Of the grand Roman Atina, only a few visible remains survive today, while most of its heritage lies buried or has been damaged by time and neglect. In order to reconstruct the city’s history, archaeology is essential alongside literary sources, as it provides material evidence and concrete data—such as the altars exhibited here.
Le are erano altari votivi, simboli di elevazione verso la divinità. Nel mondo romano, il termine “ara” indicava una mensa sacrificale: un blocco in pietra, cilindrico o poligonale, su cui si svolgevano riti propiziatori, purificatori e sacrificali. Questi altari venivano spesso decorati con rilievi raffinati, rappresentazioni di divinità e scene mitologiche. In epoca ellenistica, le are assunsero un carattere monumentale, come l’Ara Pacis a Roma o l’Altare di Zeus a Pergamo.
Dedicatory Altar
"Digizia Marcellina, daughter of Lucius, dedicates [this] to her excellent mother, Eria Mansueta, daughter of Quintus. The land required was granted by decree of the council of decurions."
Dedicatory Altar of Gaius Marius
Discovered in 1876 beneath the Vassalli Tower, in the bed of the Rio Cancello stream, this inscription mentions Gaius Marius, a farmer who tended the villa of the poet Martial in Atina.
“To the Divine Manes. Gaius Marius Mercurius erected [this] for Gaius Marius Januarius, freedman of Gaius, his most devoted and worthy brother.”