The Mithras Liturgy: Text, Translation, and Commentary

Hans Dieter Betz is a scholar of ancient Mediterranean religion, and this Mohr Siebeck volume is his critical edition, translation and commentary on the so-called Mithras Liturgy, a Greek magical text preserved within the Paris Great Magical Papyrus and long debated for its relationship, if any, to the Mithraic mysteries. Its strength is Betz's own careful philological commentary addressing exactly how contested this text's connection to actual Mithraic cult practice is, rather than assuming the traditional title settles the question. Its limit for direct citation is that the translation itself is still in copyright and is not reproduced here, so a claim needing the text's exact wording, rather than Betz's commentary on it, should be checked against the edition directly.