The New Mithraeum Database

Between the 1st and 4th centuries, Mithraism developed throughout the Roman world. Much material exists, but textual evidence is scarce. The only ancient work that fills this gap is Porphyry's intense and complex essay.

Twelve centuries separate the decline of Roman Mithraism from the dawn of Freemasonry. Twelve centuries during which the mysteries of Mithras have remained more secret than ever.

Neoplatonic allegorical interpretation expounds how literary texts present philosophical ideas in an enigmatic and coded form, offering an alternative path to the divine truths. The Neoplatonist Porphyry’s On the Cave of the Nymphs is one of the most si

Mithras Reader: An academic and religious journal of Greek, Roman, and Persian studies is dedicated to all the religions of the classical world in all its aspects-literature, history, poetry and philosophy. It includes academic papers from researchers and

The fraternal order that focussed on the worship of the ancient Iranian god Mithra was probably formed in Iran, Armenia, and Pontus (the southern coastal region of the Black Sea in eastern Anatolia, present-day Turkey). Travelers and colonists from these

Written in the 3rd century, The Cave of the Nymphs is a treatise of Homeric exegesis that condenses some major theological and philosophical themes that nourished Neoplatonic thought. Starting from eleven verses of The Odyssey, in which the poet describes