The origins of the Mithraic mysteries : cosmology and salvation in the ancient world / David Ulansey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ulansey, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mithraism.

Physical Description:

xii, 154 pages :bill., map ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1989.

Summary:

The ancient Roman "mystery religion" of Mithraism--one of the major competitors to early Christianity--has intrigued generations of scholars, while frustrating all attempts to penetrate the veil of secrecy which cloaked the religion. In this book, David Ulansey challenges the prevailing theory that Mithraism is derived from ancient Iranian religion, arguing instead that the puzzling iconograpy which served as the focus of the cult was actually an astronomical code, and that the cult began as a religious reaction to a startling scientific discovery. As his investigation proceeds, Ulansey takes his readers on a fascinating journey into an ancient intellectual underground inhabited by a community of thinkers united by their belief that scientific knowledge could lead to salvation.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages 141-146.

ISBN:

0195054024

OCLC:

18560810