Μίθρας

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Μίθρης (Míthrēs) — literary variant in the -ης declension common in Attic/Ionic authors

Etymology

From an Old Iranian language *Miθra. Compare Avestan 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀 (miθra), Old Persian 𐎷𐎰𐎼 (mi-θ-r /⁠miθra⁠/).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mí.tʰraːs/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.tʰras/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.θras/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.θras/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.θras/

Proper noun

Μῐ́θρᾱς • (Mĭ́thrās) m (genitive Μῐ́θρου); first declension

Greek form of Iranian Mithra (e.g. Herodotus Histories I,131; Plutarch, Isis and Osiris 46.7)
Greek name of the figures of various syncretic Helleno-Zoroastrian cults of Asia Minor (100 BC-200 AD)
Greek form of Latin Mithras, cult figure of the Roman mystery religion that flourished between 100 and 400 AD.

Inflection

First declension of ὁ Μῐ́θρᾱς; τοῦ Μῐ́θρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Μῐ́θρᾱς ho Mĭ́thrās
Genitive	τοῦ Μῐ́θρου toû Mĭ́throu
Dative	τῷ Μῐ́θρᾳ tōî Mĭ́thrāi
Accusative	τὸν Μῐ́θρᾱν tòn Mĭ́thrān
Vocative	Μῐ́θρᾱ Mĭ́thrā
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Μῐθραῖον (Mĭthraîon)
Μῐθράκανᾰ (Mĭthrákană)
Μῐθρῐᾰκός (Mĭthrĭăkós)

Descendants

→ Coptic: ⲙⲓⲑⲣⲁⲥ (mithras)
→ Latin: Mithrās
- → English: Mithras

Usage notes

The form Μίθρης (Míthrēs) is attested in Classical and later literary sources (e.g. Xenophon, Plutarch, Lucian, Nonnus, Hesychius). It reflects adaptation of the Iranian name into the -ης masculine declension type (cf. Σωκράτης). By contrast, Μίθρας (Míthras) became the more common form in Koine Greek and is predominant in Mithraic cultic contexts (e.g. Justin Martyr, Porphyry, the Greek magical papyri).

References

“Μίθρας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,017