David Ulansey finds astronomical evidence from the mithraeum itself. [137] He reminds us that the Platonic writer Porphyry wrote in the 3rdcenturyCE that the cave-like temple Mithraea depicted "an image of the world" [bk] and that Zoroaster consecrated a cave resembling the world fabricated by Mithras. [bl] Vedic Sanskrit Mitra, "friend, friendship," as the name of a god praised in the Rigveda. [15] [16] [k] [17]

Greymoor will be fully detailed in the Unearthed Companion, plus you will be getting glimpses of it in the upcoming adventures, as I worked with each writer to make sure the adventure fit in Greymoor, while remaining as setting neutral as possible. Iranian Mithra and Sanskrit Mitra are believed to come from the Indo-Iranian word mitrás, meaning "contract, agreement, covenant". [20] At this point you should be able to drag and drop the character to the table multiple times to get multiple tokens but you can edit the token bar on each token individually without affecting the other tokens and any macros and abilities will still work against the linked character sheet. You may want to rename each token to have a number at the end of the name so it is easier for players to communicate which one they are talking about. We recommend linking attributes to the bars like action point, magic points, tenacity, or fatigue. Each mithraeum had several altars at the further end, underneath the representation of the tauroctony, and also commonly contained considerable numbers of subsidiary altars, both in the main mithraeum chamber and in the ante-chamber or narthex. [4] (p 49) These altars, which are of the standard Roman pattern, each carry a named dedicatory inscription from a particular initiate, who dedicated the altar to Mithras "in fulfillment of his vow", in gratitude for favours received.

Mithras and the Bull

According to L.H. Martin, Roman Mithraism came to an end with the anti-pagan decrees of the Christian emperor Theodosius during the last decade of the 4thcentury. [bh] Inscriptions and monuments related to the Mithraic Mysteries are catalogued in a two volume work by Maarten J. Vermaseren, the Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae (or CIMRM). [35] The earliest monument showing Mithras slaying the bull is thought to be CIMRM593, found in Rome. There is no date, but the inscription tells us that it was dedicated by a certain Alcimus, steward of T. Claudius Livianus. Vermaseren and Gordon believe that this Livianus is a certain Livianus who was commander of the Praetorian guard in 101CE, which would give an earliest date of 98–99CE. [79] Votive altar from Alba Iulia in present-day Romania, dedicated to Invicto Mythrae in fulfillment of a vow ( votum)

A. D. H. Bivar, L. A. Campbell, and G. Widengren have variously argued that Roman Mithraism represents a continuation of some form of Iranian Mithra worship. [122] More recently, Parvaneh Pourshariati has made similar claims. [123]The most important Mithraic ceremony was the sacrifice of the bull. Opinion is divided as to whether this ceremony was pre-Zoroastrian or not. Zarathustra denounced the sacrifice of the bull, so it seems likely that the ceremony was a part of the old Iranian paganism. This inference is corroborated by an Indian text in which Mitra reluctantly participates in the sacrifice of a god named Soma, who often appears in the shape of a white bull or of the moon. On the Roman monuments, Mithra reluctantly sacrifices the white bull, who is then transformed into the moon. This detailed parallel seems to prove that the sacrifice must have been pre-Zoroastrian. Contract and sacrifice are connected, since treaties in ancient times were sanctioned by a common meal. The Mithraic Mysteries had no public ceremonies of its own. The festival of Natalis Invicti, held on 25December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras." [44]