a worshiper could be initiated into ever-deeper secrets (“mysteries”) of the cult, attaining salvation and union with the deity by ritual participation in her or his myths. This frequently included bathing for cleansing from sin and communal feasts. For example, according to his myth, Mithras fought and slew a monstrous bull; at one level of initiation, Mithras worshipers sacrificed a bull and bathed in its blood — a rather gross image to us but undeniably powerful as a symbolic connection to the mythical actions of the deity and as a means of identifying with him.
