Publius Nigidius Figulus

Publius Nigidius Figulus (c. 98–45 BC) was one of the most learned intellectuals of the late Roman Republic. A senator, praetor (58 BC), close associate of Cicero and a leading representative of Roman Neo-Pythagoreanism, he cultivated an exceptionally wide range of interests, including philosophy, grammar, astronomy, astrology, mathematics, natural science and divination. Most of his numerous works are now lost and survive only in quotations preserved by later authors.

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Figulus supported Pompey against Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s victory he was exiled, dying shortly afterwards in 45 BC. Ancient sources regarded him as both a philosopher and a magus, reflecting his reputation as an expert in astrology, divination and esoteric knowledge (Suetonius, De grammaticis fr. 85; Apuleius, Apologia 42).

Nigidius occupies a significant place in the history of Roman religious thought because Servius preserves a fragment of his lost work De Diis in which he reports that “the Magi” foretold a future reign of Apollo (nonnulli etiam, ut Magi, aiunt Apollinis fore regnum; Serv. ad Ecl. 4.10 = fr. 67 Swoboda). This brief passage has played a disproportionate role in modern scholarship, especially since Franz Cumont, who interpreted it as evidence for Iranian eschatological traditions influencing Roman religious thought and, indirectly, the cult of Mithras.

The significance of this testimony, however, remains controversial. Maarten J. Vermaseren, Robert Turcan and especially Richard L. Gordon have stressed that the passage does not explicitly refer to Mithras, nor does it demonstrate the existence of a Mithraic doctrine of cosmic ages. Gordon argued that the reference to the Magi constitutes an independent statement rather than evidence for a Mithraic eschatological system, while the allusion to ecpyrosis probably reflects Nigidius’ own interpretation rather than authentic Iranian doctrine.

More recently, Attilio Mastrocinque has revived interest in Nigidius Figulus, proposing that his testimony reflects a broader body of Iranian-inspired prophecies which also influenced Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue and, ultimately, the narrative programme of Mithraic iconography. Although stimulating, this interpretation remains debated and has not achieved general acceptance.

Today Nigidius Figulus is regarded not as a Mithraist, for which there is no evidence, but as an important witness to the intellectual milieu in which Roman astrology, Neo-Pythagorean philosophy and ideas attributed to the Persian Magi circulated during the final decades of the Roman Republic. His surviving fragments continue to provide an important, if highly ambiguous, source for discussions of the possible relationship between Iranian religious traditions and the emergence of Roman Mithraism.

The famous Pythagorean and Cicero’s friend, Nigidius Figulus, who was styled by Suetonius Phytagoricus et magus, was condemned by Caesar and died in exile in 45 BCE. He is supposed to have foretold the greatness of Octavian on the day of his birth (Suetonius, Augustus; Dio Cassius, Excerpta Salmasiana). Nigidius also discussed the historial theory, according to which the history of the world was divided into four eras, each one ruled by a specific god.

Nigidius, in the 4th book of his work on the gods, says: ’Some authors distinguish the gods and their kind according to times and periods. Among these authors Orpheus said that the first reign was that of Saturn, then that of Jupiter and subsequently those of Neptunus, and of Pluto. Several other authors, among whom were the Magi, say the reign of Apollo was forthcoming. In this account one should recognize that they did not speak of combustion or of the so-called ekpyrosis.’

Nigidius was told to have performed a mantic seance by means of an enchanted boy (Apuleius, De magia). This was probably a ritual of hydromancy, known thanks to many recipes in the magical papyri, and, according to Varro, was typical of Persian rituals.

—Mastrocinque (2017) The Mysteries of Mithras