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Monumentum

Altar by Caius Aemilius Superaius of Merida

Small white marble altar made in honour of Mithras found at San Albín, Mérida.
Altar by Caius Aemelius Superaius of Merida
Altar by Caius Aemelius Superaius of MeridaThe New Mithraeum / Olivier-Antoine Reÿnès (CC BY-NC-SA)
 
The New Mithraeum
22 Jan 2022
Updated on Jul 2024

TNMM 426 ↔ CIMRM 796

White marble altar (H. 0.27). San Albin.

Deo / invicto / C(aius) Aemilius / Superat[us] / a(nimo) l(ibens) p(osuit).

The altar, divided into two diagonal blocks from the left to the right side, is decorated with a simple moulding as a crown; the base is also moulded. There is no decoration on the sides. It comes from the Cerro de San Albín in 1902. It does not appear in the Macías catalogue.

Main inscription

Deo / Invicto / C[aius] Camilius / Superat[us] / a[nimo] l[ibens] p[osuit].
To the Unconquered God, Caius Camilius Superatus willingly and gladly placed [this].

References

Melida Cat. Badajoz 206 No. 767. Mélida 1925 nº 767 p. 206; GyB 1948 nº 6 p. 325 fig. 6; Mallon - Marín 1951 ad nº 235 p 115; HAEpigr nº 2692; Vermaseren CIMRM I nº 796 p. 277; Batlle 1963 nº 131; GyB ROER nº 5 p. 28; Vives ILER 1971 nº 280; García Iglesias 1973 nº 26 pp. 97-98; Bendala 1986 nº 5 p. 396; Francisco 1989 ara nº 4 p. 54; Linner 1998 pp. 51-52 lám. XXIV; HEpOL nº 24223; CER.ES nº CE00566 ; EDCS 42700408; TM 241997.

Related monuments

Cerro de San Albín

Although the site at Cerro de San Albín is not a Mithraeum, archaeologists have found several monuments related to the cult of Mithras.

Aion of Mérida

The Aion-Chronos of Mérida was found near the bullring of the current city, once capital of the Roman province Hispania Ulterior.

Lion-headed figure of Mérida

The lion-headed figure, Aion, from Mérida, wears oriental knickers fastened at the waist by a cinch strap.

Cautopates from Casa del Mitreo of Mérida

The sculpture of the solar god is signed by its author, Demetrios.

 

Naked figure from Mérida

This sculpture may be a naked dadophorus, probably Cautopates.

Feast from Mérida

This scene of a feast from Mérida shows three persons at a table with other people standing beside them, one holding a bull’s head on a plate.

Altar of Merida consecrated by Marcus Valerius Secundus

This altar is dedicated to the birth of Mithras by a frumentarius of the Legio VII Geminae.

Mercury of Mérida

The statue of Mercury in Merida bears a dedication from the Roman Pater of a community in the city in 155.

 

Cautes from Mérida

This nude male figure, found at Cerro de San Albín, Mérida, has been identified as Cautes.

Venus pudica of Mérida

The Venus pudica of Merida stands next to the young Amor riding a dolplhin.

Isis de Mérida

The Isis of Merida is covered by a long dress that reaches down to her feet.

Aesculapius of Merida

This standing sculptural figure from Mérida appears to carry the serpent staff, characteristic of the medicine god Aesculapius.

 

Altar of Gaius Iulius from Mérida

The small Mithraic altar found at Cerro de San Albin, Merida, bears an inscription to the health of a certain Caius Iulius.

Oceaunus of Mérida

The sculpture of Oceanus in Merida bears an inscription by the Pater Patrorum Gaius Accius Hedychrus.

Venus of Mérida small sculpture

The lack of attributes and its decontextualisation prevent us from attributing a specific Mithraic attribution to this small Venus pudica from Mérida.

Serapis head from Mérida

This head of Serapis from Cerro de San Albín may be unrelated to Mithras worship.

 

Altar of Mérida from Quintio

This altar, which has now disappeared, was dedicated by the slave Quintio for the health of a certain Coutius Lupus.

Tauroctony from the Gran Mitreo de Mérida

These fragments of a monumental tauroctony found in the Cerro de San Albín must have decorated the Gran Mitreo de Mérida, which has not yet been found.

 
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