Gaius Victorius Victorinus

Gaius Victorius Victorinus was a centurion of the Legio VII Gemina Antoniniana stationed at Lucus Augusti in the early third century CE. He is known from the principal inscription discovered in the city’s mithraeum, where he dedicated an altar to Deus Invictus Mithras on behalf of the local military detachment (statio Lucensis) and in honour of his two freedmen, <b>Victorius Secundus</b> and <b>Victorius Victor</b>. The imperial title Antoniniana dates the dedication between 212 and 218 CE, coinciding with the archaeological evidence for the construction of the sanctuary (Alvar, 2021).

The mithraeum appears to have been established within a private residence, probably connected with the commander of the Lucus detachment of the Legio VII Gemina. This context suggests that Victorinus occupied a prominent position within both the local military hierarchy and the Mithraic community. Following interpretations advanced by Alvar, the Lucus evidence may reflect the wider Severan revitalisation of the cult of Sol Invictus and Mithras in north-western Hispania, a process also associated with senior officers of the Legio VII Gemina such as <b>Quintus Mamilius Capitolinus</b> at Asturica Augusta.

Victorinus sitúa en un lugar muy destacado a sus dos libertos, en igualdad con la statio, es decir, la institución de cuya custodia se encarga el destacamento comandado por el centurión. Las razones por las que honra la statio y a sus libertos, que no parecen guardar relación entre sí, nos son desconocidas. Es extraño que celebre en el espacio doméstico la statio y que vincule a sus libertos al espacio público de la statio.

—Mitra en Hispania (2020)