MOA43731 The Birth of Mithras from the Mithraeum at Housesteads (stone) by Roman, (3rd century AD); Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; (add.info.: Mithraism, also known as the Mythraic mysteries, was a mystery religion centred around the god Mithras that was practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to the 4th century. The religion was inspired by Persian worship of the god Mithra (proto-Indo-Iranian Mitra), though the Greek Mithras was linked to a new and distinctive imagery, and the level of continuity between Persian and Greco-Roman practise is debated. The mysteries were popular in the Roman military.); 穢 Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums; out of copyright.