SEMO SANCUS
a statue of Semo Sancus Dius Fidius on the island in the
Tiber, where an inscription of the second century was found in 1574
(
CIL vi. 567). The marble base on which this inscription is placed
supported a statue which, because of the similarity of names, the early
Christians mistook for one of Simon Magus (Justin Mart. Apol. pr. 25, 56;
Iren. contra haeres. i. 23; Tert. adv. gent. 13; Cyrill. Hierosol. Catechesis 6; Euseb. Hist. eccles. ii. 13, 14). There is no evidence for the
existence of any shrine or altar here, and the cult of Semo Sancus may
well have been connected with that of
IUPITER IURARIUS (q.v.), and this
statue may have stood at or near his temple (HJ 636; Besnier 273-279,
286-289;
Rosch. iv. 318-319; RE i. A. 2255).
