The so-called Mithras Liturgy is included in this series of texts and translations
for several reasons. The Liturgy is frequently mentioned in secondary literature,
and has been partially translated into English upon sev eral occasions, but
it has not previously been available in its entirety in English translation.
Furthermore, the
Mithras Liturgy deserves the attention of students of early Christian literature
and the history of religions, particularly Graeco-Roman religion: the Liturgy
reflects
an important religious tendency of its day, a syncretistic piety utilizing astrology
and magic and emphasizing the ecstatic ascent of the individual soul. Of additional
interest is the relationship of the Mithras Liturgy to the previously known
Hermetic literature and the recently discovered tractates from Nag Hammadi (cf.,
for example, page 3, note b , below).
The Mithras Liturgy is part of the great magical codex of Paris (Papyrus 574
of the Bibliotheque Nationale). Presumably compiled in the early fourth century
C.E., this codex contains a variety of tractates, hymns, recipes, and
prescriptions, which were apparently collected for use in the working library
of an Egyptian magician. Lines 475- 834 of this codex constitute the Mithras
Liturgy; these boundaries for the Liturgy are suggested by the continuity of
thought within the Liturgy, by the punctuation utilized by the scribe, and by
the apparent transition to a different section (lines 835-849: astrological
calculations). Interestingly, lines 467-474 parallel lines 821-823 and
830-834: thus the Mithras Liturgy is placed between two closely related versions
of spells utilizing lines from Homer.
The Mithras Liturgy received its name and fame from. A. Dieterich. in 1903
Dieterich published his valuable book, Eine MithrasLiturgie, in which he proposed
that the