Daily Gazette

Fabius Fabianus Vetilius Lucilianus. This character is known to be one person not two persons separated as you stated in your translation. My translation : To God alone / Invincible / Mithrae / for the health and / safety / of Caius Fabius Fabianus / Vetilius Lucilianus / legate of Augustus for the most p(aetore) c(larissimi) v(iri / Celsianus, attorney and notary, I make a vow with great love.

CIMRM 382

And don’t forget the keys he’s carrying, another clear clue to his role...

Hi Levin: It’s quite a common point of view in religious contexts to worrying about to what extent can libido distract some men and women from a supposed true purpose. It’s also probable that social factors played a part. In ancient societies (and not so ancient), sexual and gender roles were clearly defined. Just as there were no female soldiers or women had no political rights, to vote or to run for office, in ancient Rome, they also didn’t take part in many other areas of life. Roles were clearly marked and as you mention, women had some private cults where men weren’t allowed either. The cult of Mithras, in that regard, was simply a male one. I remember that not so long ago, and probably still today, there were lots of institutions and conferrees in Europe that were exclusively male, and until quite recently nobody really thought of that as discriminatory, but of course, times have changed (maybe not in essence but definitely in form!)

Excelente trazado de arquitectura, agradezco que la hayan compartido.

Gracias por compartir luz con tu trazado.

I appreciate this article as it spawned and actual (gasp!) conversation on the facebook group. Mithraists are such a secretive bunch. ;-) There were a few bits I didn't agree with, but in the main, I too feel that when Mithras could no longer command the members it once had, it simply changed its outward appearance and kept going as the Masons. A fresh coat of paint, a change of clothes, and TA DA! Easy peasy.

Excelente su artículo que confirma la teoria del profesor Russell, del cual me basé en parte en la realización de mi artículo: https://web.archive.org/web/20190924092431/https://rrviolat.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/mitraismo-masoneria.pdf Es evidente que la masonería introdujo elementos en sus rituales procedentes del mitraismo a lo largo del siglo XVIII y XIX conforme fueron avanzando las investigaciones sobre los hallazgos arqueológicos.

Excelente artículo Hermano. La Masonería sigue siendo la gran heredera de los antiguos misterios. Mitraístas y masones son hermanos a través del tiempo. Pensar que nuestros antepasados fueron muchos de ellos adoradores de Mitra. Saludo fraternal a todos!

Hello Gabriel, the article you present on the relationship between the religion of the unconquered sun and 18th-century English Masonry notes the similarity of the (supposed) rituals. It is possible to draw attention to a few visual aspects: - the followers face each other - initiation was secret - there are several levels of progression in the ritual - temples are small and often private - the temples are oriented according to the sun, and the place of the Pater (with his solar crown) is theoretically in the east (rising sun). - In 1976, Richard Gordon showed that each Mithraic grade corresponded to a star, in particular the sun and the moon, and had a specific place in the lodge. Similarly, Masonry has retained references to the moon and the sun, and a specific place for each officer. - Mithraism works according to the path of the souls in the rotating wheel of the Zodiac. Particularly the cycle of resurrection, Masons also venerate the 'Eternal East'. The Orthodox make the Pilgrimage of the 12 Prayers, which recalls the 12 signs of the Zodiac. - Finally, the Masonic ritual uses a biblical esotericism with the use of many Hebrew words that have nothing to do with Judaism. The link between these two secret societies is missing. It is probably to be found in the organisation of Chapters within Catholic monasteries, reserved for monks, and secrets, whose rituals and organisation are also close to Mithraism. Mithraic symbols can also be found in medieval sculpture. All this points to the survival of Mithraism after the 6th century in a pseudo-biblical form that had nothing to do with the religion of Moses. It would have constituted the esoteric side of Catholicism, hidden in the form of 'crypts', which, as the name suggests, were secret.

One hypothesis is that the mythology of the Roman secret society of Mithras was transformed into an esoteric society, still secret, using the Bible as a screen. Let's take an example: a secret password for today's Masonic lodges is 'Shiboleth'. Shiboleth' means 'ears of wheat', i.e. abundance. Is not the tail of the bull of Mithras an ear of wheat? There are probably dozens of passwords like that. So Hebrew became a secret language for the followers of Mithras, who continued the cult after the fall of Rome, in sanctuaries located near springs or spas, at the same time as the cult of Hercules. Many of these places can be found in France, dating from the 7th to the 10th century. Crypts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries can also be found under Romanesque churches (the church at 'Saint Savin sur Gartempe' has a crypt dating from 800 AD, and a church built above it in 1030 AD). This crypt has a clear mithraeum shape. The modern Masonic rites were probably written in the 15th or 16th century in certain monks' chapters in France or Germany. This would explain why in the 17th century 'pro-Masonic' lodges sprang up in several different parts of Europe: Germany, Ireland, Scotland etc.... the French lodges or guilds were destroyed by Louis XV.

I am researching the Latin inscription dedicated by Callimorphus to Mithras (EDCS-27800570 / CIL III 12135). Could you please let me know if you have any information about the current location or custody of this inscription? Thank you very much for your help. Best regards, Dilara.