Funerary Inscription for Metilia Acte CIL 14. 371

This artfully sculpted sarcophagus, found at Ostia and dating from 161-170 CE, held the bodies of Metilia Acte, priestess of the Magna Deum Mater (the goddess Cybele), and her husband, Caius Junius Euhodus, magister of the guild of fabri tignarii (carpenters). Because of the expenses entailed in these positions, it is thought that Metilia and her husband were of high social rank and wealth in the community. During her one-year term of office, Metilia would have been responsible for the upkeep of the temple of the Magna Mater (see her Temple in Rome) and required to attend all services and sacrifices to the goddess and to preside at the celebration of the goddess's mysteries. As part of this ceremony, Metilia gave a public banquet. After her term of office, she would have been given a seat on the council that supervised the cult's celebrations. While the sides of the sarcophagus are decorated with cult musical instruments and the head of Attis (consort of Cybele), its front contains several scenes from the myth of Alcestis. In the section depicting her return from the dead and reunion with her husband, Alcestis has the facial features of Metilia and Admetus those of her husband -- perhaps a reflection of their hope to attain immortality through the cult (also see Roman Priestesses).

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