Archaeological and historical evidences of the existence of the cult of Mithra in Egypt in the Graeco-Roman period

Abstract EN

Mithra or Mithras was one of the most popular deities during the Roman times.

The origin of this god is a subject of debate among the scholars; some suggest that it has an Indo-Iranian origin, while others believe that it came originally from Asia Minor.

The cult of Mithra was a secret cult; therefore, the evidences of its presence are very humble.

The main objective of this study is to represent different archaeological and historical evidences for the existence of the cult of Mithra in Egypt.

The descriptive analytical method is employed to review the most important theoretical writings of scholars and their debate over the existence of Mithra in Egypt.

This method was useful in studying and interpreting temples, sanctuaries, reliefs and papyri of Mithra in Egypt.

The study concludes that despite the common debate over the cult of Mithra, archaeological evidences prove that the presence and worship of Mithra had started most probably from the Persian dynasty of the ancient Egyptian history (252-404 BC), which is the 27th dynasty, and the reason for scarcity of evidences of Mithra in Egypt is due to the fact that Mithra had a secret cult which was not permitted to be practiced publicly.

The study has a significance importance as most of the studies focus on studying its archaeological sites in Rome.

This study sheds light on the archaeological and historical evidences of Mithras’s worship in Egypt, which will have a useful impact on the studies of both Egyptologists and classical scholars.