Some Aspects of Religiosity in Ostia Antica Through Mosaics

Abstract

While mythology is one of the most widespread themes in the mosaics of Ostia Antica (both floor and non-floor), some compositions have a marked importance from a religious and cultic point of view. We intend to examine the mosaic representations of aspects of the Ostian cults, among which that of Mithras stands out in a particular way for its diffusion and for the amplitude of its testimonies. The mosaic undoubtedly had the purpose of immediate visual communication of its contents, also because the religion of Mithras was accepted above all by low-level believers for whom communication through images was more suitable. However, in Ostia, among the followers of the cult, there is evidence of high-ranking personages, perhaps even belonging to the imperial family. Next to that of Mithras we want to highlight the cult of Sabazio, of other oriental divinities in the past traces have been found, sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly, in the House of the Dioscures, in the House of the Fishes, in the Neptune’s baths and in the opus sectile building of the Marine Gate (4th century AD).