Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Nabarz gives an interesting overview of the ancient historical origins of the early Mithra, and he is well suited to the task, given his background and knowledge of the area.
Then he takes us through history to the various peoples who worshipped Mithra(s), including the Romans. He, like most modern students, discounts earlier scholars like Franz Cumont, who saw a connection between earlier worshippers in Persia and those in Rome. This skepticism is, I believe, mistaken, and comes from a modernist view and perhaps an agenda, which is quickly revealed in later chapters.
That agenda is the "Wiccanizing" of Mithra in a so-called revivalist religion, which he details in the book. Using a dubiously-translated "liturgy" of ooos and ahs (which he tampers with, in the name of his new religion) He then introduces an ancient Female goddess, Anahita, into his non-historical pantheon. It's surprising that he doesn't call Mithras the "horned god" as other Wiccans do. The final blow is a description and photo of an "altar" which mimicks one that might be seen in any Wiccan's home.
In short, the attempt to Wiccanize Mithraism is a dubious, spurious and laughable attempt to cash in on the current Earth-centered witch craze (the book is in the "new age" section of bookstores, not in religion or history.)
A far better overview of Mithras and His origins would be the Mysteries of Mithra, by Franz Cumont, a scholar who spent his entire life studying Mithras, and one which students of the New Age have been trying to "refute" and reinterpret for a generation. However, Cumont remains the towering figure in the field of Mithraic research.
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