Mithra

Mithra (Mitra) is the name of an ancient Indo‐Iranian deity. His name could be connected to the Indo‐European root *mei“to change” as proposed by Meillet: in this case Mithra would be a personification of the “contract,” of which he is guarantor and defender. According to others, the name could stem from the Indo‐European root *mē“to measure”: in this case Mithra would be the “measurer of the day” and this would support his identification with the sun which, however, is late both in Iranian and Indian. Indian Mitra and Iranian Mithra have many common characteristics, but these two figures cannot be merged. Mithra from the East also exists in the Roman Empire, where he assumes particular features and characteristics.