Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus
Vir clarissimus and governor of Numidia, who dedicated a temple to Mithras with its images and ornaments in Cirta.
Biography
of Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus
- Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus was a syndexios (probably a Pater) of the Mithraeum of Cirta.
- Active c. 3rd quarter of 4th century in Cirta, Numidia.
TNMP 265
Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus was a prominent Roman politician who lived in the middle of the 4th century AD. He is thought to have been one of the sons of Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus Lampadius. Caecina Albinus’s official rank was vir clarissimus and he served as governor, praeses consularis, of Numidia from 364 to 367 AD under Valentinianus and Valens.
During his tenure, he was noted for his contributions to public works, which are documented by various inscriptions, e.g. AE 1926, 134 and AE 1946, 107. Among these we find a slab with an inscription stating that he had dedicated a speleum, a term used to designate a Mithras temple, with its signs and ornaments.
Macrobius includes him in his Saturnalia, e.g. I 2-15 and I 2-16, where he is associated with other notable pagan figures of the time, such as Symmachus.
Although a pagan pontiff, he had a Christian wife. His daughter, also a Christian, was the mother of Saint Paula, as Jerome records in his Epistle.
Trois membres de la famille des Albini apparaissent dans les Saturnales: Rufius Albinus, Cécina Albinus et Décius Albinus, fils du précédent. Ce dernier n’intervient que dans le Prologue : il doit alors avoir une quinzaine d’années à la date des Saturnales. Il sera consulaire de Numidie, gouverneur de Campanie (397- 398), questeur du Palais et préfet de la ville en 40223 Le père de Décius appartient à la même génération que Symmaque : il est consulaire de Numidie en 365, il fut pontife majeur, c’est-à-dire prêtre de Vesta. Dans une lettre célebre (107, 1), Jérôme évoque sa petite-fille chrétienne, chantant alleluia sur les genoux de son grand-pere. Il apparait dans les Saturnales comme un antiquaire érudit. Le troisieme personnage Celonius Rufius Albinus, préfet de Rome en 389-391, est lui aussi un passionné d’antiquité d’une grande érudition. Il est vraisemblablement le dédicataire d’un opuscule de Ser-vius sur la métrique et l’auteur d’un traité De Metris 24 Il vante les archaismes de Virgile et montre les emprunts aux poètes archaïques (VI, 1-5).
—Guittard (2022) Les Saturnales
References
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Slab with inscription by Publilius Ceionius of Cirta in EDCS
- Lucien Jacquot (1908) ‘La caverne miraculeuse de Sidi-bou-Yahia et le culte de Mithra..’ Recueil des Notices et Mémoires de la Société Archélogique du Département de Constantine, 11, 255-266.
- Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (431) Saturnaliorum Libri Septem
- Nicholas Vivan (2022) Il culto mitraico: attestazioni e diffusione nel territorio della Numidia.
- Ulrich Gehn (2024) ‘Inscription recording restoration of Mithraic cave with statues. Cirta (Numidia). 364-367..’ Last Statues of Antiquity
Mentions
Mithraeum of Cirta
TNMM 615
An inscription mentioning a speleum decorated by Publilius Ceionius suggests the location of a mithraeum in Cirta, the capital of Numidia.
A cave with signs and ornaments, dedicated by Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus, a man of eminent standing.
Slab with inscription by Publilius Ceionius of Cirta
TNMM 772
This inscription shows that Publilius Ceionius, most distinguished man, dedicated a temple to Mithras at Mila, in the modern Constantina, Algeria.