Sidon (Syria and Phoenicia, Greater Syria and the East — Pleiades map), 188 or 389 CE
IMithras 84-85
= F. Baratte, "Le Mithreum de Sidon : Certitudes et questions," Topoi 11 (2001) 205-227, at 207
= AGRW ID# 23054
Inscription on the base of a statue of a lion-headed figure of Parian marble (108 cm high). Now in the Louvre. The statue (see photo below) depicts a standing triple-headed Hekate surrounded by three dancing Nymphs. The dedicator Gerontios appears on two other inscriptions from Sidon (see IMithras 76 and 78-79 – also on this site). His title of "father" pertains to his role in the mysteries of Mithras. The title "father of the customs" or "lawful father" is also attested at Tomis (in Scythia) in connection with a priest of Hekate (see SEG 57 [2007], 680 on this site). For the use of fictive parental language for leaders or benefactors of associations, see Harland 2009.
I, Flavius Gerontios, father of the customs (patēr nomimos), dedicated the goddess as a thanksgiving in the 500th year (either of the Seleukid era or the Sidonian era).
Translation by: HarlandΦλ. Γερόντιος, πατὴρ νόμιμος, εὐχαριστῶν τὴν θέον ἀφιερωσάτω φʹ ἔτι.
IMithras (IMithras) 84-85.
Photo by Carole Raddato from Wikimedia Commons.
Used under a Creative Commons license.
Item added: February 22, 2016
Item modified: February 22, 2016
ID number: 23054
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