Mithraic monuments of Samosata
Tablet of Antiochus I from Samsat
"The remaining figure on this monument, Herakles, was previously misidentified as Apollo on this remarkable black basalt tablet from Samsat, known in Roman times as Samosata.
CIMRM 33
Inscriptions of Samosata
Ἐγὼ πατρώϊαν βασιλείαν παραλαβὼν παρὰ
Διὸς τε Ῥωμαίου καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος Μίθρου Ἡλίου Ἑρ-
μοῦ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος Ἡρακλέους Ἄρεως, καὶ ποιη-
σάμενος παλαιᾶς δυνάμεως [καὶ τύχης νέας τῆς ἐ]-
μῆς ἡλικίας θεῶν μεγάλων [τὴν ἀρχαίαν τιμήν]
ἐν ἱεροῖς τε λυδίας μιᾶς περὶ [βωμοῦ δαιμόνων οὐρα]-
νίοις χαρακτῆρα μορφῆς ἐμῆς [ἐπινεοῦς σύνθρονοι]-
ν εἰς δεξιὰς παρέστηκα, μεμνήμενα δικαίου φύλαξ-
σων ἀθανάτου φροντίδος...
Διὸς τε Ῥωμαίου καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος Μίθρου Ἡλίου Ἑρ-
μοῦ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος Ἡρακλέους Ἄρεως, καὶ ποιη-
σάμενος παλαιᾶς δυνάμεως [καὶ τύχης νέας τῆς ἐ]-
μῆς ἡλικίας θεῶν μεγάλων [τὴν ἀρχαίαν τιμήν]
ἐν ἱεροῖς τε λυδίας μιᾶς περὶ [βωμοῦ δαιμόνων οὐρα]-
νίοις χαρακτῆρα μορφῆς ἐμῆς [ἐπινεοῦς σύνθρονοι]-
ν εἰς δεξιὰς παρέστηκα, μεμνήμενα δικαίου φύλαξ-
σων ἀθανάτου φροντίδος...
I, having received the ancestral kingdom from Zeus the Roman and Apollo Mithras Helios Hermes and Artemis Heracles Ares, and having established myself with the strength of old [and the new fortune of my] age, [restored the ancient honor] in the sanctuaries of Lydia, around [the altar of celestial gods], and presented the character of my form [as a likeness to my divine companions], standing to the right, mindful of guarding justice and eternal vigilance...
References
- The Trustees of the British Museum (2024) stela | British Museum
- V. W. Yorke (1898) Inscriptions from eastern Asia Minor
