Chapter 9 Multisensory Experiences in Mithraic Initiation
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Ancient mystery cults embraced a complex and varied ritual structure, integrating multiple sensory experiences. The inherently secret nature of these mysteries constitutes a barrier to learning more about, and verifying the details of, the rites in which initiation was the main point of focus. Even so, relatively explicit literary sources make it possible to confirm that one of the frequent elements of religious mysteries was the simulated death and resurrection of the neophytes, a passage that transformed them from simple followers into mystai. Thus, through transcendent experiences, the devotee attained the revelation of the mysteries revelation, achieved an ineffable proximity to the divine, and won the promise of immortality. We know very little about the practices that were performed in the Mithraic initiation rituals. Nevertheless, the complex hierarchy of the seven grades that followers of Mithras could progressively undertake provides some evidence for a differentiated set of initiatory efforts that needed to be overcome in turn as the devotee ascended from one grade to the next. As this paper tries to show, it is likely that this process encompassed a varied series of multisensory experiences for each stage of the initiate’s transitus.