Legion (3)

Into the early part of my second summer with the Augusta,
I was told that I would complete this upcoming year and then
return home come the next summer. If, indeed, this happens,
I will have spent two years with the legion. I asked "why not
a third year?" Mainly, because the severe climate conditions
up here at the Rhine Frontier are simply too harsh, hence
a lot of officers and men are re-assigned or retired after two
years. At least I knew that my short overall assignment was
not due to personal reasons.

Naturally we were all kept busy with our assigned duties, but
upon occasion I did manage to creep out of the boredom of the
frontier. Not hard to miss, I noticed that most of our legionaries
engaged in the initiatory steps of the sun god Mithras. Secret,
closed, I still managed to get an inkling about this religious cult.

Back home in Ostia I knew there was a temple of Mithras, in
which within there was a cave-like structure. Here at the Rhine
Frontier our legionaries actually found a nearby cave! I was
told that they designed it in terms of a world order, especially
symbolizing the cosmic constellations. Not allowed in that cave,
I could only surmise that the roof of the cave was etched with
outlines of the constellations.

Within the cave I was told there was a statue of Mithras astride
a bull which he kills. I couldn't quite understand why this sun
god had to kill the bull, unless it is about overcoming the hardships
of this world. It supposedly was an act of bravery. The religion
focused not only on courage, but also manliness and fidelity.

I came to understand that the religion of Mithras came from Persia
and may have originated in Ancient India. Mithras was called the
"Light of the World," hence a sun god. His title was often that of the
"Sol Invictus Mithras." Born from a rock--or from a cosmic egg--his
birthday was around the Winter Solstice and his weekly festival
was on "Sun Day." As for ceremonies, I could only glean that there
was a special meal and the drinking of blood from a goblet--probably
wine, symbolizing the blood of the killed bull.

No doubt this religion of Mithras went far deeper than what I was
able to learn. Again, remembering the old Greek, the metaphysical
teacher, I met on my return journey from Athens, I tended to look
at this religion conceptually rather than from a position of piety.
From what I could tell, this religion swirled around the powers of
Light and Darkness, with Light overcoming the Darkness. As for
fidelity, manliness, and courage--well, those attributes were of
prime importance for the legionaries. I was told that in the legions
all over the Roman Empire, there were devotees of Mithras!

Observing all this, I no doubt was entertaining myself through my
last year up at the Rhine Frontier. Still I was careful to honor the
religion that our simple legionaries held dear. Put bluntly, they
were trying to rise above their selves--and there is surely a certain
integrity trying to do so.

But there were other considerations to attend over this last year:
like what was I going to do after I returned home?