At the time, both Christianity and Mithraism were competing religious cults. Even back then, enrollment was power; the sect with the most members was obviously the better religion! So in a sly act to defeat the Mithras once and for all, Christians moved their "holy day" to the holiest of Mithran days....December 25th.
Here's some info I got from Wikipedia. Feel free to read up :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras
Quote:
Mithras was the central savior god of Mithraism, a syncretic Hellenistic mystery religion of male initiates that developed in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and was practiced in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. Parthian coins and documents bear a double date with a 64 year interval that represents Mithra's ascension to heaven, traditionally given as the equivalent of 208 BC, 64 years after his birth. The Romanized Greek Plutarch says that in 67 BC a large band of pirates in Cilicia—on the southeast coast of Anatolia— were practicing "secret rites" of Mithras.
The name Mithras is the Greek masculine form of Mitra, the Persian god who was the mediator between Ahura Mazda and the earth, the guarantor of human contracts, although in Mithraism much was added to the original elements of Mitra. However, some of the attributes of Roman Mithras may have been taken from other Eastern cults: for example, the Mithraist emphasis on astrology strongly suggests syncretism with star-oriented Mesopotamian or Anatolian religions. At least some of this synthesis of beliefs may have already been underway by the time the cult was adopted in the West. When Mithraism was introduced by Roman legions at Dura-Europos after 168 CE, the saviour god assumed his familiar Hellenistic iconic formula (illustration above right) [1].
The mythology surrounding Mithras is not easily reassembled from the enigmatic and complicated iconography; apparently the cult did not depend on the interpretation of divinely-inspired revealed texts, and the textual references are those of Christians, who mention Mithras to deplore him, and neo-Platonists who interpreted Mithraic symbols within their own world-schemes.
Main article: Mithraism.
It is difficult for scholars to reconstruct the daily workings and beliefs of Mithraism, as the rituals were highly secret and limited to initiated men only. Mithras was little more than a name until the massive documentation of Franz Cumont's Texts and Illustrated Monuments Relating to the Mysteries of Mithra was published in 1894-1900, followed by an English translation in 1903.
Members would ascend through seven grades of initiation, each aligned with a symbol, and a planet. From low to high
Main article: Mithraeum.
Worship took place in a temple, or "mithraeum", an artificial cave probably constructed to resemble the place of Mithras's birth. Although some of these temples were built specifically for the purpose, most of them were rooms inside larger structures which had a different purpose, such as a private home or a bath house.
In every Mithraeum, the place of honor was occupied by a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull, called a tauroctony, which many scholars believe is an astrological allegory and not an actual animal sacrifice. In fact, it is widely accepted nowdays that the image of Mithras, the bull, and the other representations of the tauroctony, such as the scorpion and dog, actually represent constellations (Ulansey, 1991). Astrologically, Mithras is associated with Perseus, whose constellation is above that of the bull.
From the structure of the mithraea it is possible to surmise that worshippers would have gathered for a common meal along the reclining couches lining the walls. It is worth noting that most temples could hold only thirty or forty individuals.
The cult surrounding Mithras had many similarities to the early cult of Christianity; the relation between the two cults is hotly debated, point by point (see Mithraism.)
The name Mithras is the Greek masculine form of Mitra, the Persian god who was the mediator between Ahura Mazda and the earth, the guarantor of human contracts, although in Mithraism much was added to the original elements of Mitra. However, some of the attributes of Roman Mithras may have been taken from other Eastern cults: for example, the Mithraist emphasis on astrology strongly suggests syncretism with star-oriented Mesopotamian or Anatolian religions. At least some of this synthesis of beliefs may have already been underway by the time the cult was adopted in the West. When Mithraism was introduced by Roman legions at Dura-Europos after 168 CE, the saviour god assumed his familiar Hellenistic iconic formula (illustration above right) [1].
The mythology surrounding Mithras is not easily reassembled from the enigmatic and complicated iconography; apparently the cult did not depend on the interpretation of divinely-inspired revealed texts, and the textual references are those of Christians, who mention Mithras to deplore him, and neo-Platonists who interpreted Mithraic symbols within their own world-schemes.
Main article: Mithraism.
It is difficult for scholars to reconstruct the daily workings and beliefs of Mithraism, as the rituals were highly secret and limited to initiated men only. Mithras was little more than a name until the massive documentation of Franz Cumont's Texts and Illustrated Monuments Relating to the Mysteries of Mithra was published in 1894-1900, followed by an English translation in 1903.
Members would ascend through seven grades of initiation, each aligned with a symbol, and a planet. From low to high
Main article: Mithraeum.
Worship took place in a temple, or "mithraeum", an artificial cave probably constructed to resemble the place of Mithras's birth. Although some of these temples were built specifically for the purpose, most of them were rooms inside larger structures which had a different purpose, such as a private home or a bath house.
In every Mithraeum, the place of honor was occupied by a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull, called a tauroctony, which many scholars believe is an astrological allegory and not an actual animal sacrifice. In fact, it is widely accepted nowdays that the image of Mithras, the bull, and the other representations of the tauroctony, such as the scorpion and dog, actually represent constellations (Ulansey, 1991). Astrologically, Mithras is associated with Perseus, whose constellation is above that of the bull.
From the structure of the mithraea it is possible to surmise that worshippers would have gathered for a common meal along the reclining couches lining the walls. It is worth noting that most temples could hold only thirty or forty individuals.
The cult surrounding Mithras had many similarities to the early cult of Christianity; the relation between the two cults is hotly debated, point by point (see Mithraism.)
And considering that "Mithra" has Persian roots, can you guess where SE got the idea for the character?
Edited, Wed Dec 7 15:05:31 2005 by SophusTehNewb