Perpetuus

Perpetuus was a haruspex and Mithraic dedicator attested at Stockstadt am Main in Germania Superior. His partially preserved name, Pa[…] Perpetuus, appears on the two-sided cult relief from Mithraeum I at Stockstadt (TNMM 2065; CIMRM 1161–1162; CIL XIII 11788), which he dedicated to the invincible god Mithras at his own expense (de suo posuit).

As haruspex, he was a specialist in a Roman tradition of divination of Etruscan origin. Haruspices were particularly associated with the examination of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the liver, interpreting their condition as signs of divine approval or displeasure. They could also be consulted on prodigies and other extraordinary phenomena. Perpetuus’s explicit designation as haruspex is therefore significant, documenting the participation of a professional diviner in a Mithraic community in the military environment of Germania Superior (Haack 2002).

Drexel proposed restoring his damaged name as Pa[ternius] Perpetuus, although Behn (1928) cautioned that another name could have occupied the missing portion. This restoration prompted comparison with a T. Paternius Perpetuus attested at Vetera (Xanten) as cornicularius legati legionis (CIL XIII 8634). Schwertheim (1974), Clauss (1992) and Haack (2002) have discussed the possible identification, but it remains uncertain, and a military career cannot therefore be securely attributed to the Stockstadt Perpetuus. The surviving fragments of his dedication are preserved in the Saalburg Museum.