Mithras Statue in Mithreum

Poetovio was one of the largest centers of Mithraism in Europe. Five Mithras shrines have so far been uncovered in Ptuj, where the military and central customs, as well as provincial tax offices were headquartered. The largest Mithras shrine was erected in the densely built residential quarter of the town in today’s Zgornji Breg. The 3rd-century shrine is full of altars with dedications by the soldiers of the XIII Gemina and V Macedonica legions. Alongside original shrine furnishings, the exhibited artefacts include a relief panel dedicated to Nutrices – the noble nurses, a bust of the fertility goddess Great Mother, altar panels from the Mithras shrine in Modrič na Pohorju, and a panel with a relief of Saxanus, the patron saint of stonemasons, from Šmartno na Pohorju.