Mystery Traditions

[Hærfest Leah]

I read that the Greek, Roman and Egyptian studies are refered to as the mystery traditions. And yes they hold lots of mysteries. Is this name what you also know these traditions to be called? I want to make sure I have their names correct.

[TYRRHENUS]

There is a word in either Attic or Koine Greek (Sorry, I'm a life-long Latin student, so I'm not sure which): mysteros, which means initiate. The term is usually followed by the Latin cultus, which means an obscure/unknown/unpopular/minority religion. Hence the term mystery cult.
Neither the Religio Romana - the official state religion of Rome, nor private worship among Romans qualified as mystery cults. Because a) They were not based on initiation, and b) they were religions instead of cults.
Although there were plenty of mystery cults in the Republic and the Empire which would follow; such as those of Elagabalus, Mithra, Isis, and Christianity which went from mystery cult to mystery religion.
Perhaps someone can help you with the Greek and/or Egyptian.
Hope that helps.

[grnpuffer]

Hi Tyrrhenus
Thanks for your post
<and boy! am I jealous of your background in latin....The only thing I remember from my latin classes was how the overweight teacher insisted on wedging herself in a student desk and had to be pulled free by all of us at the end of class everyday.>

I had a question:
I understand the idea of a state exoteric religion in rome.... burning incense to Caesar and all that.
However, is there no record of an esoteric philosophy (I guess the information that is ultimately related to the process of initiation)? Was there no core philosophy on mind or soul development? How did they avoid the influence from the Greek and and other surrounding initiatic philosophies and practices?

Thanks for your thoughts
Best Wishes

[Seren_]

However, is there no record of an esoteric philosophy (I guess the information that is ultimately related to the process of initiation)? Was there no core philosophy on mind or soul development? How did they avoid the influence from the Greek and and other surrounding initiatic philosophies and practices?


If I might jump in...

One thing that springs to mind is Virgil's exposition of the afterlife and the fate of the soul in Hades, which mentions the idea of reincarnation (but you could interpret that in a political context rather than spiritual), in the Aeneid (Book 6). Virgil describes a complex map of places within Hades where souls go to depending on the life they have lived and the circumstances they died in.

Mystery/initiatory cults weren't popular in Roman politics because they were seen to be dangerous, secretive and often responsible for civil unrest and violence. But by and large the Romans adopted a variety of beliefs and philosophies, as far as I know, much like modern western society.

[TYRRHENUS]

Seren took my answer ;)However, is there no record of an esoteric philosophy (I guess the information that is ultimately related to the process of initiation)? Was there no core philosophy on mind or soul development?I don't know of any indigenous Italic personal spirituality cults before the Empire.
They all seem to have been eastern imports: Magna Mater (Phrygia), Isis (Egypt), Dionysius (Greece), Mithra (Persia), Christianity (Palestine), etc.

The only analogy I can think of at 1:30 am is how Churchill described the Iron Curtain as going from the Baltic to the Adriatic. The same "boundary" existed in the Classical period. There were tribalistic, communal religions in the west and individualistic, private religions in the east. Curiously, today the Protestant Work Ethic, democracy and even the Neo-Pagan movement (which all focus on the individual), are practically the intellectual property of the west. While the cooperative spirit is much more present in the east. It makes you wonder if this process is cyclical, or linear with a final result.How did they avoid the influence from the Greek and and other surrounding initiatic philosophies and practices?In the end, they didn't. There were some holdouts, such as the elder Cato and Plinius Secundus. These Romans saw a sort of hellenization of Roman values which they thought was corrupting the Latin way of life. But in reality, it was Rome's own prosperity which led to the need for, or perhaps even made possible, personal spirituality in the west.

[Theres]

Although there were plenty of mystery cults in the Republic and the Empire which would follow; such as those of Elagabalus.
was this one (specifically) a specific cult in itself, or just a later version of the earlier Apollo/Helios cults?

[TYRRHENUS]

was this one (specifically) a specific cult in itself, or just a later version of the earlier Apollo/Helios cults?Hey Theres. Did someone get a name-change, or am I imagining things?
Anyway, this one is tricky... Elagabalus was a Syrian sun-god, which the Greeks associated with the Helios cult and therefore named him Heliogabalus. When Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (a Syrian) became emperor as a teenager he brought the cult with him to Rome, and later imposed its worship. (Which was the first time monotheism was legislated in Rome before Christianity.) After the emperor passed on, Elagabalus was futher identified with the Apollo cult by later emperors and gradually would come to be known as Sol Invictus, which means the Unconquered Sun.

[DebLipp]

A mystery cult is an initiatory cult in which the initiate is shown or taught or experiences the secrets (mysteries) of a particular deity or form of worship. For example, Greek religion isn't a mystery cult, but within Greek religion, there were the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Orphic Mysteries, etc.

You could say that modern Eclectic Paganism is exoteric and that initiatory traditions such as Gardnerian Wicca are mystery cults.

[grnpuffer]

Many thanks for your information. What a delight to encounter folks who really DO have a proper classical education!

Thanks for the opportunity to think about influence of the Romans in the evolution of the mysteries tradition in the west.

First, I can't help but hold the idea of initiation a bit lightly as the criteria for a mysteries tradition- especially where we might be looking for it in a feudal culture. Most warrior/feudal cultures were strongly ritualized - probably as an extension of tribal manhood ceremonies.. It would strike me as odd if the Romans didn't do something of the same even if it wasn't as overt as nymphs waifting incense.

I also wonder if there wasn't at least the potential for a mysteries tradition that was transmitted in the mythology. The Travels of Ulysses/Hercules represented stories of the hero's journey. Joseph campbell and others have discussed these particular myths as spiritual allegories, outlining a path of initiation with respect to a warrior society and the emergence of the indivdual. While this may be a modern interpetation, the emergence of the concept of the individual from the classical period is undeniable (as tyrrhenus expertly mentioned). I somehow can't believe that such a fundamental shift in the culture/group mind was accomplished 100% independent of spiritual means.

I've been under the impression that the grail mysteries are a direct descendent of the roman tradition- principally due to the establishment of roman governance and philosophies in the british isles. Wasn't the proto-King Aurthur a roman general? It was my understanding that the grail mysteries emerged from a progression of the tradition of individual experience, combined with the elevation of the concept of honorable (or courtley) love to the unitive experience of divine love. In this progression, the interpretation of a celtic pagan origin is incorrect and at best syncretic.

Any thoughts on how to tease this out? From a romanized culture is this a rational progression? I've never been able to make sense how agriculture- derived pagan roots would yield a transpersonal/physical world denying spiritual philosophy. To say that the development of the grail mysteries is simply an extension of early christian beliefs, I don't think is sufficient- The beliefs were spread elsewhere and yet there wasn't a similar development.

If it's likely to have pagan roots, do you know of other examples of pagan systems that have yielded high mystical philosophies?

Thanks for your thoughts.