The Mithras Inscriptions of Santa Prisca and the New Testament

Author(s): Hans Dieter Betz

Source: Novum Testamentum, Vol. 10, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1968), pp. 62-80
Published by: Brill
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1560083
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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS OF SANTA PRISCA
AND THE NEW TESTAMENT *

BY

HANS DIETER BETZ

Claremont, Calif.

The inscriptions discovered in a Mithras sanct

Church of Santa Prisca on the Aventine in Rome, which have now
finally been published by M. J. VERMASEREN in his excavation
report 1), prove to be informative for the understanding of certain
concepts of the New Testament. While up to now the written
materials of and information about the hellenistic Mithras cult
consisted of votive inscriptions, and references and allusio
poets and church fathers 2), these new inscriptions give us a gl
of the mithraic cult itself, as it existed in the second centu
Rome. It is this late date of the inscriptions which at first
seems to make impossible any comparison with the New Testam
The editors have shown that the part of the building which ho
the sanctuary belonged originally to the "Privata Traiani", w
the sanctuary itself was only instituted under the emperor Sev
A graffito which can be dated from the year 202 A.D. shows
the sanctuary was in use at that time. About 220 A.D. t
Mithraeum was renovated and considerably enlarged. The painti
and inscriptions of the older phase were painted over and repla
by new ones.
The editor provides the following general description of the

* I wish to express my gratitude to Professor E. REITZENSTEIN for his

advice in matters philological, and to Dr. E. KAMLAH for his critical reading
of the manuscript.
1) M. J. VERMASEREN & C. C. VAN ESSEN, The Excavations in the Mith-
raeum of the Church of Santa Prisca in Rome, Leiden 1965. The older
readings proposed by A. FERRUA, "I1 Mitreo sotto la Chiesa di S. Prisca"
(Bolletino della Commissione archeologica del Governatorato di Roma, vol.
LXVIII, 1940, pp. 59-96) and by M. J. VERMASEREN, Corpus Inscriptionum
et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae, vol. I, Hagae Comitis I956, pp.
193 ff., are now out-of-date.
2) The texts have been collected by F. CUMONT, Textes et Monuments
figures relatifs aux mystgres de Mithra, vol. I-II. Bruxelles 1899. 1896.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 63

inscriptions 1): "All the lines of the texts are i

mostly in hexameters or pentameters, but in a fe
senarius is used. The texts were painted at com
distances from each other, if at times somewha
and the letters are of equal height. On one occa
omitted and the painter subsequently added it
Occasionally there are two or three lines which
each other but which nevertheless do not form a s
may be quotations from hymns or poems whose f
be well known to the initiates. It is also possib
initial lines of the hymns were recorded, but p
difficult and a single line could be an odd quo
be specially composed for this sanctuary."
The inscriptions which are most interesting for
the older decoration. There are several indications
tion that the inscriptions go back to older trad
we have to do with cultic material, in spite of
of the material is poetic in origin. Cultic mat
always tied to tradition. Greek and oriental inf
in the spelling 2), in the names of the initiates 3),
ings 4). One must, therefore, come to the con
Mithraeum was instituted by way of a cult transf
exclude the development of peculiarly Roman f
hardly go wrong in supposing that the decisiv
and mythological concepts date back to older tim
can say that the syncretistic nature of hellenist
so pertinently stated by A. D. NOCK 5) is confi
material. "His (sc. Mithras') worship had indeed
world on a national basis, starting, as it must
groups of Persians who remained in Asia Minor af
of Alexander; an indication of this remains in the use of 'Perses'
as the title for the fifth grade of initiation. Nevertheless, the Mith-

1) Mithras, the Secret God, trans. by TH. and V. MEGAW, New York 1963,
pp. 172 f.; Cf. A. D. NOCK, Gnomon 30, 1958, pp. 291-295; VERMASEREN &
VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 191.
2) In line io we find cybernat instead of gubernat. Cf. VERMASEREN &
VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 206 f.
3) Ib., pp. I84 ff.
4) Ib., pp. I48 ff., 165 ff., 173 ff.
5) "The Genius of Mithraism" ( The Journal of Roman Studies 27, 1937,
pp. IO8-II3), pp. IO8 f.

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64 HANS DIETER BETZ

raism which reached the Western world was a

by fusion in Asia Minor;... In general, the cult wa
soldiers, functionaries, traders, and slaves, who had learned this
derivative of Persian belief, and it did not travel on a national
basis. The spread of religious ideas, Jewish in origin, by the Chris-
tians is in fact analogous, and 'nama' in Mithraism corresponds
to 'Amen'." In spite of such analogies and the strange fact that
the Mithraeum of Santa Prisca was located in close proximity to
a Christian church, no Christian influence can be demonstrated
in the inscriptions.
A comparison between the Mithras inscriptions and the New
Testament must correspond to this state of affairs 1). There is no
possibility of assuming a direct dependency of either side upon
the other. Meaningful, however, is the comparison of forms and
concepts of hellenistic mystery religion which is present in mithraic
form in the inscriptions of Santa Prisca and in Christian form in
some parts of the New Testament writings. This methodological
approach will serve as a safeguard against premature theories of
dependence as well as against a fallacious skepticism which denies
any relationship on the grounds that the material from the mystery
cults is too scarce, while on the other hand the New Testament
texts are so unmistakably Christian. A comparison of the forms
and concepts, however, will lead us to a better understanding of
the structures of hellenistic mystery cult ideas on both sides, the
Mithras religion as well as the early Christian. The following study
investigates the inscription of the older layer, as far as they are
in legible and understandable condition.
Line I:

Fecunda tellus cuncta qua[e] generat Pales

"Fertile earth Pales who procreates everything" 2).

As VERMASEREN 3) has demonstrated by a number of par

we have before us the first line of an "incantatio Terrae Matris",
a form which has a long history even outside the mystery cul

1) It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the older literature o

the subject. The book by A. SCHtTZE, Mithras-Mysterien und Urchristentu
Stuttgart I960, is of no scholarly value.
2) If not indicated otherwise, I give my own translation.-On the basis
of the parallels there can be little doubt that we have to read quae inste
of qua.
3) Op. cit., pp. 187 ff.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 65

Especially similar is a "precatio Terrae Matris" 1

dates from the third century A.D. and begins with
sancta Tellus, rerum naturaeparens, quae cuncta gene
It is well known that the incantation of the elements of the world
played an important part in the mystery cults, especially in th
mithraic mysteries. Therefore, this line is anything but a surprise 2
In the New Testament we would not expect this kind of an
"incantatio", for the Christian belief in the creator god allows only
the invocation of the xupwoS Toi oupavo5 xal TS yS, (Matt. xi 25
The fact that christology seems to contradict in principle any kind
of incantation of the elements of the world, we find expressed in t
christological hymns in John i 3 (7ravc a ' aoTO icyxveo) an
Colossians i I6 (ev cU,rCO e'xr'OeL T-r& rov-roc ev -TOL ouppavo5 xo
7ln T yi q , T7 6opocTr xol ra aocparo, el're p6voL ?T? XUpLOTTreq
Finally, the idea of begetting is opposed to the Jewish-Christi
understanding of creation (xtrL'[v, x-TLaL). The polemic agains
worshipping of the elements of the world (&rc cTo0zXez ToiU x6ocrLou),
as we find it in Galatians iv 8 and Colossians, shows, however, that
an incantation of these elements must have been a possibility
within Christian thought as well. Certainly the confession KYPIOS
IHOYE XPISTO2 means for Paul, for the author of Colossians 3)
and even for the Book of Revelation 4) the end of any worship of
elemental and astral deities. But we must understand that on the
ground of hellenistic religious thinking this conclusion was
no means self-evident 5); therefore, other Christian groups co

1) In the collection made by R. HEIM, "Incantamenta magica graec

latina" (Jahrbiicher fiir classische Philologie, Suppl.-Bd. XIX, I893,
463-576), pp. 504 f. (No. 128). Cf. also the invocation of the Regina Caeli
in Apuleius, met. XI, 2 (cf. IV, 30).
2) Cf. H. D. BETZ, "Sch6pfung und Erlosung im hermetischen Fragmen
'Kore Kosmu"' (ZThK 63, 1966, pp. I60-I87).
3) Cf. G. BORNKAMM, "Die Haresie des Kolosserbriefes", in: Das Ende
des Gesetzes, 1952, pp. 139-156; H.-M. SCHENKE, "Der Widerstreit gnostischer
und kirchlicher Christologie im Spiegel des Kolosserbriefes" (ZThK 6I,
I964, pp. 39I-403).
4) Cf. H. D. BETZ, "Zum Problem des religionsgeschichtlichen Verstand-
nisses der Apokalyptik" (ZThK 63, I966, pp. 39I-409).
5) Cf. Apuleius, met. XI, 5, i: Isis reveals herself as rerum naturae parens,
elementorum omnium domina. The elements must serve the almighty Regina
Caeli (25,3), so that under her protection Lucius is able to pass through the
elements and to return safely (23,8). On the problem cf. W. WITTMANN,
"Das Isisbuch des Apuleius" (Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Geistesgeschichte,
XII), Stuttgart 1938, pp. 29 f., 59 f.; A. LUMPE, Art. "Elementum" (RAC
IV, pp. 1073-11oo), pp. Io8o ff., o189 ff.
Novum Testamentum, X 5

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66 HANS DIETER BETZ

come to a different theological conclusion. O

limited information we have we can assume that those other
groups did regard the supreme dignity of Christ as a po
influence upon the elements of the world 1). How this v
be reconstructed in detail, need not be discussed at this p
Line 4:
Fons concluse petris qui geminos aluisti nectare fratres
"Rockbound spring that fed the twin-brothers with nectar" 3).

In all probability, this line is part of a hymn, too. It re

one of the saving deeds of the god Mithras, as we find th
many sculptures. Shooting an arrow at the rock Mithras o
the eternal spring of the rock which once had given birth
(petra genetrix). The mythical twin-brothers Cautes and Caut
are the first who taste the saving drink 4).
From many other cults and mythological traditions w
assemble many parallels to the "rockbound spring" and
nectar drink 5). The parallelism to the Midrash referred to b
in I Corinthians 10 cannot be overlooked any longer. Th
find the identity 6) between Christ and the rock clearly exp
The mythical ancestors receive the saving drink (7c6oLa r vsu[
I Cor. x 4) from the spring coming out of the rock. A compa
with similar passages in Philo shows that most likely Pau
hellenistic-Jewish Midrash 7), since in the rabbinic mater

1) BORNKAMM has shown correctly, I think, "dass sie (sc. die Irr
die Verehrung der Weltelemente fur einen integrierenden Bestand
Christusglaubens hielten" (p. I4I). Highly speculative, however, is the
thesis advanced by SCHENKE, that "der Kult der Archonten (ist)... im
Grunde, wie jedes andere irdische Tun, ein Adiaphoron" (p. 397).
2) I agree here with H. CONZELMANN, Das Neue Testament Deutsch, vol.
VIII, gth ed., 1962, pp. 142 ff.
3) The translation according to VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., 193.
4) Cf. VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 193 ff.; M. J. VERMASEREN,
"The Miiaculous Birth of Mithras" (Mnemosyne, ser. 4, 1951, pp. 285-30I);
Idem, Mithras, pp. 75 ff. On the Mithras myth as "salvation history" cf.
NOCK, Genius of Mithraism, pp. I I ff.
5) Cf. VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 193 ff.; H. USENER,
"Milch und Honig", in: Kleine Schriften, vol. IV, pp. 398-4I7.
6) The votive inscriptions "Petrae genetrici" show clearly that Mithras
and the Rock are identical. Cf. VERMASEREN, Corpus Inscriptionum, index
sub v. petra.
7) Philo, de leg. alleg. II 86; III I62 f.; Quod det. 115 ff. Cf. also Plutarch,
De Iside et Os. 2, and H. LEWY, Sobria Ebrietas (BZNW 9, I929), p. 30;
84, note 2.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 67

peculiar allegorical identifications are missing ).

had interpreted the Midrash in a way which is typica
cult ideas, that is to say, if they are not merely ta
an interpretation from their source material 2). Whi
inscription refers to the mithraic myth, Paul and
the Old Testament. Both sides regard the mythic
T6u7oL of the present events. Furthermore, the inte
related texts in the ancient church 3) suggests tha
taries of I Corinthians 10 should incorporate a re
rock of Mithras.

Line 7:
Hunc quem aur(ei)s humeris portavit more iuvencum
"This young bull which he carried on his golden shoulders according to
his ways".

Again we have to deal with an ingredient of a hymn, in which

the saving deeds of Mithras are glorified. The event referred to
here is the subject of many reliefs of "Mithras taurophorus" 4).
Before Mithras was able to kill the bull, he had to catch him.
Only after a hard fight did Mithras succeed in overcoming the
animal and in carrying it triumphantly into the cave, where he,
at the command of the gods, gave it the fatal stab. This deed is
the salvation event proper and is often called "transitus dei
Mithrae" 5). Apparently the act of carrying is especially significant:
1 Cf. H. L. STRACK & P. BILLERBECK, Komm&ntar zum Neuen Testament
aus Talmud und Midrasch, vol. III, pp. 406-408. The differences between
Paul and the rabbinical traditions have been pointed out by E. E. ELLIS,
"A Note on First Corinthians x 4" (JBL 76, 1957, PP. 53-56); Idem, Paul's
Use of the Old Testament, I957, PP. 66 ff.
2) Cf. W. L. KNOX, St. Paul and the Church of the Gentiles, 1939, pp. I I I ff.;
H. LIETZMANN & W. G. KUMMEL, An die Korinther I/II, (Handbuch zum
NT, vol. 9, 4th ed.), pp. 45, i8i.
3) Cf. Barn. I : i ff.; Justin Martyr, dial. 70: 1-5; 76: I; 86: i ff.; 114: 4.
In addition, the patristic material collected by H. RAHNER is relevant here:
"Flumina de ventre Christi. Die patristische Auslegung von Joh. 7,37.38"
(Biblica 22, 1941, pp. 269-302. 367-403); Idem, "Mysterium Lunae" (ZKTh
63, 1939, pp. 3II-349. 428-442; 64, I940, Pp. 6i-8o. 121-131); cf. also F.
CUMONT, Textes et Monuments, vol. I, p. I66.
4) Cf. VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 20I ff.; VERMASEREN,
Mithras, pp. 79 ff.
5) Cf. VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 202; VERMASEREN, Mithras,
p. 81, interprets this concept as a hint at the god's heavy load and his
"passage"; similarly F. CUMONT, The Mysteries of Mithra, trans. by TH. J.
MCCORMACK, Chicago 1903, p. I35: "This painful Journey (Transitus) of
Mithra became the symbol of human suffering".

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68 HANS DIETER BETZ

Mithras carries the bull into the cave which

cosmos and the heaven 1). In the cult the carr
symbolically and interpreted paraenetically 2)
In the New Testament the saving event is "t
here the act of carrying is especially signifi
Hebrews xii 2), for it is the "bearing of sin" (Joh
Hebrews ix 28; Matt. viii 17 (Isa. liii 4)). More
Hebrews i 3 Christ "bears" the universe wi
paraenetical interpretation of the concept we fin
words of discipleship 4), in Paul 5) and in Igna
The designation of the mithraic salvation event
can be compared to the Gospel of John, who des
ive event as the epX50eoL and urncaylv of Christ
the believer is concerned, as the 'eoc,va v &x ro5 Ocva'rtou dcs
Tnv 4)Tv 8).

Line 9:
Atque perlata humeris t(u)li m(a)xima divum
"And after I had received (it) I have borne on my shoulders the greatest
things of the gods".

Form-critically we have to call this line an "I-saying" which can

only be uttered by Mithras himself. "One has the impression that
these words were spoken by Mithras himself at the end of his
earthly existence. He has carried out the orders of the gods,
he has rescued the bull from an evil fate, has killed it, and by
its death has brought salvation to mankind" 9). The saying
undoubtedly refers to the "transitus dei", but at the same time
to the familiar image of the bearing of the yoke of the gods,-
here called "the greatest things of the gods" 10).
In the New Testament we know of a considerable number of

1) Cf. VERMASEREN, Mithras, p. 37 f.

2) Cf. the cult servant in the Isis procession who carries a cow o
shoulders (Apuleius, met. XI, II, 2).
3) Cf. E. KXSEMANN, Das wandernde Gottesvolk (FRLANT, NF 37
ed. I96I), pp. 63 ff.
4) MC. viii 34 par; Mt. x 38 par.
5) 2 Cor. iv io; Gal. vi I7; Rom. xv i; Gal. vi 2, 5 (i Cor. vi 20 v. 1.
6) Ignatius, Polyc. : 2, and the designation of himself and other
tians as &soq6pop, XpLmocpqpoL, voc6popo, yyLooc6poo. (Eph. ix 2 an
7) John iii 8, vii 33, viii i4; etc.; I Peter iii 22; Rev. xiv 4.
8) John v 24; cf. xiii i.
9) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 204.
10) Ib., p. 205.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 69

"I-sayings" 1). Especially some from the Gospel of

Book of Revelation (John v 36, vi 37-40, viii 28-29
iii 21) come close to the Mithras inscription. Of
Christian message it is Jesus who fulfills the will
cross and thus accomplishes the saving event. However, the
Christian axo0vsaXov remains an offense in comparison with the
Mithras cult, for Christ accomplishes his victory only by his own
death 3).
The image of the bearing of the yoke is imployed in the New
Testament in references to Christian commandments 4), but not in a
description of the saving act of Christ.
Line Io:

Dulc(i)a sunt fi(cata) avium (s)ed cura gubernat

"Sweet are the livers of the birds, but care reigns" 5).

If the restoration of the first words of this line is accurate we

have before us an example of the category of "wisdom sayings" 6)
"The sweetness of material life is set against the hard care . . ." 7)
What does it mean that this Mithras cult appropriates such a
wisdom saying? An answer can be concluded by taking a look
the sermon of the mystagogue in Apuleius, met. XI: I5. Ther
too the worldly pleasures are juxtaposed to the rule by the "bli
Fortuna". The life of Lucius prior to his redemption corrobora
this in many different ways. After his redemption, however, Luciu
lives under the protection of the "seeing Fortuna (Isis)" 8). Likewis
one is reminded of the opulent banquets which Philo describes
De vita contemplativa 40 ff. and with which he contrasts the sacr
and ascetic life of the Therapeutae. From the fact that this wisdom

1) Cf. R. BULTMANN, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, trans. by

J. MARSH, 1963, pp. I50 ff.; Idem, Das Evangelium des Johannes, I953, p. I6
note 2.

2) BULTMANN regards all of them to be compositions of John (Das

gelium des Johannes, p. I99, note 7; 173 f.; 269 f.).
3) Cf. John xix 30 (TrTeACTrTo), John i 29; 2 Cor. v 17-21.
4) Mt. xi 28-30; Acts xv io (cf. Gal. v I; i Tim. vi i). Cf. my article
Logion of the Easy Yoke and of Rest Matt. xi 28-30" (JBL 86, 19
10-24).
5) The translation according to VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit.,
p. 206.
6) So VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, pp. 206 f.
7) Ib., p. 207.
8) En ecce pristinis aerumnis absolutus Isidis magnae providentia gaudens
Lucius de sua Fortuna triumphat.

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70 HANS DIETER BETZ

saying has been adopted by the Mithraists we

it expresses an ascetic tendency. The Mithraic
fronted with a word of warning, since, by the ri
they are exempt from the worldly pleasures
rule by the cura 1). By this the Mithras relig
evaluation of human existence in later helleni
unredeemed man is torn between "pleasure" o
"anxiety" on the other 2); he is even the "chi
The New Testament propagates a similar vi
human existence and treats the subjects of "anxiety" rather
carefully, as R. BULTMANN has shown in his article on "pILptaVco
xrX" 4). A close investigation of the relationship between the
Mithras inscription and the New Testament in this point depends,
however, upon the question of whether or not the Mithraists
believed that they were totally exempt from the troubles of this
world. On the basis of parallels from other mystery cults 5) we can
only assume that the Mithraists as well as the Christians regard
themselves as free from the despotic regiment of the "cura", but
there can be no doubt that these forces continue to be a threat to

the believers. This fact provides the basis for an admonit

against false anxiety 6).
In this context it is significant that as an alternative to Chr
existence, Paul refers to a wisdom saying of similar conte

1) I can only partly agree with the interpretation VERMASEREN g

VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, Op. cit., p. 207, who takes cura gubernat
an admonition addressing the believers "to keep Death clearly in min
2) Cf. R. BULTMANN, "EspLMtv& XrX", ThW vol. IV, pp. 593 ff., esp
the material referred to p. 594, line 3-6.
3) Cf. Hyginus, Fabulae CCXX ed. H. I. ROSE, where "Cura" appears as
a personified being creating men out of the earth: ". .. homo uocetur quoniam
ex humo uidetur esse factus." Informative is also what Seneca says, ep.
CXXIV, 14 (ed. R. M. GUMMERE): "Quattuor hae naturae sunt, arboris,
animalis, hominis, dei; haec duo, quae rationalia sunt, eandem naturam
habent, illo diversa sunt, quod alterum inmortale, alterum mortale est. Ex his
ergo unius bonum natura perficit, dei scilicet, alterius cura, hominis." Cf. M.
GRANT, The Myths of Hyginus (University of Kansas Publications, Humanistic
Studies, No. 34, 1960), pp. I57 f.
4) Cf. BULTMANN, ThW vol. IV, pp. 595-597.
5) Cf. the well-known cultic formula cited by Firmicus Maternus, de
errore prof. rel. XXII, I. Similarly, Lucius is exempt from "worldly cares"
and protected by the "sancta militia" and the "ministerii iugum voluntariunm"
(Apuleius, met. XI, 15, 5). Yet, voluptas still is at work in him, as the little
monologue in XI, 28, 3 demonstrates.
6) Cf. the material discussed by BULTMANN, ThW vol. IV, pp. 595-597.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 7I

c(payoezv xal Tco[Lev, aiOCpov y&Op &ao0vaxos.zv. Lik

quent paraenetical interpretation is connected w
saying 1). Of course, the metaphor of the "sweet liv
is missing in the New Testament. Instead we find ot
xotXa 2), paCtg xal c6atL 3), or longel parables 4).
Line II:

pi(e) r(e)b(u)s renatum dulcibus atque creatum

"him (or that) who (or which) is piously reborn and created by sweet
things".

Since the first words are quite uncertain and since it is not clear
whether this line was in any way connected with the preceeding
one 5), we confine our comments to the legible last four words.
It is significant, to begin with, that the term "renatus" which is
known in other mystery cults 6) is now attested also in the Mithras
cult. Even more important is the combination of "renatus" and
"creatus", i.e. of rebirth and creation. Since "dulcibus" doubtlessly
refers to the sacramental drink dispensed at the initiation 7), we
may suppose that the line points to the implications of the initiation.
It is surprising to find the terminology of creation in this connection,
especially because "renatum" precedes "creatum" while we would
expect the reverse sequence, i.e., creation then rebirth. Because
of this unfamiliar sequence VERMASEREN 8) proposes to render
"creatus" by "chosen" or "elected". Parallels from other mystery
cults show, however, that "creatus" in fact points to creation as
recreation. As an example one may refer to Apuleius, met. XI: 21,6,
who distinguishes between three stages of salvation; the election,
then the rebirth which is at the same time understood to be the

"restoration" (recreation) to a new life 9). In addition to the

then speaks of the taking over of the "ministerium" of the go

1) I Cor. xv 32 f.
2) Rom. xvi 18; i Cor. vi 13; Phil. iii 19.
3) Rom. xiv I7; cf. Col. ii i6.
4) Cf., e.g., Lc. xii I6-2I and Mt. vi 25-34 par.
5) The translation according to VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 207.
6) Ib., p. 209 f. There is no reason any more for the skepticism expressed
by J. DEY, IAAIrrENESIA, 1937, PP. ioi f. Cf. also M. P. NILSSON,
Geschichte der griechischen Religion, vol. II, 2nd ed. 1961, p. 636, note 3; 6
7) Cf. line 4 of the inscriptions.
8) Op. cit., p. 2Io.
9) ... numen deae soleat eligere et sua providentia quodam modo renatos
novae reponere rursus salutis curricula.

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 HANS DIETER BETZ
72

to which Lucius has been appointed 1), and of

ment to the office of the pastophorus which
himself 2). After Lucius has returned from
underworld3), he is "recreatus" and "reform
It is well known that the combination of rebirth and recreation
occurs also in the New Testament 5), partly related to the sacra
mental act of baptism. The term "renasci" equals the New Testa
ment concepts of yevvav,, vocy@evv 6); "creare" equals the Ne
Testament XTL[svL (XTLCLS) 7). The Christian believer incorporated
into the pCtoa coU XpLarou in baptism is xzLvYv x-TLCG 8).
We may conclude that the combination of the ideas of rebirt
and recreation was widespread in hellenistic mystery cults an
was also adapted by early Christianity as well as by the Mithras cul
Line I2:

Nubila per ritum ducatis tempora cuncti

"You must conduct the rite through clouded times together".

Undoubtedly this is paraenesis 9). The Mithraists are e

to celebrate the ritual in these present difficult ("cloude
and thus to find power and consolation 10). We know fr
sources that it is characteristic of hellenistic man that he is under

1) ... iam dudum felici ministerio nuncupatum destinatumque (XI, 21, 7;

cf. 20,6; 23,4).
2) . . . in collegium me pastoforum suorum, immo inter ipsos decurionum
quinquennales adlegit (XI 30, 5).
3) Met. XI, I6, 2; 27, 6; cf. R. REITZENSTEIN, Die hellenistischen Myste-
rienreligionen nach ihren Grundgedanken und Wirkungen, 3rd ed. 1927,
pp. 262 ff.; NILSSON, op. cit., pp. 585 ff.; A. DIETERICH, Eine Mithras-
liturgie, 3rd ed. (repr. 1966), pp. 157 ff.
4) Met. XI, 18,3; 23,8 f.; 24,4 (cf. 22,4).
5) Cf. J. M. ROBINSON, in: Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. IV,
pp. 24 ff., where further literature on the subject is listed; H. BRAUN,
Qumran und das Neue Testament, vol. I, 1966, p. I42. 200. G. LINDESKOG,
"Studien zum neutestamentlichen Sch6pfungsgedanken", I (Uppsala
Universitets 4rsskrift I952: II) has collected the New Testament material,
but discusses the religio-historical problem in a rather one-sided way.
6) John i 13, iii 3, 5, 6, 8; i John ii 29, iii 9, iv 7, v I, 4, 18; cf. I Cor. iv 15;
Philemon o1; i Peter i 3, 23; James i I8; Gal. iii 26-29. On the whole question
see J. JERVELL, Imago Dei (FRLANT, NF 58, I960), pp. 240 ff.
7) Cf. also the following terms: &avacxxIvLi,v, &avaxavoiaT)cXl, a&vcxcLVCLoq,
vavCouC8oat, xavvoLrrvc, XcLVO6 (v?o0) &v&p oco7. (Rom. vi 4, xii 2; 2 Cor. iv i6;
Col. iii 10; Eph. ii 15, iv 23f.; Hebr. vi 6; Titus iii 5).
8) 2 Cor. v 17; Gal. vi I5; cf. Col. i i6, iii io; Eph. ii 10, I5, iii 9, iv 24.
9) So also VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 211.
10) Cf. VERMASEREN, Mithras, pp. I73.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 73

the impression of the end of the "Golden Age"

"senectus mundi". In this period of the rule of
believers of Mithras find support and comfort i
the "ministerium sacrum", for the magical charact
guarantees their salvation. As a parallel we may
who tries to console his wife on the death of their
to the "wuarLx& cyu'3poXa" of the dionysiac myster
Met. Isis promises Lucius two benefits of salvat
against any dangers of the soul after death, and
the present life: "vives autem beatus, vives in mea t
In the inscription under consideration here, the pr
to the congregation ("cuncti") of the brethren
only to the individual believer 3).
The comparable New Testament paraenesis is c
the right conduct toward the present "evil eon"
to "endure", to "hold out" (cf. concepts like LVs
U7opovw 5), tiXaLv, x0axLazc 6), or Paul's famou
But in distinction to the Mithras cult, the New Testament does
not grant the gift of salvation simply by participation in the
ritual 8). Thus, the New Testament paraenesis is focussed upon the
concrete ethical conduct of the Christian believers 9) As in the
Mithras inscription, the New Testament exhortations are directed
to the community of the believers rather than the individual, but
1) Consol. ad uxorem p. 6II D ff. Cf. also De Iside et Os. 27, and R. MERKEL-
BACH, Roman und Mysterium in der Antike, I962, pp. 53 ff.
2) Apuleius, Met. XI 6,5; cf. 15,5, and VERMASEREN, Mithras, p. 178.
3) Cf. CUMONT, Mysteries of Mithra, pp. I68 ff.; VERMASEREN, Corpus
Inscriptionum I, No. 214: Nama cunctis. See also Apuleius, met. XI, 15;
I9; 23, I.4; 24,5; 27,I; 30, 4-5-
4) The New Testament terminology goes back to Jewish apoc
0 alov o6rTO, 6 vUv alov, 6 eVSCOToGL alcv, 6 vuv xocLp6q.
5) Cf. John viii 31, xv 4-7, 9-IO. For the paraenetical concept of
cf. Mc. xiii 13 (Mt. x 22, xxiv 13); Rom. xii I2; Hebr. x 32, xii 7 (
James i 12 (V II); I Peter ii 20; I Cor. xiii 7; 2 Tim. ii Io. The no
is frequently used in the Pauline corpus as well as in Rev. (i 9,
iii 10, xiii Io, xiv 12).
6) Cf. especially I Cor. xii 26; 2 Cor. i 6; Gal. iii 4; Phil. i 29; I
I Peter ii I9 f., iii 14, 17, iv I9 etc.-For -o"alcroaTao" see Rom.
2 Cor. i 5-7; Hebr. x 32; I Peter v 9.
7) I Cor. iv 10-I4, vi 4-IO, xi 23-27.
8) The controversies between Paul and his opponents presuppose that
ritualism played an important part in their theological views. Cf. Rom.
vi i ff.; i Cor. i 13 ff.; Gal. passim.
9) Cf. H. D. BETZ, "Nachfolge und Nachahmung Jesu Christi im Neuen
Testament" (BhTh, vol. 37, 1967), pp. I69 ff.

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74 HANS DIETER BETZ

the early Christian ecclesiology is different

standing of the Mithras cult because of the
former 1).

Line 13:
Primus et hic aries astrictius ordine currit
"And here as the first the ram runs exactly on his course".

VERMASEREN, pp. 213 ff., proposes to understand this pu

line as an allusion to the homeric episode of the cyclope Pol
After he has been blinded, Polyphemus sits at the entr
his cave talking to the bell-wether of his flock 2). "Howeve
Polyphemus may have been, the ram is an example of
loyalty; he is the first to run out... in the morning, the last
in the evening" 3). The editor believes that the author
inscription was inspired by this homeric theme. Howev
thesis seems quite artificial 4), and the subsequent attem
editor to combine the title "primus" with the office of the
lacks unambiguous evidence, for he must admit: "In
Prisca text we find this comparison of the Father with
for the first time" 5).
To us the solution of the problem seems to lie in a d
direction. We might set out from the cult legend which
claims to have from HERMIPPUS 6): "Hermippus says th
time when Liber was attacking Africa he came with his
the place called Ammodes from the great quantities of

1) Cf. NOCK, Genzus of Mithraism, p. io8.

2) Homer, Od. IX, 447 ff.
3) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., 213; similarly VERMASEREN,
Mithras, p. 174.
4) F. BUFFIERE, Les mythes d'Homere et la pensee grecque, Paris I956, to
whom VERMASEREN refers, provides no evidence for such an interpretation
of the Odyssey passage, as far as I can see.
5) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 214.
6) Hyginus, astron. II 20, trans. by M. GRANT, The Myths of Hyginus,
p. 209. The text most relevant for us here reads as follows: arietem inter
sidera figuravit, ita cum sol in eius foret signo, omnia nascentia recrearentur,
quae veris tempore fiunt, hac re maxime, quod illius fuga Liberi recreavit
exercitum. praeterea XII signorum principem voluit esse quod illius optimus
exercitui fuerat ductor (Hygini Astronomica rec. E. BUNTE, p. 6I, line 16-20).
Also Nigidius Figulus alludes to this legend (Operum reliquae, ed. A. Swo-
BODA, ? LXXXVIIII, p. IIo): Nigidius hunc arietem dicit ducem et princi-
pium esse signorum. A parallel tradition transferring the event to India
is recorded by Hyginus, Fabulae CXXXIII, ed. ROSE. On the origin of the
legend cf. ROSCHER, Mythologie, vol. I, p. 29I; II5I f.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 75

was in great danger, since he saw he had to adva

difficulty was the great scarcity of water. The
at the point of exhaustion, and the men were w
do, when a certain ram wandering apart, came by
soldiers. When it saw them, it took safety in fli
however, who had seen it, though they were
difficulty oppressed by the sand and heat, gave ch
booty from the flames, and followed it to that
named from the temple of Jove Hammon later
When they had come there, the ram which they h
nowhere to be seen, but what was more to be de
an abundant supply of water, and, refreshed in th
it at once to Liber. In joy he led his army to that p
a temple to Jove Hammon, fashioning a statue
horns of a ram. He put the ram among the cons
a way that when the sun should be in that sign, al
would be refreshed; this happened in the sprin
that the ram's flight refreshed the army of Lib
too, to be chief of the twelve signs, because the ra
best leader of nis army".
The legend does not only explain the reasons f
temple of Iuppiter-Ammon, but at the same tim
ram is understood to be "dux" and "primum signum
All of this points to the probability that the Mi
contains a statement on astrological matters. T
surprise to anyone who knows Mithraism, for a
texts and monuments demonstrates the import
the zodiac in this mystery cult 2). Because the frie
and Helios 3), the sign next to the ram in the
here, we may suggest that in our line the ram i
Mithras. We must admit, however, that unambiguo
this identification is still lacking. The material
GUNDEL shows that the sign of the ram was in fac
different deities. Referring to Porphyry, de an

1 For further material cf. ORTH, RE, 2nd series, vol.

GUNDEL, RE XI/2, cols. 1869 ff.; F. BOLL, Aus der Offe
1914, P. 44, note 3.
2) Cf. VERMASEREN, Corpus Inscriptionum I. II., general indices s.v.
"zodiac"; Idem, Mithras, pp. 154 ff.; CUMONT, Mysteries of Mithra, pp. I2I ff.
3) Cf. CUMONT, Mysteries of Mithra, p. I32; VERMASEREN, Mithras,
PP. 95 ff.

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76 HANS DIETER BETZ

p. 73,2 ff. NAUCK, GUNDEL considers the possib

raism Mithras was connected with the sign of th
phrase "ordine currit" points to the orbit of the
especially from the use of the phrase by some
"astrictius" reminds us of astrological epithe
"celer/celeritas" and "pernix" 3); I understan
form to be an emphatic positive because the
the comparison is lacking 4).
As F. BOLL 5) proposed long ago we must under
logical title "TO dpvLv" in the Book of Revela
religio-historical context. As in Mithraism Mi
with the sign of the ram, so was Christ in the B
In addition to this, the ram Christ was interprete
ed lamb" and thus "christianized" 7). The B
speaks explicitly of the "following" (&xoXou0sLV
the Mithras inscription at least implies this id

1) Cf. GUNDEL, RE vol. XI/2, cols. 1883 f.

2) Cf. Germanicus, Aratea 224-227 (Poetae Latini Min
RENS, vol. I, I879, p. I60):
Inde subest aries, qui longe maxima currens
Orbe suo spatia ad finem non tardius ursa
Peruenit et quanto breuiore Lycaonis arctos
Axem actu torquet ...
Avienus, Carmina II, 522 ff. ed. A. HOLDER:
. .. non longa aries statione locatus
In conuexa redit, paruo se tramite subter
Distinet et medio caelum citus ordine currit . .

For the use of "ordo" cf. Vitruvius, de arch. VI, I, 6; for "currere" cf. V
I,I ; IX, 4, 8.14; 9,I2.I3. See also ThesaurusLinguaeLat. vol. IV, cols. 1513 f.
3) Cf. Avienus, Carmina II 508 and Thesaurus Ling. Lat. II, col. 572.
4) Cf. R. KUHNER & C. STEGMANN, Ausfiihrliche Grammatik der lateinisch
Sprache, vol. 11/3, 31d ed. 1955, pp. 475 ff.
a) F. BOLL, Aus der Offenbarung Johannis, pp. 44-46. T. HOLTZ, Di
Christologie der Apokalypse des Johannes (TU 85, I962), pp. 39 ff., repor
upon the state of affairs with regard to this problem, but rejects BOLL'S
thesis without having paid sufficient attention to his arguments. It i
disturbing to see that HOLTZ never returns to the astral references which
cannot be denied to exist in the Book of Revelation. False alternatives on
can contribute to the confusion, cf., e.g., "... . bernahmen aus der alt-
testamentlich-jiidischen Uberlieferung, nicht aus der Astrologie" (p. 41,
note I).
6) Rev. v 6 and often, cf. E. LOHMEYER, Die Offenbarung des Johannes
(Handbuch zum NT, I6, 2nd ed. 1953), excursus ad loc.
7) It is interesting to see that Firmicus Maternus, De errore prof. rel.
XXVII, 8 compares the "ram" of John with the taurobolium and criobolium.
8) Rev. xiv 4, cf. BETZ, Nachfolge und Nachahmung, p. 42, note I.

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 77

Line 14:
Et nos servasti eternali sanguine fuso
"And you saved us after having shed the eternal blood"

VERMASEREN rightly states that "there can be no doubt that

it is Mithras who is referred to in this line" 1). Equally clear is the
mythological and soteriological meaning. The line praises the
saving act of Mithras, the slaying of the bull whose blood gave both
fertility to earth and immortality to the initiates who participate in
the sacred meal. Evidently in this meal various kinds of food could
be used, but most prominently bread and water, which may also
have been understood as symbols of the flesh and blood of the
bull 2). The little vase with the inscribed word "fuso" which was
found in the Mithraeum of S. Prisca may point in that direction,
although the shedding of blood could also be taken merely as a
reference to the mythological sacrifice of the bull. Highly speculative
is the suggestion made by VERMASEREN that "Mithras himself
was the bull and therefore killed himself in order to give eternal
life to his followers" 3). However, there is no evidence for such an
assumption as yet, and one must not give way to the temptation
of filling the gaps of information by reconstructions on the basis
of Christian ideas 4).
The form-critical question can be answered in this case by
comparison with the New Testament. The inscription has a striking
similarity to hymnological or confessional formulae like those in
Col. i I3 (... G. ? ppUao0o YLi ~x TI SOUCTLC TOV CXOTOU .. .) 5)
or 2 Cor. i 1 (. . . 8 6 x rT-XtxoUTOU OCv&rou eppuxcrTo OLq . . .)6).
The numerous references in the New Testament to the redemptive
act of the shedding of the blood are, of course, references to the

1) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 218.

a) This is the opinion of VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 218-221
(cf. VERMASEREN, Mithras, pp. 98 ff.), although we have no witnesses for
the symbolism of flesh and blood, except Justin Martyr, apol. I 66, who
compares the bread and the cup of water with the eucharistic meal of the
Christians. Cf. J. H. WASZINK, RAC, vol. II, pp. 459 ff.
3) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 220.
4) One wonders, e.g., whether Tertullian's remark ((De praescr. haeret. 40)
that Mithras introduced an image of the resurrection (imaginem resurrectionis
inducit) has any basis other than the Christian idea of resurrection.
5) Cf. I Thess. i Io: ... 'Ibsaou,v T6v TOu6[zvov iq &x Tqs 6ppyiq Ti5
&pXo L0?V7]4.
6) J. M. ROBINSON calls my attention to the fact that pU6Oa Xat gVx -vo
occurs also in Jewish liturgical texts.

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78 HANS DIETER BETZ

blood of Christ (ro6 exxuvv6Vivov Srrp roXXJov)

rence of such references in liturgical formulae co
tion that the Mithras inscription belongs to
material 2).

Line 16-17:
Accipe thuricremos pater accipe sancte Leones,
Per quos thuradamus per quos consumimur ipsi
"Accept, O holy Father, accept the incense-burning Lions, through whom
we offer the incense, through whom we ourselves are consumed".

According to the commentary by VERMASEREN, pp. 224 ff., two

things are clear with regard to these lines: the reading and the fact
that they belong together. A different matter is the exact meaning,
which is quite difficult to establish, for the lines leave room for
various interpretations. As far as the form is concerned, there can
be little doubt that we have a liturgical fragment before us, a
petition in which the Father as the representative of Mithras is
asked "to accept" the Lions 3). However, this can be understood
as an act of recognition or as a sacrifice by which the Lions offer
themselves to the God and in which the Father acts as the recipient.
Both seem to be the case. The parallel material collected by VER-
MASEREN ranges from various kinds of Roman prayers to the
"offertorium" of the Roman Catholic Mass 4) and points to an act
of sacrifice. "The Father of the Mithraic community, sitting like
a king on his throne, is begged to accept into the mysteries the
Lions, who are, as we know, the representatives of the element
fire" 5). It can only be called appropriate that they are the ones
through whom the community offers the incense. While the lines
do not present a major difficulty up to this point, the last words
"per quos consumimur ipsi", which are obviously very significant,
have not found an interpretation that is unanimously acceptable.
As the discussion between VERMASEREN and W. VOLLGRAFF has
shown, the main reason for this is the various ways in whi

1) Mc. xiv 24 par, cf. Mt. xxiii 35.

2) Cf. Rom. iii 25; Col. i 20; Eph. i 7, ii 13; i Peter i I9; Rev. i 5-6, v
xii I.
3) On the act of the "acceptio" cf. CUMONT, Mysteries
4) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 224 ff.
5) lb., p. 226. Cf. the procession of the seven grades of
of the paintings in which the Lion wears a bright red tun
and holds in his hand an object which can only be the fire

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 THE MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS 79

word "consumimur" can be rendered ). VOLLG

of "consumimur" with "consumamur" which he then renders
"nous sommes instruits" is possible, but also artificial bec
the connection with a sacrifice of incense. VERMASEREN p
arguments and parallels for his own thesis that the incen
bolizes the goal of every Mithraist to "strive for final consum
in the solar fire" 2). He suggests "It may even be that th
some idea of identifying themselves with the incense and
way of offering themselves to the god" 3). If this is the c
ritual of sacrifice is accompanied by a "spiritualizing" int
tation. The Mithraists present themselves as sacrificial gi
are consumed by the fire of the incense offering. In ad
VERMASEREN wants to understand "consumimur" as a reference

to purification: "After the soul has been purified from all its dif
passions, the fire-element, akin to the external light (= Go
return home" 4). But "consumere" as referring to purifica
nowhere else attested, as far as I can see.
The question whether these lines can be compared with
New Testament must take into account that according to th
Testament no incense offerings were part of the early Ch
worship. Incense is mentioned, therefore, only with refere
Jewish practices 5) or in the Christian metaphorical langu
In the latter sense, incense forms an item of the list of sacrif
gifts in Rev. xviii II-I4, which is connected with the last judgm
and the purification of the soul (V. I4). In the wider se
purification by fire, we can point to similar concepts in prim
Christian eschatology 7). The spiritualization of cultic con
appears also in Paul's self-description as XpLa0ro eUoSio 8).
critically, the lines have no real parallels in the New Testa
1) W. VOLLGRAFF, "Le rl6e des Lions dans la communaut6 mithria
(in: Hommage a Leon Herrmann [Collection Latomus, vol. XLIV, I960],
PP. 777-785); VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 227 ff.
2) Ib., p. 227.
3) Ib., p. 228. Cf. E. LOHMEYER, "Vom gottlichen Wohlgeruch" (SBH,
philos.-hist. Kl. I919, Abh. 9), pp. I9 ff.; H. WENSCHKEWITZ, Die Spirituali-
sierung der Kultusbegriffe Tempel, Priester und Opfer im Neuen Testament,
I932, pp. 76 ff.
4) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 231. Cf. A. DIETERICH, Eine
Mithrasliturgie pp. 179 ff. Of great relevance is Iamblichus, de mysteriis
V, 12, ed. E. DES PLACES.
5) Cf. Lc. i 9, 0o, II; Mt. ii II.
6) Rev. v 8, viii 3, 4, 5; cf. Rev. ix 4 f. 7) Cf. I Cor. iii 13-5 .
8) 2 Cor. ii I4-I6; cf. Phil. iv I8; Eph. v 2; Hebr. xiii I6.

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80 BETZ, MITHRAS INSCRIPTIONS

except in the prayer of Stephanus (Acts vii 59): xc

6iaOCc TO tVEUrLOC JLOU 1).

Line I8:
Nama leonibus novis et multis annis
"Hail to the lions for many and new years" 2).

There can be no doubt that this line is an acclamation. "A

it cannot be proved with absolute certainty, since our
the ceremonies of the Mithras-cult are still scarce, it is n
highly probable that the acclamatio to the Lions was r
their elevation to this grade, when they were cheered b
of the community in approval of their confirmation"
numerous examples of acclamations which we now posse
to the important role they must have played in the cul
As we know from the inscriptions of the upper layer of t
ration of the sanctuary of S. Prisca there were acclama
all grades 5). Furthermore, we can assume that similar acc
were part of other mystery cults 6).
In the New Testament we have no direct parallel to
acclamation. Apart from other reasons the New Testament
logy and eschatology contradict any interpretation of the
event as simply life-prolonging. However, it is very signif
the citation of Psalm ci 28 LXX in Hebr. i 12 is part of th
tion of the inthronisation act of the Son of God; but form
we have in Hebr. i 12 a "proclamation", not an "acclam
Apart from this, we find acclamations of various kinds in
Testament 8); partly they contain an "Ovopc pa3opcpx
like this Mithras-acclamation 10).
1) Cf. Martyrium Polyc. XV, 2.
2) The translation according to VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit.,
p. 232. Cf. Th. KLAUSER, RAC, vol. I, pp. 216 ff.
3) VERMASEREN & VAN ESSEN, op. cit., p. 239.
4) Especially interesting are the ones found at Dura-Europos, cf. VER-
MASEREN, Corpus Inscriptionum, vol. I. II., indices s.v. nama, vcxa.
5) Each grade is under the protection of an astral deity, cf. VERMASEREN
& VAN ESSEN, op. cit., pp. 155 ff.
6) Cf. Apuleius, met. XI, I6, 2, and WITTMANN, Das Isisbuch, p. 84; also
the iobacchoi-inscription (cited in RAC vol. I, p. 231, No. 25): TrXXoOlq i 'r C
TOv xpoTiLaTov Lepia 'Hpc8r'v
7) Cf. KXSEMANN, Das wandernde Gottesvolk, pp. 58 ff.
8) Cf. e.g., Acts viii 9 f., xii 22, xix 28, 34; i Cor. xiv 25; Rev. iv Ii,
v 9, 12, xxii 15 etc. On the subject of acclamation cf. KASEMANN, RGG,
3rd edition, vol. II, cols. 993-996.
9) Cf. acclamations like "amen, hallelujah, hosiannah, maranatha".
10) According to G. WIDENGREN, Die Religionen Irans, 1965, p. 225,
"nama" goes back to the Indo-Iranian acclamation "namah".

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