Titus Martialius Candidus

Titus Martialius Candidus is known from several religious dedications associated with Stockstadt in Germania Superior. Although his nomenclature provides little information about his origin or social status, he appears to have been an active participant in the religious life of the local community. His cognomen Candidus was widespread throughout the Roman Empire and is insufficient to establish any secure connection with other individuals bearing the same name. He is attested through a dedication to Virtus (AE 1953, 117a; CSIR II,13) and through two inscriptions discovered within Mithraeum II of Stockstadt (CIL XIII 11791a = TNMM 496; CIL XIII 11791b = TNMM 2112).

Candidus is particularly noteworthy for the two altars he dedicated to the Mithraic torchbearers Cautes and Cautopates in Mithraeum II of Stockstadt. According to Ines Klenner, these paired dedications appear to have no known parallel outside Stockstadt, making them exceptional within the archaeological record of Mithraism. The combination of these monuments with his dedication to Virtus has led some scholars to suggest that Titus Martialius Candidus may have had a particular interest in eastern religious traditions.