Aconia Fabia Paulina
Encyclopedia
Aconia Fabia Paulina was an aristocratic woman and one of the last pagan Romans who tried to save the Roman religion from decline.
, a prominent aristocrat who held the offices of Praefectus urbi
of Rome in 342-344 and was Consul in 349. In 344, Paulina married Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
, a prominent exponent of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, an important imperial officer and a member of several pagan circles; Paulina was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries
and to the Lernian mysteries of Dionysus
and Demeter
, was devoted to several female deities, such as Ceres, Hecate
(of whom she was hierophant
), the Magna Mater (as a tauroboliatus) and Isis
.
Praetextatus and Paulina owned at least two houses. The first was on the Esquiline Hill
, probably situated between via Merulana and viale del Monte Oppio in ome] , where the modern Palazzo Brancaccio stands (41°53′39.83"N 12°29′59.09"E). The garden around the palace, the so-called Horti Vettiani, extended to the modern Roma Termini railway station
. Archaeological investigations in this area brought out several discoveries related to Praetextatus' family. Among them was the base of a statue dedicated to Coelia Concordia
, one of the last Vestal Virgins, who had erected a statue in honour of Praetextatus after his death (384); in exchange for this honour, which caused the reprobation of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
on the basis that the Vestals never erected statues to men, Paulina dedicated a statue to Concordia. They also had a house on the Aventine Hill
.
On the base of the funerary monument to Pratextatus, Paulina had a poem composed by herself inscribed, which celebrated her husband and their love, a poem probably derived by the oration read by Paulina at her husband's funeral. This poem is cited by Jerome
in a letter in which he mocks Praetextatus, claiming he was not in paradise but in hell.
Paulina died shortly after her husband. Their son or daughter dedicated them a funerary monument with statues in their house.
Biography
Paulina was the daughter of Fabius Aconius Catullinus PhilomathiusFabius Aconius Catullinus Philomathius
Fabius Aconius Catullinus signo Philomathius was an aristocrat and a politician of the Late Roman Empire.- Biography :...
, a prominent aristocrat who held the offices of Praefectus urbi
Praefectus urbi
The praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and held high importance in late Antiquity...
of Rome in 342-344 and was Consul in 349. In 344, Paulina married Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus was a wealthy pagan aristocrat in 4th-century Roman Empire and a high priest in the cults of numerous gods...
, a prominent exponent of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, an important imperial officer and a member of several pagan circles; Paulina was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...
and to the Lernian mysteries of Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
and Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
, was devoted to several female deities, such as Ceres, Hecate
Hecate
Hecate or Hekate is a chthonic Greco-Roman goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, necromancy, and crossroads.She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony...
(of whom she was hierophant
Hierophant
A hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the...
), the Magna Mater (as a tauroboliatus) and Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
.
Praetextatus and Paulina owned at least two houses. The first was on the Esquiline Hill
Esquiline Hill
The Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Its southern-most cusp is the Oppius .-Etymology:The origin of the name Esquilino is still under much debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of holm-oaks, exculi, that resided there...
, probably situated between via Merulana and viale del Monte Oppio in ome] , where the modern Palazzo Brancaccio stands (41°53′39.83"N 12°29′59.09"E). The garden around the palace, the so-called Horti Vettiani, extended to the modern Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini is the main train station of Rome. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian , which lie across the street from the main entrance.-Overview:The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities as well...
. Archaeological investigations in this area brought out several discoveries related to Praetextatus' family. Among them was the base of a statue dedicated to Coelia Concordia
Coelia Concordia
Coelia Concordia was the last vestal virgin in history and the last Vestalis Maxima or Chief Vestal. The Temple of Vesta was closed in 391 by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, and Coelia stepped down from her post in 394. She converted to Christianity later in her life, and died twelve years...
, one of the last Vestal Virgins, who had erected a statue in honour of Praetextatus after his death (384); in exchange for this honour, which caused the reprobation of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391...
on the basis that the Vestals never erected statues to men, Paulina dedicated a statue to Concordia. They also had a house on the Aventine Hill
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome.-Location and boundaries:The Aventine hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills...
.
On the base of the funerary monument to Pratextatus, Paulina had a poem composed by herself inscribed, which celebrated her husband and their love, a poem probably derived by the oration read by Paulina at her husband's funeral. This poem is cited by Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
in a letter in which he mocks Praetextatus, claiming he was not in paradise but in hell.
Paulina died shortly after her husband. Their son or daughter dedicated them a funerary monument with statues in their house.
Secondary sources
- Kahlos, Maijastina, "Paulina and the Death of Praetextatus", Arduum res gestas scribere
- Kahlos, Maijastina, Vettius Agorius Praetextatus. A senatorial life in between, Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, Roma, 2002, ISBN 952-532305-6 (Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae, 26).
- Lanciani, Rodolfo, Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries, Houghton & Mifflin, Boston e New York, 1898, pp. 169-170.
- Stevenson, Jane, Women Latin Poets, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0198185022, pp. 71-72.
- Thayer, Bill, "Honorific Inscription of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus", Lacus Curtius