Symmachus, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Eusebius

Symmachus, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Eusebius

▪ Roman statesman
born c. 345
died 402, Ravenna [Italy]

      Roman statesman, a brilliant orator and writer who was a leading opponent of Christianity.

      Symmachus was the son of a consular family of great distinction and wealth. His oratorical ability brought him an illustrious official career culminating in the proconsulship of Africa in 373, the city prefecture at Rome in 383–384, and the consulship for 391. When the emperor Gratian (367–383), under the influence of the Christian bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose (Ambrose, Saint), ordered the Altar of Victory to be removed from the Senate House at Rome in 382, Symmachus, who was an earnest pagan, was appointed by the Senate to go to Milan to plead with the emperor to cancel this anti-pagan measure; but the mission was a failure. After Gratian's murder in 383, Symmachus renewed his plea to Valentinian II (375–392) to revoke Gratian's anti-pagan orders; largely owing to the opposition of St. Ambrose, however, he was again unsuccessful. Symmachus's “Third Relatio to the Emperor,” written on this topic, and St. Ambrose's two letters of opposition survive. Symmachus's oration De ara Victoriae was considered so brilliant that even after 19 years the poet Prudentius found it necessary to write a reply to it. The increasingly Christian character of Valentinian's court caused Symmachus to lose much of his influence; but when Magnus Maximus drove Valentinian from Italy in 387, Symmachus, who was regarded as the leader of the Senate, was appointed to offer the new emperor the Senate's congratulations on his elevation. When Theodosius I reconquered Italy for Valentinian in 388, Symmachus was forgiven and appointed consul for 391. Under the pagan rule of Eugenius and Arbogast in 392–394 he apparently regained some of his influence and survived under Honorius until 402. The details of Symmachus's career are known from an extant inscription, set up by his son.

      Symmachus's orations have been lost, except for fragments of eight speeches, but 900 letters were published by his son, Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus, who edited them in imitation of the letters of Pliny the Younger, in 10 books—nine of private letters and one consisting of letters to the emperor. The last includes his 49 formal addresses, or relationes, to Valentinian II while Symmachus was praefectus urbi. The standard critical edition of the Latin text is Q. Aurelii Symmachi Quae Supersunt (1883), edited by Otto Seeck. Symmachus's Relationes were translated in R.H. Barrow's Prefect and Emperor: The Relationes of Symmachus, AD 384 (1973).

Additional Reading
Useful books on Symmachus and his times include Samuel Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire, 2nd ed. rev. (1899, reprinted 1973); Arnaldo Momigliano (ed.), The Conflict Between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century (1963); and John Matthews, Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court, AD 365–425 (1975, reprinted 1990).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Quintus Aurelius Symmachus — Flügel eines Elfenbeindiptychons mit Inschrift „SYMMACHORUM“. Die Frau stellt eine Priesterin des Bacchus dar. Eiche und Altar repräsentieren den Kult des Jupiter. Quintus Aurelius Symmachus (* um 342; † 402/403) war ein nichtchristlicher Senator …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ancient Rome — ▪ ancient state, Europe, Africa, and Asia Introduction       the state centred on the city of Rome. This article discusses the period from the founding of the city and the regal period, which began in 753 BC, through the events leading to the… …   Universalium

  • Gratian — /gray shee euhn, sheuhn/, n. (Flavius Gratianus) A.D. 359 383, Roman emperor 375 383. * * * Latin in full Flavius Gratianus Augustus born 359, Sirmium, Pannonia died Aug. 25, 383, Lugdunum, Lugdunensis Roman emperor (r. 367–83). He originally… …   Universalium

  • Ambrose, Saint — born 339, Augusta Treverorum, Belgica, Gaul died 397, Milan; feast day December 7 Bishop of Milan. Raised in Rome, he became a Roman provincial governor. As a compromise candidate he was unexpectedly elevated from unbaptized layman to bishop of… …   Universalium

  • Valentinian II — A.D. c371 392, emperor of the Western Roman Empire 375 392. Also, Valentinianus II. * * * ▪ Roman emperor Latin in full  Flavius Valentinianus  born 371, Treveri, Belgica [modern Trier, Germany] died May 15, 392, Vienna, Viennensis [modern Vienne …   Universalium

  • Список римских консулов — Список содержит имена и даты полномочий древнеримских магистратов эпонимов (по которым назывались года): консулов, децемвиров, диктаторов и военных трибунов с консульской властью. Эпонимами в Риме, очевидно, являлись также и интеррексы, однако из …   Википедия

  • Список консулов Римской империи — Консульская процессия. Штучная мозаика из римской базилики Юния Басса (IV век). Список консулов …   Википедия

  • Consuls romains du Bas-Empire — Liste des consuls romains du Bas Empire Liste des consuls ordinaires romains de la mort de Commode, en 192 ap. J. C.aius jusqu en 541. Pour les consuls du Haut Empire, consulter Liste des consuls romains du Haut Empire Les consuls ordinaires qui… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste Des Consuls Romains Du Bas-Empire — Liste des consuls ordinaires romains de la mort de Commode, en 192 ap. J. C.aius jusqu en 541. Pour les consuls du Haut Empire, consulter Liste des consuls romains du Haut Empire Les consuls ordinaires qui entraient en charge au début de l année… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des consuls romains du Bas-Empire — Liste des consuls ordinaires romains de la mort de Commode, en 192 ap. J. C.aius jusqu en 541. Pour les consuls du Haut Empire, consulter Liste des consuls romains du Haut Empire Les consuls ordinaires qui entraient en charge au début de l année… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”