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Syndexios

Materninius Faustinus

He erected one of the last known mithraea on his property.

  • Altar of Gimmeldingen

    Altar of Gimmeldingen
    The New Mithraeum / Andreu Abuín (CC BY-NC-SA) 

  • Altar of Faustinus from Gimmeldingen

    Altar of Faustinus from Gimmeldingen
    Lupa.at / Ortolf Harl 

  • Incriptio of Corax from Gimmeldingen

    Incriptio of Corax from Gimmeldingen
    Haselburg-Müller 

  • Stone monuments from the Mithras sanctuary in Gimmeldingen

    Stone monuments from the Mithras sanctuary in Gimmeldingen
    Haselburg-Müller 

Biography
of Materninius Faustinus

TNMP 23

Materninius Faustinus built on his property one of the last known to date. He also ordered the construction of several of the monuments that decorated his temple, including the main tauroctonic relief. In two of the inscriptions found, Materninius is mentioned as Carax (Corax), i.e. the first grade of the Mithraic scale. The sanctuary, called fanum, was consecrated by a Pater by the name of Potentianus.

—The New Mithraeum 2022.

On 23 January 325 AD, Materninius Faustinus, an initiate of the first grade, that of Corax, in the Mithraic cult, had a temple of Mithras built in the town of Gimmeldingen, Germany. His dedication is engraved on the base of the cult relief of the temple. He also erected two altars and possibly a third with a similar inscription. Remarkably, Faustinus’ dedication is one of the last epigraphic testimonies of the Mithraic cult in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire.

Its fervour was all the more remarkable given that the religious landscape of the Empire was in a state of flux: the Mithraeum was built just four months after the accession of Constantine I, who was perhaps already sympathetic to Christianity. Although there are later inscriptions dedicated to Mithras in regions such as Numidia and perhaps Phoenicia, the Faustinus dedication provides an invaluable insight into the continuing appeal of the Mithraic mysteries in the face of a burgeoning Christian empire in the former Gimmeldingen and the wider Rhineland.

References

Mentions

Altar of Faustinus from Gimmeldingen

TNMM 444

Corax Materninius Faustinus dedicated other monuments found in the same Mithraeum in Gimmeldingen.

In h(onorem) d(omus) d(ivinae) / deo / invihto (sic) / Materninius / Fau[s]tinus carx (sic) / in suo posuit / (libens) l(aetus) m(erito).
In honour of the divine house, to the invincible god, Materninius Faustinus, Raven, placed (this altar) on his own land willingly, gladly and deservedly.

Altar of Faustinus from Gimmeldingen

TNMM 694

This sandstone altar was dedicated to the god Invictus by a certain Faustinus from Gimmeldingen.

[De]o / [i]nviht(o) / [Fa]ustinus / [c]orax / [v]o(tum) s(olvit) /l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito).
To the Invincible God, Faustinus, Corax, willingly, gladly, and deservedly fulfilled his vow.

Inscription of Corax Materninius Faustinus of Gimmeldingen

TNMM 441

The inscription was located at the base of the main Tauroctony of the Gimmeldingen Mithraeum.

In h(onorem) d(omus) d(ivinae) / deo inviht[o] (sic) Midre (sic) / Maternin[i]us Faustinu(s) / carax (sic) fan[um] cum solo inviht[o] / in suo fecit c[ onsac]ratus XI k(alendis) Feb(ruariis).
Fanus (sic) consacrat(us) / per Potentianum / patrem co(n)s(ulibus) / Paulino et Iuliano /l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito).
In honour of the divine house, to the invincible god Mithras, Materninius Faustinus, Crow, consecrated a shrine with (a statue of) the invincible Sol, on his property (in suo), on the tenth day before the calendars of February. Sanctuary (fanum) consecrated by Potentianus, Father, the consuls being (Sextus Anicius Faustus) Paulinus and (Ionis) Iulianus, willingly, joyfully and justly.

Mithräum von Gimmeldingen

TNMM 49

The few remains of the Mithraeum of Gimmeldingen are preserved at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, in Speyer, Germany.

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