Biography
of Hymnus
- Hymnus is attested as a member of a Mithraic community (syndexios).
- Attested in Torrita, Etruria, Italia (TNMM 1150).
TNMP 309
Hymnus was a Mithraic devotee active in the territory of ancient Capena, known from his dedication of a marble statue of a Cautes torchbearer inscribed Hymnus Inbicto (Vermaseren 1956). His single Greek name, Hymnus (“hymn” or “song of praise”), is compatible with names frequently borne by slaves and freedmen in the Roman world, although his legal status cannot be established. The statue was preserved in the Trasi family house at Torrita Tiberina in the nineteenth century, later disappeared from view (Chalupa 2023), and has recently resurfaced in a French private collection.
References
- Aleš Chalupa (2023) Římský kult boha Mithry. Atlas lokalit a katalog nálezů I.
- Hôtel des ventes de Monte-Carlo (2026) Statue de Cautes, dadophore du culte mitrhiaque.
Attestations
Statue of Cautes dedicated by Hymnus
TNMM 1150
Marble statuette of the torchbearer Cautes bearing the votive inscription HYMNUS INBICTO, probably produced during the second or third century CE and preserved in an old European collection.
