The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri,[1] numbered PGM IV.475–829.[2] The modern name by which the text is known originated in 1903 with Albrecht Dieterich, its first translator,[3][4] based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of immortality.[5] The text is generally considered a product of the religious syncretism characteristic of the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial era, as were the Mithraic mysteries themselves.[6] Some scholars have argued that it has no direct connection to particular Mithraic ritual.[7] Others consider it an authentic reflection of Mithraic liturgy,[8] or view it as Mithraic material reworked for the syncretic tradition of magic and esotericism.[9]
The codex containing the text was acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale in 1857.[10] It is thought to date to the early 4th century AD, though Dieterich proposed a date of composition as early as 100–150 AD.[11] Its likely provenance in Egypt, where evidence of Mithraic cult is rare, presents a major obstacle to regarding it an authentic liturgy.[12]
^K. Preisendanz, vol. 1, vii: "Das Große Zauberbuch der Bibliotheque Nationale Paris, Suppl. grec. 574, ein Sammelwerk von 3274 Zeilen auf 18 Doppelblättern, von der Kaiserl. Bibliothek 1857 aus der Collection Anastasi erworben..."
^Greek text with German translation in Albrecht Dieterich, Eine Mithrasliturgie, 2nd edition, pp 1-2
^Albrecht Dieterich, Eine Mithrasliturgie, Leipzig: Teubner, 2nd enlarged edn. 1910
^Jaime Alvar Ezquerra, "Mithraism and Magic," in Magical Practice in the Latin West: Papers from the International Conference Held at the University of Zaragoza, 30 Sept. – 1st Oct. 2005 (Brill, 2010), p. 522.
^Meyer, Marvin (2006). "The Mithras Liturgy". In A.J. Levine; Dale C. Allison, Jr.; John Dominic Crossan (eds.). The historical Jesus in context. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 180–182. ISBN 0-691-00991-0.. The reference is on line 482.
^Hans Dieter Betz, "Magic and Mystery in the Greek Magical Papyri," in Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion (Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 252.
^Alvar, "Mithraism and Magic," pp. 523–532, notes that Franz Cumont and Richard Reitzenstein immediately rejected the claim that the text was an authentic Mithraic liturgy; Alvar, who emphasizes the magical nature of the text, is among the 21st-century scholars who concur.
^Marvin Meyer, "The 'Mithras Liturgy' as Mystery and Magic," in Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices (Brill, 2012), p. 447ff.
^Hans Dieter Betz, The "Mithras Liturgy": Text, Translation, and Commentary (Mohr Siebeck, 2005), p. 37 et passim.
^Paris Bibliothèque Nationale Suppl. gr. 574.
^Meyer, Marvin (2006). "The Mithras Liturgy". In A.J. Levine; Dale C. Allison, Jr.; John Dominic Crossan (eds.). The historical Jesus in context. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-691-00991-0. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
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