By Joanne Farchakh
Special to The Daily Star
Saturday, July 24, 2004

BEIRUT: Myths surrounding ancient religions and cults have long preoccupied humanity's understanding of history. Yet they remain a mystery to us, especially in the absence of written texts.

One such cult, that of Mithrae, said to have existed during the age of the Roman Empire, was widely spread among Rome's army. Vestiges going back to this faith have been discovered in areas under Roman control, in Europe, Britain and even Asia. Archaeologists used to believe this cult was born in the Middle East, that it had its roots in the Persian Zoroastrian cult and later spread to Europe. But a major archaeological discovery of a cave in Syria seems to suggest the opposite.

The small village of Hurrarte lies stranded in the middle of the Syrian desert. It is here that a few years ago a Polish excavation team unearthed a cave from underneath a Byzantine church. Its walls were covered with paintings dating to the Roman period - paintings such as a god cutting the throat of a bull, monsters being defeated by a beam of light and lions protecting the entrance.

These paintings appear to validate the theory that the cult of the god Mithrae existed in the Syrian desert.

"It is one of the rare examples of the worship of the god Mithare in the Middle East, it shows that this divinity is not linked to the Persian Zoroastre cult," says archaeologist Michel Gawlikowski, director of the polish team, in a recent lecture at the American University of Beirut's Museum of Archaeology.

"Mithrae is always represented as a young male who is cutting the throat of a bull. He is here to revitalize nature and his worshippers, and not to impose a code of justice upon his followers, as was the case in Persian cults. Mithrae was mentioned in a Latin poem dating from the 1st century and it seems that this religion was made up by a Roman thinker who has merged Persian religion with the Hellenistic one and invented a new mythology," says Gawlikowski.

This religion seems to have been very popular with Roman warriors who in turn have spread it into the different corners of the Roman Empire. Paintings illustrating the god Mithrae cutting the throat of a bull were found in many cities and districts of the empire. What exactly this cult preached though is unknown. It seems to have been a very male-oriented religion, as the army was made up entirely of men, they were the only ones to attend the meetings, hoping to receive vitality.

The Mithrae religion was secret; the inexistence of texts describing its mythology has placed this cult among the unknowns of history. The paintings covering the walls of the cave of Hurrarte are rare indicators of what this religion may have preached. "It seems that Mithrae was born as an adult from a rock," says Gawlikowski "and after chasing the bull and killing it in a cave he shared his meal with another divinity representing the Sun."

This sacred meal pictured on the walls became a ritual to be practiced by the followers of this religion, as discoveries in the cave in Syria have shown.

Stairs are carved into the entrance of the cave leading into the main cell where the feast was celebrated. Oil lamps were used to provide enough light to allow the congregation to lie down on the long seat which was carved inside the cave. This sitting area served for food sharing while admiring the paintings representing the god Mithrae. Chicken, sheep and pig meat were served during the reunions which were hosted by a "priest" who would tell the story of the god by explaining the mural paintings.

Unfortunately, the paintings preserved in this cave have suffered partial destruction in the 5th or 6th centuries due to the construction of the Byzantine church just above. After the adoption of Christianity as religion of the Roman Empire, all other cults and religions were banned and their cells destroyed. It is discoveries like the cave at Hurrarte which offer mankind insight into pre-Christianity beliefs, the existence of a different kind of faith, they lay testimony to a certain zeitgeist.