Маски в мистериальных культах эпохи Римской импери
Masks in Mysterial Cults of the Roman Empire

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the use of masks at the beginning of our era in the mysterial cults (the ancient Egyptian religion, the cult of Cybele and Attis, Mithraism). The basis for research are brief references to masks in Greek and Roman literature and pictorial and archaeological sources. Masks appeared in the rituals of religion, that claimed to Eastern origin but reformed to facilitate their perception of the inhabitants of the ancient world; mysteries were part of this adaptation. We suppose that the masks performed several functions in these cults: they showed their connection with the alien tradition and the special oriental wisdom which contained in them; they created a new system of social relations based on the degree of initiation; mask could help to change the state of human consciousness; finally, people in masks could feel of belonging to a large community, whose head was a god. We should also mention that the masks were associated with deities associated with the world beyond the grave.

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