ABSTRACT
The soil in which Christianity became embedded was familiar with and inevitably influenced by pagan mystery religions. The mystery cults of Eleusis, Attis, Isis and Mithras offered their initiates (mystes) access to the divine by means of ritual acts and were expected not to divulge any knowledge revealed and to take vows of silence to which they must adhere fervently (Bouyer 1990; Hederman 2002: 15-16). The Greek noun mysterion is associated with the verb myein, which literally means to close the eyes or the mouth. Indeed, during the initiation rites of the mystery religions, candidates were first of all blindfolded and then led through a maze of intricate passages before suddenly having their eyes opened. They would then be able to see the secret emblems of the cult and move a step closer towards the truth, an experience which had previously been hidden from them (Ware 1998: 15). Mystery, therefore, always maintained connotations with a sense of disclosure and a compelling entry into the secret darkness of Truth, a movement into the unfathomable and lifechanging nature of revelation. Although, generally speaking, Christian writers had little admiration for such cults, many absorbed and reshaped their ideas.
