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The desire to be close to the gods, to be one with them, was a universal feeling. The mystery cults put humans in a new relationship with the gods, bringing them closer. Instead of living for the gods, as in traditional religion, the mystery cults allowed the people to live with them, in a more codependent relationship. Through the rituals and sacred worship, the people kept the gods "alive." Just as the people needed the gods, the gods needed the people. It was a mutual relationship, and it was important to the people to know that the gods cared about them. One of the most appealing aspects of belonging to a mystery cult was the promise of retaining your conscience in the afterlife. By following the rituals and observances of your cult, you were given the secret instructions on how to become immortalized in this way, how to reach the highest level of the afterlife, or heaven. This gave hope and encouragement to the followers of the cult. They now had a sense of responsibility and power over their future.
Many of the mystery cults were centered around a mother goddess. Of the most well known of these are the cult of Demeter and the cult of Cybele. These had direct connections with fertility and the mother-child relationship. These had an obvious appeal to many women for these reasons. The cult of Dionysus was slightly different. Its central figure was male, but also known as a sort of fertility god. A vastly different sort of cult was that of Mythra. This cult was strongly male oriented and made no allowances for any women. It was especially appealing to men in the military, or those who wished to be in the military. The cult of Mythra focused on masculine virtues such as honor, valor, and courage. .
Regardless of which cult a person belonged to, one thing was the same: the incredibly well kept secrecy of the particular details of that cult. While religion was a public display of devotion, never making a difference what you felt inside as long as you behaved properly outside, the mystery cults seemed to be truer to some because of their privacy.