Mithra

Mithra (Avestan: 𐬀𐬭𐬚𐬌𐬨 Miθra, Old Persian: 𐎷𐎰𐎼 Miça) is the Zoroastrian angelic Divinity (yazata) of Covenant and Oath. In addition to being the Divinity of Contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing Protector of Truth, and the Guardian of Cattle, the Harvest and of The Waters.

The Romans attributed their Mithraic Mysteries (the Mystery Religion known as Mithraism) to Persian or Zoroastrian sources relating to Mithra. However, since the early 1970s the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between Persian Mithra-worship and the Roman Mithraic mysteries.

Etymology

Together with the Vedic common noun mitra, the Avestan common noun miθra derives from proto-Indo-Iranian *mitra, from the root mi- "to bind", with the "tool suffix" -tra- "causing to." Thus, etymologically mitra/miθra means "that which causes binding", preserved in the Avestan word for "Covenant, Contract, Oath".

In Middle Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian etc), miθra became mihr, from which New Persian مهر mihr, Wanetsi and Wazirwola (Pashto) mērə/myer, and Armenian mihr/mher ultimately derive.

Mitra (disambiguation)

Mitra or Mithra may refer to:

Indo-Iranian deity

4486 Mithra

4486 Mithra, provisional designation 1987 SB, is a highly eccentric asteroid, classified as a near-Earth and potentially hazardous object. The suspected contact-binary asteroid belongs to the group of Apollo asteroids and measures about 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 September 1987, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst and Bulgarian astronomer Vladimir Shkodrov at Rozhen Observatory, in the Smolyan Province of Bulgaria.

The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–3.7 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,191 days). Its orbit is tilted by 3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an outstandingly high eccentricity of 0.66. The potentially hazardous asteroid has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.0462 AU. On 14 August 2000, it passed 0.0465 AU (6,960,000 km) from Earth.

Radar imaging using a delay-Doppler technique at the Arecibo and Goldstone observatories rendered a rotation period of 7001675000000000000♠67.5±6 hours. Based on the radar analysis, the asteroid is also a strong candidate for a contact binary, which is composed of two distinct lobes in mutual contact, held together by their weak gravitational attraction. They typically show a bifurcated, dumbbell-like shape (also see 4769 Castalia). A large number of near-Earth objects are believe to be contact-binaries.