Basin with inscription from Mitreo della Planta Pedis

The New Mithraeum

3 Feb 2022

TNMM 486 ↔ CIMRM 275

Circular marble basin (H. 0.25 diam. 0.60) with inscription on its border.

L.H. 0.022.

[In]victo Mithrae d(onum) d(edit) M(arcus) Umbilius Criton cum Pyladen vil[ico].

Criton (ct. inscr. No. 231) probably was a libertus of M. Umbilius Maximinus (CIL XIV 177 and 251) who was a patronus of the corpus lenunculariorum tabulariorum auxiliariorum, ostiensium in 192 A.D. cf G. Barbieri, l'Albo senatorio di Settimio Severo a Carino (193-285) Roma 1952, 184f.

It may be significant that in the nearby Serapeum an inscription from 200 AD mentions a son of M. Umbilius Maximus, in 192 AD patronus of the corpus lenunculariorum tabulariorum auxiliariorum Ostiensium.

Main inscription

[In]victo Mithrae d[onum] d[edit] M[arcus] Umbilius Criton cum Pyladen vil[ico].

References

Becatti, 83 and PI. XVI, 2.

Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef (1956) Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae

Related monuments

Mitreo della Planta Pedis

The floor of the central aisle of the Mithraeum of the Footprint in Ostia has a mosaic depicting a snake and a footprint.

Altar of the Mitreo della Planta Pedis

The altar includes a slab with an inscription for the salvation of two emperors.

Basin from Mitreo della Planta Pedis

This marble basin found in the Mithraeum of the Footprint bears an inscription of a certain Umbilius Criton, associated with a monumental tauroctonic sculpture also found in Ostia.

Coin of Valerian and Sol

This coin was deposited in the upper level of the throne in the cult niche of the Mitreo della Planta Pedis.

Inscription of Hermes to Silvanus

This inscription, found in the Mitreo della Planta Pedis, among some other monuments in Ostia, suggests a link between Mithras and Silvanus.