Agatho
Marcus Modius Agatho
Agatho has dedicated several monuments to Mithras in the Coelian Hill.
Biography
of Agatho
- Agatho was a syndexios at the Mitreo di Piazza della Navicella.
- Resident in Roma, Latium, Italia in c. late 2nd century (TNMM 597 and TNMM 594).
TNMP 192
Several fragmentary bas-reliefs were found in Rome, on the Caelius, near the church of Santa Maria in Domnica, during excavations carried out by the Altieri family in the mid-sixteenth century.
They all seem to have been dedicated by the same man, Marcus Modius Agatho, who was probably a freedman of a certain Faustus.
References
- Bricault; Roy (2021) Les cultes de Mithra dans l'Empire Romain
- Vittoria Canciani (2022) Archaeological Evidence of the Cult of Mithras in Ancient Italy
Attestations
Fragments of a Mithriac relief with Jupiter and Sol
TNMM 594
These three fragments of carved marble depict Jupiter, Sol, Luna and a naked man wearing a Phrygian cap, with inscriptions calling Mithras Sanctus Dominum.
Dedit M. Modius [Agatho] / sancto domino / invicto Mithrae / iussu eius libens / dedit.
[Lunae... / M.] M[od]/ius [Aga]/tho [cum] / suis permissu .....
M. Modius [Agatho] gave willingly to the holy master Unconquered Mithras, at his behest.
Mitreo di Piazza della Navicella
TNMM 595
Several fragmentary Mithraic remains dedicated by a certain Agatho in the Caelius suggest that a Mithraeum existed in the area.
Relief of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva from the Caelian Mithraeum
TNMM 597
This marble relief bears an inscription by Marcus Modius Agatho, who dedicated several monuments to Mithras on the Caelian Hill in Rome.
