DOI 10.31554/2222-9175-2018-31-133-146
MITHRAIC MYTHOLOGY AS A MEDIATE FACTOR IN THE EURASIAN CULTURAL AND POLITICAL SPACE
Lepehov S. Yu.
This article discusses the “Mithraic mythology” as a set of myths, widespread in Eurasia in the antiquity and middle ages. These myths are genetically associated with the gods of the Indo-Iranian Pantheon (Iranian Mithra, Indian Mitra, Maitreya and the same deities). The very diverse myths as the basis could serve as their common origin and areas of existence. A number of factors contributed to the extraordinary spread of these cults, among which the high mediative qualities of Mithraic mythologies in the integrative cultural and political processes that took place in the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as in the Central Asian region and the adjacent areas should be noted. The cult of Maitreya had a great influence on the formation of the Buddhist civilization in the Far East. The cult of Mithra, widespread in the ancient Roman Empire, had its adherents throughout all Europe. The proximity of the Mithraic mythologies to the many ancient cultures, and the eschatological expectations, accompanying the associated rites, served as a source of millenaristic movements on the Eurasian continent, having an impact on important cultural and political aspects of the formation of Eurasian civilizations.
