Marcus Modius Agatho

Marcus Modius Agatho is known from several fragmentary marble monuments discovered in 1555 on the Caelian Hill in Rome and generally dated to the last quarter of the second century CE (Canciani 2022; Chalupa 2023).

Agatho is the only known dedicator from this group of finds to have dedicated monuments both to Mithras and to the Capitoline Triad, illustrating the coexistence of Mithraic and traditional Roman religious expressions within the same group of monuments.

His name appears on dedications associated both with Mithras and with the Capitoline Triad. One relief is dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, while another bears a dedication to Sanctus Dominus Invictus Mithras. Several inscriptions state that Agatho made these offerings iussu eius (“at his command”), indicating that they were dedicated in response to a divine injunction. One inscription also mentions a certain Faustus as his patronus, suggesting that Agatho may have been a freedman, although this cannot be demonstrated .

The monuments have traditionally been associated with a Mithraeum near Piazza della Navicella (Cumont 1899; Vermaseren 1978; Coarelli 1979). More recent studies, however, emphasise that the existence of a Mithraeum at this location remains unproven, as no architectural remains are known and the assemblage includes both Mithraic and non-Mithraic material.