[2] Albrecht Dieterich, the first translator of the text in 1903, coined the name it is known by today,[3][4] based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of immortality.
[5] The text is generally considered to be a product of the religious syncretism characteristic of the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial era, as were the Mithraic mysteries themselves.
[14] The speaker of the invocation announces that he is writing down the mysteries to offer instruction and not for gain, and that he seeks a revelation of the universe and immortality guided by an archangelos (ἀρχάγγελος, "high messenger") of Helios Mithras (lines 475–485).
[16] At this level (lines 537–585), the revelation-seeker is supposed to breathe deeply and feel himself lifted up, as if in midair, hearing and seeing nothing of mortal beings on earth.
Ritual silence is prescribed, followed by another sequence of hissing, popping, and thirteen magic words: "Then you will see the gods looking graciously upon you and no longer rushing at you, but rather going about in their own order of affairs."
After a shocking crash of thunder, another admonition of silence, and a magic incantation, the disk of the sun is to open and issue five-pointed stars.
The celestial doors are thrown open to reveal seven virgins dressed in linen and with faces of asps, an element identified as Egyptian.
The encounter with the highest god is intended to result in divine revelation and apathanatismos, a technical term for the temporary achieving of a state of immortality.
The practitioner is warned not to misuse the mysterion (lines 724–834), and is given instructions on the preparation of magical accoutrements: a sun scarab ointment (751–778), the herb kentritis (778–792), and the protective phylacteries for the ritual (813–819).
[16] In Book IV of the Greek Magical Papyri in which the "Mithras Liturgy" occurs, lines 1–25 are a spell calling on Egyptian and Jewish powers in order to obtain information.
These include the preparation of amulets and ointments, the timing of rituals based on astronomical phenomena or horoscopes, and the manipulation of breath and speech.