CIMRM 660 - Statue base with Inscription. S. Maria Vecchia, Ficulle, Umbria, Italy.

By Bill Thayer. From: LacusCurtius, with a description of the church of S. Maria Vecchia.

By Bill Thayer. From: LacusCurtius, where details given.

CIMRM entry

A statue base with inscription. Currently inside the church of S. Maria Vecchia, in Ficulle in Umbria.¹ Supposedly found "on the other side of the Paglia river".
660.
Base, "trovata nelle vigne al di là del Paglia".
CIL XI 2684 = CIL VI 3723; MMM II No. 161.
Soli invicto / Mitrhae(sic!) / Tiberius Claudi/us Tiberi filius / Thermodon /
spelaeum cum / signis et ara / ceterisque / voti compos / dedit.
Of a Tiberius Claudius Thermodon we know dedications to Diana (CIL XI 2683) and to the Fortuna Primigenia (CIL XIV 2853).

I.e. "To the unconquered sun Mithras, Tiberius Claudius Thermodon, son of Tiberius, has given the mithraeum (spelaeum) with its statues and altar and other requisites, mindful of his vow."²

The statue is listed by Vermaseren in the section for Volsinii in Etruria, and the same by Cumont, who adds ³:

Cf. CIL, XI, 2683. [D]iana[e sacr]um | Ti. Cla(udius) Thermodon | d(onum) d(edit). - M. Bormann rapproche aussi l'inscription de Préneste [XIV, 2853] Fortunae | Primigeniae | Ti. Claudius | Thermodon et | Mettia M. f. | Lochias eius | simulacra duo Spei corolitica d. d. Peut-être est-ce toujours le même personnage.

See the details of the church on the Lacus Curtius site by Bill Thayer, to whom many thanks for permission to use the photographs.

Translation adapted from that of Manfred Clauss, The Roman cult of Mithras, Oxford, p.43: "Because the buildings were so small, it was often possible for a single individual to pay the entire costs out of his own pocket. There is a statue base at Volsinii (Bolsena, Etruria) with a brief account of the mithraeum and its contents, all given by a single Mithraist: Soli Invicto Mitrhae (!) / Tiberius Claudius Tiberi filius / Thermodon / spelaeum cum signis et ara ceterisque voti compos dedit, 'To the invincible god Mithras, Tiberius Claudius Thermodon, son of Tiberius, mindful of his vow, has given the mithraeum with its statuary, and altar, and the other requisites'. (V 660)."

Vol. 2, p.122; item 161.