Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Σέλευκος
Marcus Aurelius Seleucus
Lifelong pater of Mithras in Anazarbus, holding the civic title Father of the Homeland.
Biography
of Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Σέλευκος
TNMP 280
M. Aurelius Seleucus was a Roman citizen and priest of Mithras in the city of Anazarbus in Cilicia, as attested by a dedicatory inscription found in the region. The inscription identifies him as a "father for life" (patēr diā biou), the highest rank in the Mithraic hierarchy, and as a benefactor bearing the title "Father of the Homeland" (patēr patrios). These titles suggest a dual role in religious and civic contexts.
The inscription, partly damaged by damnatio memoriae, connects Seleucus to the worship of Zeus Helios Mithras, reflecting the integration of local and imperial religious practices in Cilicia. This evidence places Seleucus among the limited yet significant traces of Mithraic activity in Asia Minor, a region noted by Plutarch for early Mithraic rites performed by Cilician pirates. His activities illustrate the role of local elites in Roman provincial society during the imperial period.
References
- Michael Gough (1952) ‘Anazarbus.’ Anatolian Studies, Vol. 2, pp. 85-150.
- Michael Gough (1957) ‘A new Mithraic inscription from Anabarzos.’ Proceedings of the Twenty-second Congress of Orientalists
Mentions
Mithraic inscription from Anazarba
TNMM 800
This dedicatory inscription by Aurelius Seleucus, found in Cilicia, aligns with Plutarch’s account of Cilician pirates performing foreign sacrifices and secret rites of Mithras.
[[ὑπάτου τὸ]] β’, π(ατρὸς) π(ατρίδος) · [Μ. Αὐρή-]
λιος Σέλευκος ἱε[ρεύς καὶ]
πατὴρ διὰ βίου Διὸς [‘Ηλίου
ἀνείκητου Μίθρα τὸν [. .
...] καθ’ ὑπέσχετο τῇ πατ[ρίδι].