SOURCE: "Mithraic Aspects of Merlin in Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave," in The Celebration of the Fantastic: Selected Papers from the Tenth Anniversary International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, edited by Donald E. Morse, Marshall B. Tymn, and Csilla Bertha, 1992, pp. 91-101.

In the following essay, Jurich explains Stewart's use of the ancient figure Mithras, from the Zoroastrian religion, in the creation of her Merlin.

The figure of Merlin is a fascinating palimpsest of myth, legend, and history; this sage-magician-trickster prophet, wild man of the forest, and protector of kings has spanned fourteen centuries. He has performed his sleight of hand and necromancy in poems, novels, and plays, enchanting both children and adults in his many roles. Nowhere, however, except in Mary Stewart's fantasy The Crystal Cave has Merlin been cast as a Mithraic figure—as the force of light and truth, the messenger of Zoroastrian...