Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Pater patrum and Pater sacrorum among other titles.
Grave inscription of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and his wife Paulina
Musei Capitolini
Biography
of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
TNMP 86
As Proconsul for Achaea, Praetextatus was a renowned defender of the mysteries of Eleusis and a leading figure in the so-called ‘pagan revival’ of the fourth century CE. His sacred cursus honurum (ladder of offices) serves to highlight the depth of his commitment to both Hellenistic and Roman sacred traditions, and perhaps more particularly, to their most esoteric expression – the sacred mystery cults dedicated to the gods.
—Peter Mark Adams (2022)
As mention on the altar CIMRM 420 Vettius Agorius Praetextatus was Augur, Pontiff of Vesta, Pontiff of Sol, member of the Board of Fifteen, Priest of Hercules, initiated into the mysteries of the Liber and the Eleusinian gods, introducer into the sacred service, temple overseer, initiated into the bull sacrifice, father of the father of the fathers [in the Mithras cult], but in the community Quaestor as candidate of the emperor, praetor urbanus, corrector of Etruria and Umbria, consular governor of Lusitania, proconsul of Achaia, city prefect, seven times sent as a legate of the Senate [to the Emperor to Constantinople], Praetorian Prefect of Italy and Illyria, designated regular consul, and Aconia Fabia Paulina, Hekate of Aegina, initiated to the bull sacrifice, inititated into the sacred divine service. These two have lived together for 40 years.
Mentions
Altar of Vettius Agrorius Praetextatus
The marble altar mentions Vettius Agrorius Praetextatus as Pater Sacrorum and Patrum and his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina.
TNMM 273
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
augur, p[o]ntifex Vestae,
pontifex Sol[is], quindecemvir
curialis Herc[u]lis, sacratus
Libero et Eleusiniis, hierophanta,
neocorus, tauroboliatus,
pater patrum, in [r]e publica vero
quaestor candidatus,
pr(a)etorurbanus,
corrector Tusciae et Umbriae,
consularis Lusitaniae,
proconsule Achaiae,
praefectus urbi,
legatus a senatu missus V
praefectus praetorio {II} Italiae et
Illyrici, consul ordinarius
designatus,
et Aconia Fabia Paulina, c(larissima) f(emina),
sacrata Cereri et Eleusiniis,
sacrata apud (A)eginam Hecatae,
tauroboliata, hierophantria.
hi coniuncti simul vixerunt ann(os) XL.
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, Augur, Pontiff of Vesta, Pontiff of Sol, member of the Board of Fifteen, Priest of Hercules, initiated into the mysteries of the Liber and the Eleusinian gods, introducer into the sacred service, temple overseer, initiated into the bull sacrifice, father of fathers [in the Mithras cult], but in the community Quaestor as candidate of the emperor, praetor urbanus, corrector of Etruria and Umbria, consular governor of Lusitania, proconsul of Achaia, city prefect, seven times sent as a legate of the Senate [to the Emperor to Constantinople], Praetorian Prefect of Italy and Illyria, designated regular consul, and Aconia Fabia Paulina, Hekate of Aegina, initiated to the bull sacrifice, inititated into the sacred divine service. These two have lived together for forty years.