One of the most represented cults typical for ancient Macedonians is that of Heracles. The cult was confirmed through the temple in the city on Isar at the village of Marvinci, Valandovo, by an inscription made on white marble: “To Heracles and to the city, according to a vow, Marcus Tettius Rufus, a soldier in the second praetorian cohort in the centuria of Marcellinus, made a gift and a temple at his own expense, in 79/80 C.E.”
After it had probably been demolished or damaged in an earthquake, the temple was restored in 181/2 C.E., as is known from the inscription engraved on its architrave: “On behalf of the whole world, for their fatherland, the Macedoniarchs restored the temple”. The Macedoniarchs were officials in the provincial council, who, among other tasks, dealt with issues of cult practices.
A white marble statuette, from the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd century, also points to the continuity of the cult of Heracles in the city on Isar – Marvinci, which, together with the inscription about the construction of the temple, is displayed in the Lapidarium of the Museum.
