Mithraic monuments of Roma
People attested in Roma
Inscriptions from Roma
Procession Fresco from Santa Prisca
Nama [patribus] / ab oriente / ad occidente[m] / tutela Saturni. [Na]ma H[eliodromis] / tute[l]a S[ol]is. [Na]ma Persis / tutela [Mer]curis. Nama L[e]on[i]b[us] j tutela Iovis. Nama Militibus j tutela Mart[is]. Nama Nym[phis] j tutjela Veneris. [Nama coracibus tutla Lunae].
Honor to the Patres, from the east to the west, under the protection of Saturn. Honor to the Heliodromi, under the protection of the Sun. Honor to the Persae, under the protection of Mercurius. Honor to the Leones, under the protection of Jupiter. Honor to the Militares, under the protection of Mars. Honor to the Nymphi, under the protection of Venus. Honor to the Coraces, under the protection of Luna.
Mithras petrogenitus from Villa Giustiniani
Nama / L[ucius] Fl[avius] Hermadion / hoc mihi libens / d[onum] d[edit].
Nama, Lucius Flavius Hermadion, willingly gave me this gift.
Tauroctony from the Villa Borghese
Nama Sebesio. / Deo Soli invict[o] Mitrhe [sic!] / C[aii] Aufidii Ianuarius [et…] Nam/a/ ne CS
Tribute to Sebesius.
To the invincible Sol god Mithras. Caius Aufidius Ianuarius [and Caius Aufidius ---].
To the invincible Sol god Mithras. Caius Aufidius Ianuarius [and Caius Aufidius ---].
Petrogeny from Santo Stefano Rotondo
Petram genetricem / Aur[elius] Bassinus aedituus / principiorum cast[rorum] pereg[rinorum] / dedicavit hoc in loco et d[ono] d[edit] / antistante A[ulo] Caedicio / Prisciano eq[uite] R[omano] patre
The Birth stone, Aurelius Bassinus, guardian of the headquarters [principia] of the Peregrine camp, dedicated in this place and donated it, with Aulus Caecidius Priscianus, Roman knight, Father [pater], as witness
Tauroctony 593
Alcimus T. Cl[audi] Liviani ser[vus] vilic[us] S[oli] M[ithrae] v[otum] s[olvit] d[onum] d[edit]
Alcimus, slave and bailiff of Tiberius Claudius Livianus, gave this as a gift to the sun-god Mithras in fulfilment of a vow.
Tauroctony from Circo Massimo
Deo Soli Invicto Mithrae Ti[tus] Cl[audius] Hermes ob votum dei typum d[onum] d[edit].
To the Sun god Mithra, Tiberius Claudius Hermes following a vow offers the image of the god.
Tauroctonia del Cortile del Belvedere
Soli invicto deo / Atimetus Aug[ustorum] n[ostrorum] ser[vus] act[uarius] praediorum Romaniarorum.
To Sol the unconquered god. Atimetus, slave of our Augusti, overseer of the public estates.
Slab of Sol Invictus
Soli invicto / pro salute imp[eratorum] / et genio n[umeri] / eq[uitum] sing[ula- rium] / eorum M. Ulp[ius] / Chresimus sace[rd[os]] / Iovis Dolich[eni] / v[otum] s[olvit] l[ibens] l[aetus] [m[erito]]
Dedicated to Sol Invictus and to the Genius of the Imperial Batavian horseguards [equites singulares] for the emperors' health, by M. Ulpius Chresimus, priest of Jupiter Dolichenus
Altar of Vettius Agrorius Praetextatus
D[is] M[anibus].
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, 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.
To the spirits of the departed (Dis Manibus).
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus,
augur, pontifex of Vesta,
pontifex of the Sun, member of the college of the fifteen (quindecemvir),
curial priest of Hercules, initiated into the rites of Liber and the Eleusinian mysteries, hierophant,
neocoros (temple warden), tauroboliated (initiated through the taurobolium),
father of fathers; and in public life:
quaestor designate,
urban praetor,
corrector of Tuscia and Umbria,
consular governor of Lusitania,
proconsul of Achaia,
prefect of the city,
legate sent by the Senate five times,
praetorian prefect of Italy and Illyricum,
designated ordinary consul;
and Aconia Fabia Paulina, most noble woman,
initiated into the rites of Ceres and the Eleusinian mysteries,
initiated to Hecate at Aegina,
tauroboliated, hierophantess.
They lived together in union for 40 years.
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus,
augur, pontifex of Vesta,
pontifex of the Sun, member of the college of the fifteen (quindecemvir),
curial priest of Hercules, initiated into the rites of Liber and the Eleusinian mysteries, hierophant,
neocoros (temple warden), tauroboliated (initiated through the taurobolium),
father of fathers; and in public life:
quaestor designate,
urban praetor,
corrector of Tuscia and Umbria,
consular governor of Lusitania,
proconsul of Achaia,
prefect of the city,
legate sent by the Senate five times,
praetorian prefect of Italy and Illyricum,
designated ordinary consul;
and Aconia Fabia Paulina, most noble woman,
initiated into the rites of Ceres and the Eleusinian mysteries,
initiated to Hecate at Aegina,
tauroboliated, hierophantess.
They lived together in union for 40 years.
Tauroctony relief exposed at the Hermitage Museum
D[onum] deo invicto d[ederunt] / Marci Matti / Fortuna/tus / et Alexander / et Pardus / et Eficax / per Fl[avio] Alexandro patre.
They gave a gift to the god Invictus: the Marci Matti, Fortunatus, and Alexander, and Pardus, and Efficax, through Flavius Alexander, pater.
Tauroctony relief of the Esquiline
C[auto]p[ati] / Primus pater fecit.
Primus, pater, made (this) for Cautopates.
Mithraic Sol of Piazza Dante
C[auto]p[ati] Primus pater fecit.
Primus, pater, made (this) for Cautopates.
References
- A. B. Griffith (1993) Mithraism in the private and public lives of 4th-c. senators in Rome
- Aix-Marseille Université (2025) Lion-headed statue of winged Mithra with snake (Montfaucon, Diarium Italicum, 1702)
- Aleš Chalupa (2023) Římský kult boha Mithry. Atlas lokalit a katalog nálezů I
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Altar by Septimius Zosimus from Roma in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Altar from Mitreo di San Clemente in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Altar of Fructus and Myro in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Altar of Rufius Caeionius Sabinus in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Candelabrum of Doryphorus in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Inscription by Proficentius, Rome in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Inscription of Aurelius Mithres in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Inscription of Flavius Antistianus from Rome in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Inscription of Sabinus from San Clemente in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Marble slab with inscription from Mitreo Barberini in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Mithraic slab from the catacombs of Vibia in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Tauroctony of Albergo Constanzi in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. Tauroctony of the Collezione Torlonia in EDCS
- Alfred Shenington Geden. The Acosolium of the Mysteries in the Hypogeum of Vibia in EDCS
- American Institute for Roman Culture (2012) Mithraeum at the Baths of Caracalla
- André Chastagnol (1961) La famille de Caecinia Lolliana grande dame païenne du IV e siècle après J.-C
- Attilio Mastrocinque (2022) The Mithraic Prophecy
- Attilio Mastrocinque (2017) The Mysteries of Mithras. A Different Account
- Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (2023) Mithras tötet den Stier
- BnF (2007) Notice bibliographique du Grand camée de France
- Carel Claudius van Essen & Maarten Vermaseren (1965) The Excavations in the Mithraeum of the Church of Santa Prisca in Rome
- Charles William King (1887) The Gnostics and Their Remains
- Cincinnati Art Museum. Mithraic Relief with Bull
- Csaba Szabó (2023) Mithras exhibited. Perspectives of sensory museology in mithraic contexts
- David Walsh (2016) Development, decline and demise: The Cult of Mithras ca. A.D. 270-430.
- David Walsh (2018) The Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity. Development, Decline and Demise ca. A.D. 270-430
- Edgar Wind (229) Historia Romana
- Elissa Lissi-Carrona (1986) Il Mitreo dei 'Castra Peregrinorum' (S. Stephano Rotondo)
- Elizabeth Peters (2001) El culto de Mitra en la época de Caracalla
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Altar from the Mitreo sotto la Basilica di San Lorenzo in EDH
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Inscription by Proficentius, Rome in EDH
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Marble base from Rome by Ulpius Paulus in EDH
- Epigraphic Database Heidelberg. Mithraic slab from the catacombs of Vibia in EDH
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar from Rome by Mnester and Philetus in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altar of Stertinius Carpus from the Ponte Emilio Area, Rome in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Altars from the Phrygianum of the Vatican by two clarissimi in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Column with inscription by workers of the pig market in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Funerary plaque of Septimius Archelaus in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Marble base from Rome by Ulpius Paulus in EDCS
- Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby. Statue Base of Alfenius Ceionius Iulianus Kamenius in EDCS
- Evelyn Schraudolph (1993) Römische Götterweihungen mit Reliefschmuck aus Italien. Altäre, Basen und Reliefs
- Flaminio Vacca (1594) Memorie di varie antichità trovate in diversi luoghi della città di Roma
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- Francisco Marco Simón (2018) A place with shared meanings: Mithras, Sabazius, and Christianity in the tomb of Vibia
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- François Chausson (1997) Les Egnatii et l’aristocratie italienne des IIe-IVe siècles.
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- Jaime Alvar Ezquerra (2008) Romanising Oriental Gods Myth Salvation and Ethics in the Cults of Cybele Isis and Mithras
- Jame W Singer - Daily Art Magazine (2021) Masterpiece of the Week: Mithras Slaying the Bull
- Laurens Dragstra (2023) The 10 highlights of… the Museo Nazionale Romano (Baths of Diocletianus)
- Laurent Bricault & Philippe Roy (2021) Les cultes de Mithra dans l’Empire romain
- Laurent Bricault (2023) Recueil des Inscriptions concernant les Cultes Isiaques (RICIS)
- Luciano Lazzaro (1993) Esclaves et affranchis en Belgique et Germanies romaines d’après les sources épigraphiques
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- Maarten Vermaseren (1963) Mithras, the Secret God
- Maarten Vermaseren (1982) Mithriaca III. The Mithraeum at Marino
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- Manfred Clauss (2000) The Roman Cult of Mithras. The God and His Mysteries
- Marcel Le Glay (1954) Le Mithraeum de Lambèse
- Multiple authors & Ugo Bianchi (1979) Mysteria Mithrae
- Musei Vaticani. Profane museum
- Musei d'Italia (2023) Ara
- Musée du Louvre (2023) candélabre
- Musée du Louvre (2023) groupe statuaire
- Musée du Louvre (2023) relief
- Nagy Levente (2024) M(arcus) Valerius Maximianus
- Nicolas Amoroso, Laurent Bricault & Richard Veymiers (eds.) (2021) The Mystery of Mithras. Exploring the heart of a Roman cult
- Official site. Parrocchia di Santa Prisca all'Aventino
- Pierre de Labriolle (2021) La Réaction païenne. Étude sur la polémique antichrétienne du Ier au VIe siècle
- Raffaella (2018) Roma: i sotterranei e il Mitreo di S.Prisca - I Viaggi di Raffaella
- Richard Gordon (1975) Cumont and the Doctrines of Mithraism.
- Robert Turcan (1993) Mithra et le Mithriacisme
- Roger Beck (2004) Beck on Mithraism. Collected Works with New Essays
- Roger Beck (2007) The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire. Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun
- Roger Pearse (2015) CIMRM 349 - Mithraeum of Piazza Dante. Esquiline, Rome, Italy
- Roger Pearse (2014) CIMRM Supplement - Mithraeum. S.Stephano Rotondo / Castra Peregrinorum, Rome
- Tertullian.org. CIMRM Supplement - Tauroctony. Cincinnati, USA
- The Walters Art Museum (2022) Cautopates with Signs of the Zodiac
- The Walters Art Museum (2022) Votive Altar to Mithras
- Ubi Erat Lupa. Statue Base of Alfenius Ceionius Iulianus Kamenius in Ubi Erat Lupa
- Vittoria Canciani (2022) Archaeological Evidence of the Cult of Mithras in Ancient Italy
- British Museum
- Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies
- Funerary ara of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and Aconia Fabia Paulina — Musei Capitolini
- Grave inscription of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and his wife Paulina — Alte Welt
- Mitreo del Circo Massimo — Sovrintendenza Capitolina
- Relief représentant Mithra, dieu iranien du Soleil, sacrifiant le taureau










