Theodorus

Theodorus belonged to the personnel of the publicum portorii Illyrici at Poetovio, where he served as scrutator stationis Poetovionensis. This specialised position within the customs administration involved the inspection of goods and baggage subject to customs duties. His servile status places him within the group of enslaved customs personnel that is particularly prominent among the early Mithraic adherents of Poetovio (Clauss 1992).

His dedication from Mithraeum I is nevertheless distinguished from those of his colleagues by its explicitly visionary motivation. The altar was erected Invicto Mithrae et Transitu dei and concludes simply ex visu, indicating that Theodorus acted in response to a vision (TNMM 413; CIMRM 1496–1497; CIL III 14354²⁷). Nothing in the text identifies a Mithraic grade or office held by him.

The altar also carries an unusually rich collection of images. A cock standing upon a tortoise is represented on one side, while the other shows a raven together with a bow, Phrygian cap and dagger, with a star above. Vermaseren (1960) records these elements as part of the same monument and associates them with its explicitly Mithraic dedication.

The reference to the Transitus dei connects the dedication with a theme also represented elsewhere in Mithraeum I, notably by the taurophoros statue associated with Gaius Caecina Calpurnius. Theodorus therefore provides particularly clear evidence for the intersection of the customs personnel at Poetovio with the religious life and distinctive imagery of the sanctuary, while the unusual ex visu preserves a rare indication of the personal motivation behind an individual dedication.