) refined Meillet''s *mei as "to bind." Combining the root *mei with the "tool suffix" -tra- "that which ..." (also found in man-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 Latin moenia "city wall, fortification", and in an antonymic form, Old English (ge)maere "border, boundary-post".


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

    Old Persian Mitra or Miθra - both only attested in a handful of 4th-century BCE inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and III - "is generally admitted a borrowing from the Avesta," the genuine Old Persian form being reconstructed as *Miça. (Kent initially suggested Sanskrit but later changed his mind). Middle Iranian myhr (Parthian, also in living Armenian usage) and mihr (Middle Persian), derive from Avestan Mithra.

    Greek/Latin "Mithras," the focal deity of the Greco-Roman cult of Mithraism is 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 a meson ("in the middle") between "the good Horomazdes and the evil Aremanius and this is why the Pérsai call the Mediator Mithra". Zaehner attributes this false etymology to a role that Mithra (and the sun!) played in the now extinct branch of Zoroastrianism known as Zurvanism.

    Indic Mitra Main article: Mitra (Vedic)


    The first extant record of Indo-Aryan Mitra, in the form mi-it-ra-, is in the inscribed peace treaty of c. 1400 BC between Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni in the area southeast of Lake Van in Asia Minor. There Mitra appears together with four other Indo-Aryan divinities as witnesses and keepers of the pact.

    Iranian MithraMithra (left) in a 4th century investiture sculpture at Taq-e Bostan in south-western Iran.Main article: Mithra



    Mithra in CommageneMithras-Helios, in Phrygian cap with solar rays, with 1st century BC Antiochus I Theos of Commagene. Found at Mount Nemrut, in present-day eastern Turkey.

    There is a deity Mithra mentioned on monuments in Commagene. 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". In the colossal statuary erected by King Antiochus I (69–34 BC) at Mount Nemrut, Mithras is shown beardless, wearing a Phrygian cap, and was originally seated on a throne alongside other deities and the king himself. 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). Vermaseren also reports about a Mithras cult in the 3rd century BC. Fayum. R. D. Barnett has argued that the royal seal of King Saussatar of Mitanni from c. 1450 BC. depicts a tauroctonous Mithras.

    Buddhist Maitreya Main article: Maitreya

    Maitreya is sometimes represented seated on a throne Western-style, and venerated both in Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna Buddhism. Some have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from the ancient Indo-Iranian deity Mithra. The primary comparison between the two characters appears to be the similarity of their names. According to The Religion of the Iranian Peoples, "No one who has studied the Zoroastrian doctrine of the Saoshyants or the coming saviour-prophets can fail to see their resemblance to the future Maitreya.

    Paul Williams claims that some Zoroastrian ideas 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". Possible objections are that these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya.

    Graeco-Roman MithrasRelief of Roman Mithras, in a tauroctony scene.Main article: Mithraic mysteries


    Tags:Anahita, Armenian, Artaxerxes, Artaxerxes II, Asia, Asia Minor, Avesta, Bostan, Buddhism, Christian, Earth, Greco, Greek, Hadrian, Hittites, Hurrian, Iran, Iranian, Mehr, Mithra, Mithraism, Mitra, Old Persian, Parthian, Persian, Proto-Indo-Iranian, Roman, Rome, Sanskrit, Sassanid, Sun, Taq-e Bostan, Turkey, Vedic, Wikipedia, Zoroastrian

    See also items containing : Mitra

    Related History Articles:

    Add definition or comments on Mitra

    Your Name / Alias:
    Definition / Comments
    neutral points of view
    Source / SEO Backlink:
    Anti-Spam Check
    Enter text above
    Upon approval, your definition will be listed under: Mitra

    Happy Summer Sale

    Copyright @ 2004-2016 fouman.com All Rights Iranian