#Sploink! #palazzo_maffei #maffei #verona

ALTAR TO SOL INVICTUS AND MITHRAS, 183 CE. PALAZZO MEDICI RICCARDI, FLORENCE Soli inbicto Mitre (!) / M. Ulp(ius) Maximus prae/positus tabellari/orum aram cum / suis ornamentis / et bela domini / insicnis habentes (!) / n(umero) IIII / ut voverat d(onum) d(edit) This inscription dedicates the gift of this altar to the Undefeated Sun and Mithras by M. Ulpius Maximus, chief postman, along with its decorations, perhaps in metal, and four sails of lord (Mithras) that he had vowed. A smaller inscription above names one Sextus Creusina Secundus, a priest, as being present for the placing of the altar, as Maximus and his son Maximinus had vowed, when Commodus was consul for the fourth time and Victorinus was consul for the second time (ie, 183 CE). The regular replacement of "b" for "v" is interesting. The "vela" or sail was a Mithraic symbol, but here seems real, not symbolic. Postmen or messengers (tabellarii) were imperial workers, and this one might be the son of a freedman of Trajan's.

#EpigraphyTuesday comes to us from #Florence this week, where we find this #altar with a dedication by a head postman to the Undefeated Sun and #Mithras from 183 CE. It first appeared in the #Maffei collection in #Rome and then entered palazzo #Medici #Riccardi. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Photo-collage: Right part, Jolly Diver Photography | Left part, Giulia lensed by Marco Maffei | Available as a non-fungible token (NFT)

"An Extraordinary Affair"; Photo-collage: Right part, Jolly #Diver Photography | Left part, Giulia lensed by Marco #Maffei | Available as a non-fungible token #NFT #Collage #Montage #Manipulation #Raskolnick #Art #Nude #Artistic #Nudity #Nudefineart #Fineartnude #artnudes #flashfiction #bskyart

#Lanz konfrontiert #Maffei mit Aufnahmen aus den 70ern. Der hat kein Anstand,der Mensch! Wir müssen dabei auch noch zuschauen!