Raised by Wolves, Ridley Scott and Aaron Guzikowski's new show on HBO Max, centers around a religious order known as the Mithraic, which is based on real-world Roman concepts. While the beginning of the series is mostly about a pair of androids raising a group of children to form a godless society, after the Arc carrying the last of the Mithraic arrived, the significance of their religion has continued to grow, revealing glimpses into the order, its beliefs, hierarchy, and how it functions.
In Raised by Wolves, a brutal conflict between the Mithraic and the atheists destroyed earth, making it uninhabitable for humans. Because of this, the last survivors of humanity fled to the nearest planet capable of sustaining human life, Kepler-22B. Known atheist hacker, Campion Sturges, sent a pair of androids, Mother and Father, in an escape ship first with some human embryos to start mankind again as a civilization ruled by science and reason. However, the Mithraic also sent a colony of survivors that arrived at the planet thirteen years later.
So far, most of the main characters in Raised by Wolves belong to the atheist side. Mother is programmed to raise the children as atheists, while Marcus and his wife are secretly atheist stowaways that had facial reconstructive surgery to look like important Mithraic followers. For this reason, the portrayal of Mithraic practices and beliefs has been limited in the show. Nevertheless, more and more has been revealed as Raised by Wolves progresses, with continued references to Sol and Mithraic Mysteries.
Real-World Inspiration For Mithraism
The Mithraic religion in the show is inspired by an ancient religious cult from Roman times. A god known as Mitra came from Persian culture. It became known as Mithras to a religious order that became popular at the height of the Roman Empire, especially with soldiers. The cult was very mysterious, and all of its rites and rituals were guarded against outsiders. On top of that, it was forbidden to write anything down and, because of this, little is known about their practices to modern scholars.
The Roman cult worshipped more than one god, including the sun god Sol and Mithras. However, they were often worshipped together as "Sol Invictus", the conquering sun. In Raised by Wolves, the Mithraic are monotheistic and worship only Sol, the god of light. This is why they wear sun emblems on their robes. They also wear sun pendants around their necks much like Christians wear the cross.
Influence Of Roman Catholicism On The Mithraic Religion
Mithraism, both the real-world Roman cult and the religion in Raised by Wolves, draws a direct connection to Christianity, particularly Roman Catholicism. Many of the early practices of the Mithraic were adopted by Christians. Much like Mithras, Jesus is associated with light and the sun. Plus, Mithras' birthday was December 25th, which was adapted to celebrate the birth of Jesus, even though scholars place his birth in the spring or summer. The 25th of December also happens to coincide with the winter festival of Saturnalia, making it a convenient time of year for the celebration.
Ancient Mithraists were also known to practice a ritual involving bread and wine, one shared by early Christians that became known as Communion. In Raised by Wolves season 1, episode 2, "Pentagram", Caleb and Mary are offered round wafers and a drink from a silver chalice, presumably wine. This is a ritual now associated with Catholicism, but one that was done by the Mithraic before them. Much like Christianity, Mithraism offered personal salvation in this life and the next. In fact, in 1882, historian Ernest Renan suggested that if Christianity had not taken over the Roman Empire, Mithraism would have. Most modern scholars disagree, but it's an interesting idea that may have captivated showrunner Aaron Guzikowski when he began forming Raised by Wolves.
Christian Imagery And Mithraism
In Raised by Wolves, the Mithraic are clearly inspired by Christian imagery. The robes that they wear, along with those worn by the children bear a striking resemblance to those worn by Roman Catholic priests and altar boys and girls. They wear sun emblems instead of crosses, and they follow a book of scriptures, which is quite different from ancient Mithraism that kept its mysteries private and rituals secret by never writing them down. Actually, it was a death sentence to write down any of the sacred mysteries or secrets of the Mithraic cult.
The Mithraic of Roman times would not have put so much of their symbology on display for all to see. Much of what is known about them comes from the exploration of a secret chamber known as the Mithraeum, in which images and inscriptions were left that provide merely a glimpse into the inner workings of the cult. It's clear that for Raised by Wolves, it's unlikely that a secret society would attempt to take over the world and purge the earth of all non-believers, so certain elements of Christianity were adopted as well to create a religion of fundamentalism that would rise up to do such a thing.
The God Sol Explained
Sol is the one true god to the monotheistic Mithraic in Raised by Wolves. Sol means "Sun" in Latin, making Sol the sun god or "the light". Sol is based on the real-world god to the Mithraic of ancient Rome known as Sol Invictus, the "conquering sun". To honor their god, the Mithraic wear emblems in the shape of the sun, on their robes and every member has a pendant they wear around their neck.
Interestingly, it is believed that Sol sometimes speaks to devoted followers. The man who raped Tempest claims Sol spoke to him and told him to do it, although no one believes him. Caleb/Marcus (Travis Fimmel) also appears to be hearing a voice that has begun telling him what to do. Whether or not Sol actually exists in the Raised by Wolves universe, or the atheists are right, is still a mystery that may never be answered.
Why Mithraism Was Chosen To Inspire Raised By Wolves
Raised by Wolves appears to be following what may be an alternate timeline to that of the real world, one in which Mithraism rose to power instead of Christianity and spread across the earth. Just like all religions adapt and borrow practices from others, so too could the Mithraic have borrowed more and more practices from the Christians as the religion developed. From there, it grew so popular that it took over modern society and eventually used technology to wage a war against anyone who was not a believer. Of course, this led to the creation of the necromancers and the destruction of the earth until it was uninhabitable.
In this way, Mithraism is being used as a stand-in for Christianity to avoid potential controversy. It also serves as a reasonably likely timeline given the history of religion and religious war on earth. Traditionally, religions have set out to convert as many people to them as possible and sometimes set out to kill nonbelievers, such as during the Crusades. If one religion were to become so large that it spread over the entire planet and if it had fundamentalist beliefs that what it believes is the only true path, it's quite possible it might attempt to wipe out all nonbelievers. On top of that, if it had access to technology and resources to make androids as powerful as the necromancers, it could happen, which adds an eerie realism to Raised by Wolves.