Bivar a D H David (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 2000 Bibliotheca Persica hardcover edition. Some reading wear else good condition. From the dustjacket: Mithraism was a widespread religion under the Roman Empire. Many scholars insist the influential cult of Roman Mithraism, however shrouded its origins, was essentially a western innovation. This work approaches the question from the other side, looking for the source of Mithraism in a parallel secret organization in Iran. The author presents striking new interpretations of archaeological evidence, further suggesting that passages from Plato, besides hinting that the philosopher was an initiate, provide our earliest information about this arcane brotherhood. The stimulating arguments presented here will provoke debate among historians of Greece and Rome, Iranists, Platonists, students of religion, and the wider public. Contents: Chapter 1: The Personalities of Mithra; Chapter 2: The Five Emanations of Mithra; Chapter 3: Mithra in Near Eastern Syncretism: Some Archaeological Evidence; Chapter 4: Some Babylonian Influences, and the Late Survival of Mithraic Concepts; Appendix A: Plato and Iran; Appendix B: The Iranian Tradition Concerning Visits to The 'Afterlife'; Appendix C: Specimen chapter from Nurafgan, by 'Ali Mirdrakvandi, known as Gunga Din. Transcribed and edited by J.F.B. Hemming.…