Editing Mithraism (section)

===Mithraic catechism===
Apparently, some grade rituals involved the recital of a [[catechism]], wherein the initiate was asked a series of questions pertaining to the initiation symbolism and had to reply with specific answers. An example of such a catechism, apparently pertaining to the Leo grade, was discovered in a fragmentary Egyptian [[papyrus]] (Papyrus Berolinensis 21196),<ref name=NovaRoma-2009-03-11/><ref>{{cite book
 |first=William M.
 |last=Brashear
 |year=1992
 |title=A Mithraic catechism from Egypt: {{nobr|(P. Berol. 21196)}}
 |others=Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz (contributor)
 |series=Supplementband ''Tyche''
 |volume=1
 |publisher=Verlag Adolf Holzhausens
 |isbn=9783900518073
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GonXAAAAMAAJ&q=catechism
 |via=Google Books
 |access-date=6 August 2022
 |archive-date=26 March 2023
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164814/https://books.google.com/books?id=GonXAAAAMAAJ&q=catechism
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> and reads:
:{|
|
:'''Verso'''
:[...] He will say: 'Where&nbsp;[...]?'
:'[...] is he at a loss there?' Say:&nbsp;'[...]'
:[...] Say: 'Night'. He will say: 'Where&nbsp;[...]?'
:[...] Say: 'All things [...]'
:'[...] are you called?' Say: 'Because of the summery&nbsp;[...]'
:[...] having become [...] he/it has the fiery ones
:'[...] did you receive?' Say: 'In a pit'. He will say: 'Where is your&nbsp;[...]?'
:'[...] [in the] Leonteion.' He will say: 'Will you gird&nbsp;[...]?'
:'[...] death'. He will say: 'Why, having girded yourself,&nbsp;[...]?'
:[...] this [has?] four tassels.
|
:'''Recto'''
:Very sharp and [...]
:[...] much. He will say:&nbsp;'[...]?'
:'[...] of the hot and cold'. He will say:&nbsp;'[...]?'
:'[...] red [...] linen'. He will say: 'Why?' Say:
:[...] red border; the linen, however,&nbsp;[...]
:'[...] has been wrapped?' Say: 'The savior's&nbsp;[...]'
:He will say: 'Who is the father?' Say: 'The one who [begets] everything&nbsp;[...]' 
:[He will say: 'How] did you become a Leo?' Say: 'By the [...] of the father&nbsp;[...]'
:Say: 'Drink and food'. He will say:&nbsp;'[...]?'
:[...] in the seven-[...]
|}
[[File:Strasbourg-Koenigshoffen, Second-Century Mithraic Relief, Reconstruction ca. 140 CE–ca. 160 CE.jpg|thumb|Mithraic relief with original colors (reconstitution), {{circa|140&nbsp;CE–160&nbsp;CE;}} from [[Argentoratum]]. [[Musée archéologique (Strasbourg)|Strasbourg Archaeological Museum]].]]
Almost no Mithraic scripture or first-hand account of its rituals survives;{{efn|name=Clauss-2000-xxi-quote}} with the exception of the aforementioned oath and catechism, and the document known as the [[Mithras Liturgy]], from 4th century Egypt, whose status as a Mithraist text has been questioned by scholars including [[Franz Cumont]].{{efn|
The original editor of the text, Albrecht Dieterich, claimed that it recorded an authentic Mithraic ritual, but this claim was rejected by Cumont, who felt that the references to Mithras in the text were merely the result of an extravagant syncretism evident in magical traditions. Until recently, most scholars followed Cumont in refusing to see any authentic Mithraic doctrine in the Mithras {{nowrap|Liturgy. — D. Ulansey (1991)<ref name=Ulansey-1991-Origins/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 105}}
}}
}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Marvin W. |last= Meyer|title=The "Mithras liturgy" |year=1976 |place=Missoula, MT |publisher=Scholars Press for the Society of Biblical Literature |isbn=0891301135 |url=https://archive.org/details/mithrasliturgy0000unse |url-access=registration}}</ref> The walls of mithraea were commonly whitewashed, and where this survives, it tends to carry extensive repositories of [[graffiti]]; and these, together with inscriptions on Mithraic monuments, form the main source for Mithraic texts.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last= Francis |first= E.D.
 |year=1971
 |article=Mithraic graffiti from Dura-Europos
 |editor= Hinnells, John R.
 |title=Mithraic Studies
 |volume=2 |pages=424–445
 |publisher=Manchester University Press
}}
</ref>