The grades of knowledge
Those initiated into the Mithraic cult were called upon to climb up to seven symbolic rungs of the ladder ultimately leading to the rank of Pater.
Corax, the crow
Corax is the first degree of initiation in the mysteries of Mithras. It is associated with the planet Mercury. In the iconography of the Tauroctony, the crow appears as a messenger between Sol and Mithras, making it an excellent symbol of mediation within the community.
Il Corvo – Massimo Livadiotti
Nymphus
Over time, the initiate could advance to the degree of Nymphus. The title refers to the sacred marriage between the god and the initiate. This interpretation is suggested by the association with the planet Venus, by the symbols that accompany the grade in the fresco of the Mithraeum of Felicissimus, and by a passage in the Roman writer and astrologer Firmicus Maternus, who mentions a young husband. Vermaseren identified the Nymphus with a figure in one of the frescoes of the Mithraeum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, who appears to take part in an initiation ceremony by offering the initiate a kiss of greeting, or osculum. Franz Cumont referred to this second degree as the Occult.
Miles, the soldier
Miles is linked to the military dimension of the mysteries and to ancient accounts of rites practised by the Cilician pirates in what is now southern Turkey. The passage to this degree implies a deeper incorporation into the Mithraic community. The Miles declares his full devotion to Mithras through ritual tests and an oath of fidelity.
Il Soldato – Massimo Livadiotti
Leo
With the next grade, Leo, the initiate enters a rank that seems to have allowed fuller participation in Mithraic ceremonies. The initiation associated with the lions gives particular importance to purification. The Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry tells us:
In the Leo Mysteries, honey instead of water is poured into the hands of the initiates for purification; they are commanded to keep their hands clean from anything that might cause sorrow, harm, or stain, and as the fire is purifying, special lustrations are offered, as befits an initiate, rejecting water as the enemy of fire. They also purify his tongue from all sin with honey.
Perses
Perses is the degree that most directly evokes the eastern origin of the god who presides over the mysteries. Honey also appears in its initiation ceremony, although here it seems to have a protective function. The role of the Perses is related to the renewal of nature, a theme present in Mithraic theology. He is the guardian of fruits and cereals, the basis of the bread and wine consumed in the ritual banquet.
Heliodromus
The next higher grade is that of the Heliodromus. He receives the attributes of the Sun: the flame, the radiant crown, and the whip. This rank refers to the path taken by Mithras on the solar chariot during his ascent. In Mithraic ritual, representatives of this degree appear to occupy the place of Sol. This can be seen in the Sacred Banquet, where the Heliodromus occupies one of the two prominent places alongside the Pater.
Pater
At the top of the community stands the Pater. He represents Mithras himself within each community, and therefore holds the highest religious and communal authority in the mithraeum. The Pater presides over the ceremonies, especially those linked to the incorporation of new initiates. This final degree could take the title Pater Patrum when a certain level of pre-eminence was reached over several communities in a given locality.
Il Padre – Massimo Livadiotti
To know more
- M. J. Vermaseren. The Seven Grades of Initiation. The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies.
- Robert Turcan. Mithras platonicus. Brill, Leiden, 1975.
