Ulpius Egnatius Faventinus

Ulpius Egnatius Faventinus was a Roman senator (vir clarissimus) active during the second half of the fourth century CE. He is known from an inscription dated to 13 August 376 and associated with the group of aristocratic dedications traditionally linked to the Vatican Phrygianum, the sanctuary of Magna Mater and Attis on the Vatican Hill (TNMM 620; Griffith 2006; Chalupa 2023).

In the inscription, Faventinus presents himself as augur publicus populi Romani Quiritium, pater et hieroceryx Dei Solis Invicti Mithrae, archibucolus dei Liberi, hierophanta Hecatae and sacerdos Isidis. He also records the completion of a taurobolium and criobolium, emphasizing his participation in several religious traditions simultaneously. This accumulation of priesthoods reflects a broader phenomenon among members of the late Roman senatorial aristocracy, many of whom combined offices connected with Mithras, Liber, Hecate, Isis, Magna Mater and other cults (Griffith 2006; Walsh 2016).

The Mithraic titles borne by Faventinus identify him as a pater, the highest ordinary grade of Mithraic initiation, and as a hieroceryx (“sacred herald”). Similar combinations of titles are attested among other aristocrats associated with the Phrygianum, including Caelius Hilarianus and Alfenius Ceionius Iulianus Kamenius, while Iunius Postumianus is distinguished by the superior title pater patrum (Walsh 2016).

Modern scholarship regards Faventinus as part of the circle of aristocratic pagans who continued to cultivate Mithraic and other mystery cults in fourth-century Rome. Together with figures such as Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, Rufius Caeionius Sabinus and members of the Ceionii family, he illustrates the close relationship between senatorial status and participation in multiple religious traditions during the final decades of public paganism in the western Empire (Griffith 2006; Walsh 2016).

The inscription does not demonstrate the existence of a Mithraeum within the Vatican Phrygianum itself. Rather, it attests Faventinus’ involvement in the cult of Mithras while commemorating religious activities carried out in a sanctuary primarily dedicated to Magna Mater and Attis, a distinction emphasised by recent scholarship (Chalupa 2023).