Biography
of Septimius Severus
- Septimius Severus may have been associated with a Mithraic community, with a recorded public career as Emperor.
- Attested in the 145 – 211.
- Attested in Istros, Moesia inferior, Moesia in 193 – 211 (TNMM 518).
- Attested in Roma, Latium, Italia in 1st quarter of 3rd century (TNMM 453).
TNMP 275
The very military Septimius Severus was undoubtedly aware of Mithras. An inscription mentions a ’chaplain’ in the imperial household responsible for Persian worship: sacerdos invicti Mithrae domus Augustanae [TNMM 453]. It is not clear, however, that the god was firmly and definitively established on the Palatine. The Petrogenic Mithras claimed to have been deciphered on a gold coin bearing the image of Septimius Severus (196) is merely a reduced representation of Phosphoros, the ’morning star’.
References
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Funerary plaque of Septimius Archelaus in EDCS.
- Robert Turcan (1993) Mithra et le Mithriacisme.
- Steve Benner for CoinWeek (2023) The Cult of Mithras on Ancient Coins.
Attestations
Coin of Septimius Severus and god on horseback
TNMM 518
Coin of Istrus, Moesia Inferior, showing Caracalla on one side and a god on horseback (Mithras ?) on the other.
Funerary plaque of Septimius Archelaus
TNMM 453
Marble funerary plaque erected by Lucius Septimius Archelaus, a Pater and priest of Mithras, for himself, his wife, and their freedmen and descendants.
