Intrigued by all these religions I'm reading about. Zoroastrianism still exists today, but Mithraism doesn't. The Wikipedia article linked mentioned they are mystery religions . Read about Manichaeism . "Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through Aramaic-speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was briefly the main rival to early Christianity in the competition to replace classical polytheism before the spread of Islam. Under the Roman Dominate, Manichaeism was persecuted by the Roman state and was eventually stamped out in the Roman Empire." They believed in secret knowledge from personal direct experiences with the divine. In 240 Mani received from the divine the message not to eat meat, drink wine, or sleep with women. He was influenced by Zurvani