Mithras Reader: An Academic and Religious Journal of Greek, Roman and Persian Studies. Vol II.

This is the second Mithras Reader and it looks like there are further editions planned – it’s more like a journal than a book, and is available both on paper and as a pdf file. According to the submissions guidelines, all have room for academic essays, artistic expressions and essays from modern pagan practitioners – a nice mix. Having only read the one, I can only comment on that in detail but suspect it is likely to be typical of the publication.

This is very much a journal for intellectually minded people with an interest in Mithras, Greek, Roman and Persian history and religion. Endnotes, detailed bibliographies and all that! Wonderful if you like that sort of thing, probably irritating if you don’t. It’s presented with the assumption that you already know something about these topics and will enjoy explorations of the various controversies, academic arguments, fine details of interpretation etc. If, like me, you are no expert, then it’s still a fascinating and highly educational read, but expect to be a bit out of your depth now and then. There were a number of essays by various authors in this edition, some art work with commentary (I liked the commentary more than the artwork, but that’s just personal taste) some rather nice poetry and a review. I liked the overall tone and presentation, I feel I have learned a few things, and I strongly suspect that the Mithras buffs of my acquaintance would very much enjoy this.