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Mogontiacum (Mainz)

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Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.

Reconstructed Jupiter Column from Mainz (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.

One of the best-known monuments of Mainz is this 10 meter high column, dedicated to the supreme god Jupiter and once standing somewhere in the city. One must imagine a life-size statue standing on top of it (cf. this Jupiter column from Maastricht). The pillar was excavated in 1904-1905 near an ancient merchants' area, north of Mainz. It had been smashed to pieces (more than 2000) in Antiquity; perhaps by Christians who wanted to show that Jupiter was a false god. Later, the fragments were carefully buried, indicating that there were people who still appreciated the monument.

This photo shows a modern copy, not far from the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum. The real monument is in the Landesmuseum.

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From left to right

the top, which consists of a Corinthian capital and a cube that served as base of a statue;
the five parts of the round shaft, decorated with all kinds of gods.
and the square pedestal, which consists of two parts, and is also decorated with deities. In the upper part, you can read the dedication; on the lower part, the main god, which faced the visitor, is Jupiter.

Iovi Optimo Maximo
PRO SALVTE ~~NERO-~~
~~NIS~~ CLAVDI CAE-
SARIS AVGusti IMPeratoris
CANABARI PVBLICE
Pvblio SVLPICIO SCRIBONIO
PROCVLO LEGato AVGvstiPRoPRaetore
CVRA ET IMPENSA
Qvinti IVLI PRISCI ET
Qvinti IVLI AVETI
(CIL XIII.11806a; more...)

To Jupiter, greatest and best,
for the health of Nero
Claudius Cae-
sar Augustus, imperator,
by the cannabae community.
Publius Sulpicius Scribonius
Proculus was governor.
Made and paid for by
Quintus Julius Priscus and
Quintus Julius Avetus

The name of the emperor Nero proves that this inscription was made was made between 54 and 68; and that Nero was detested, is shown by the fact that someone made an effort to erase his name (damnatio memoriae, "condemnation of the memory"). The two Quintus Julii appear to have been decuriones.

The columns is decorated by representations of, all in all, twenty-eight deities. This is one of the divine twins Castor and Pollux.

Mainz column; the god Apollo. Landesmuseum, Mainz (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.

And this is Helius, who must have been identified to Mogon, the sun god after whom Mogontiacum may have been called. He is sitting in his chariot, drawn by four horses.

On top of the column was the statue of Jupiter. Some fragments survive and prove that it was made of bronze and covered with gold leaf. If the sun was shining, the monument must have been visible from far away, and must have greeted the visitors.

At the foot of the column, the two sculptors have written their names: Samus and Severus, the sons of a man with a native name, Venicarus.

Ruins of the sanctuary of Isis and Cybele in Mainz (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.

The sanctuary of the Egyptian mother goddess Isis and her Phrygian counterpart Cybele was almost certainly built after the emperor Vespasian (69-79) claimed special protection from Isis. It is very interesting, because it shows how rapid oriental religions spread to Gaul and the Rhineland. A century after the construction of this temple, Irenaeus of Lyon mentions the first Christians in Germania Superior.

The sanctuary was unexpectedly discovered in 2000 when a shopping mall was built in the center of Mainz. The remains have been made accessible. This painting the Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis, was one of the finds. Among the other finds were no less then three hundred oil lamps, which must have been used during the mysteries that were performed in this temple. Chicken bones suggest what kind of sacrifice was offered to the goddesses.

This is a representation of Harpocrates, who was also connected to the cult of Isis. The archaeologists also found grains and pine nuts, which must have been burnt on the altar, and exotic fruits such as dates and figs, which must have been imported from Syria or Egypt. Another nice statue is a bronze of Mercurius, who holds a wallet in his hand.

This little dwarf is made of massive bronze, to which lips and a wreath of copper were added. The nails of the little man's toes and fingers are made of silver. It is possibly an import from Italy our southern France and was almost certainly made in the first century. The man or woman who left this votive gift must have been very wealthy.

What it means, is another question. Small people are known from Germanic myth and sagas, and are usually connected to the treasures of the earth: sometimes, they are mineworkers, sometimes, they are smiths. On the other hand, the Greeks and Romans associated Egypt with pygmees, so it is possible that this dwarf played a role in the cult of Isis. If we understood his gestures, we might solve this puzzle.

It is certain that the sanctuary was still in use in the third century. This little terracotta statuette, showing two lovers in a tight embrace, appears to belong to the latest artifacts left at the site. Terracottas were cheaper than bronze statuettes, so this present was probably offered to the goddesses by someone of modest means. One wonders what kind of prayer accompanied the offering, and hopes that it was fulfilled. (Similar statuettes can be seen in the archeological museums of Trier and Frankfurt.)

These little tablets were dedicated to the great goddess to request good health for the emperors, the Senate, the People, and the Army of Rome.

Reconstructed honorific arch from Mainz (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.

From the mid-third century survives a small honorific arch, dedicated to the imperial family by a man named Dativius Victor. This is a copy; again, the real monument is in the Landesmuseum. The inscription, included in the Corpus Inscription Latinarum as XIII.6705, reads:

IN Honorem Domus Divinae Iovi Optimo Maximo CONSERVATORI

ARCVS CVM SIGNIS

QVOS DATIVIVS VICTOR DECurio CIVITatis TAVNENSis VICANIS MO
GONTIACENSIBVS PROMISIS VICTORIVS VRSVS ET VICTORIVS LVPVS
FILIi ET HEREDES CONSUMMAVERVNT
(more...)

This means that Dativius Victor, decurio in the town of the Taunus people (i.e., Frankfurt) and former provincial chief priest of the imperial cult, dedicated this arch with its decorations to Jupiter, the greatest and best of the gods, to honor the divine imperial dynasty, as he had promised to the people of Mainz. The monument was finished by Victorius Ursus ("the bear"), grain merchant, and Victorius Lupus ("the wolf"), Victor's sons and heirs.

The emperor who was thus honored remains unidentified, but Valerian (253-260) is a good guess, because his son was Gallienus was co-ruler and visited Mainz.

The top of the arch in the museum. You can see the signs of the Zodiac, and in the center the supreme god Jupiter and his wife Juno. To the left and right are sacrificial scenes. The stones survived because they were included in the second Roman city wall that was built in the mid-fourth century.

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