Tractatus
Ritual and hierarchy in the Mysteries of Mithras
Richard Gordon explores how Mithraic ritual reinforced hierarchy, patronage and the social structures of Roman imperial power.
This article analyses, within the relationship between religion and power in the ancient world, the way in which religious practice contributes to the maintenance of Roman socio-political structures. Therefore, in this article would be suggested two aspects of this relation on the basis of evidences of the cult of Mithras: the legitimation of hierarchy by adapting the ritual system to the Roman patronage and the submission of the individual in the political structure of the imperial power.
