RLB66 Mithraism

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2007
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Dušan Lužný, Dr.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
Wed 15:00–16:35 VP
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive introduction into many historical, social and cultural aspects of Mithraism. Besides basic elements of Mithraism (cult’s architecture, iconography, inner structure, ritual, soteriology, etc.), the attention will be paid to the broader role of Mithraism in the religious and social world of the Late Antiquity. Various methodological concerns connected with the study of this religious cult will be also taken into account, e.g. the questionability of supposed continuity of Mithraism with Persian religious tradition, complications following from interpretation of archaeological sources without the corroboratary support of ancient literatry texts, the implausability of many astrological interpretations of Mithraic iconography and ideology, etc.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • 0. Introductory lesson; 1. Mithraism and its role in the religious world of the Late Antiquity; 2. Historical origins of Mithraism I – The question of continuity; 3. Historical origins of Mithraism II – Geographical spread of Mithraism and chronological phases of its existence; 4. Cult’s architecture: A mithraeum; 5. Mithraic iconography; 6. Astrological interpretations of tauroctony; 7. Mithraic iniatory grades; 8. Mithraic ritual and ideology I; 9. Mithraic ritual and ideology II – Cognitive perspective; 10. Social structure of Mithraism
Literature
  • CLAUSS, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries. Edinburgh, 2000. ISBN 0-7486-1396-X. info
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Conditions of completion: Students of Religious Studies: a) submission of a semestral paper and its acceptance; b) suscessful completion of a colloqium (discussion about a semestral paper; factual and interpretative knowledge of Mithraism); Students of other fields of Study: suscessful completion of a colloqium (factual and interpretative knowledge of Mithraism)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2009, Spring 2012, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Autumn 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2007, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2007/RLB66