Stage 19 Culture: Mystery Cults

Why are Mystery Cults called Mystery Cults?

• They sought to answer the world's mysteries

• Their religious texts were written like mystery books

• Their rites & rituals were unknown to outsiders

• That is the name that they gave themselves

What are the Mystery Cults that we have learned about?

• Isis

• Hades

• Bacchus

• Mithras

• Demeter

The festival for Isis, on March 5th, marked the beginning of Spring and what other season?

• Hunting

• Sailing

• Election

• Autumn

Who was the god of wine, freedom, and fertility?

• Isis

• Osiris

• Mithras

• Bacchus

True or False: The Bacchanalia were quiet celebrations.

• True: they were a time where followers would meditate in the woods

• False: they were violent parties ending in human sacrifice

• True: they were small household gatherings with immediate family

• False: they were associated with mania from the use of alcohol and other trance-inducing techniques

Although the exact initiation rites are unknown, we do know that there were acts of ________ during induction to the cult of Isis.

• repentance

• fasting

• pilgrimage

• reading from the sacred text

Why was the beginning of sailing season important to the Romans & Egyptians?

• War ventures

• Grain transport

• Ancient citizens liked traveling

• Sailing was a religious activity

With what group was Mithras popular?

• Roman emperors

• Egyptian women

• Low-class Greeks

• Roman soldiers

True or False: Bacchanalia were only attended by men at first.

• True

• False

What was the main motivator for people to join the cult of Demeter?

• Members were promised some advantages in the afterlife

• Members were promised a good harvest

• Members would meet their true love

• Members would be able to bring back their loved ones from the underworld