Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius
Encyclopedia
Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius (floruit 527-534) was a Roman senator and consul
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, consul in 486, and related to Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
, an influential aristocrat of the late 4th century. In 527, Mavortius held the positions of Comes domesticorum (Commander of the Imperial Guard) and consul.
Subscriptions in three manuscripts containing the works of Horace
state that Mavortius emended one text of that poet in the sixth century. The scholar Vollmer believed Mavortius' copy was the archetype of the entire tradition, but R.J. Tarrant argues that the subscription was copied from Mavortius' manuscript into an unrelated book, then found its way into the three surviving manuscripts -- which otherwise belong to different branches of the manuscript transmission. A subscription with Mavortius' name also appears in a sixth-century manuscript of Prudentius
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Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
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Biography
Mavortius was probably the son of Caecina Mavortius Basilius DeciusCaecina Mavortius Basilius Decius
Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius was a Roman politician under Odoacer's rule. He was consul and Praefectus urbi of Rome in 486 and Praetorian prefect of Italy from 486 to 493.- Life :...
, consul in 486, and related to 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...
, an influential aristocrat of the late 4th century. In 527, Mavortius held the positions of Comes domesticorum (Commander of the Imperial Guard) and consul.
Subscriptions in three manuscripts containing the works of Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
state that Mavortius emended one text of that poet in the sixth century. The scholar Vollmer believed Mavortius' copy was the archetype of the entire tradition, but R.J. Tarrant argues that the subscription was copied from Mavortius' manuscript into an unrelated book, then found its way into the three surviving manuscripts -- which otherwise belong to different branches of the manuscript transmission. A subscription with Mavortius' name also appears in a sixth-century manuscript of Prudentius
Prudentius
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis in 348. He probably died in Spain, as well, some time after 405, possibly around 413...
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Further reading
- MacGill, Scott, Virgil Recomposed: The Mythological and Secular Centos in Antiquity, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0195175646, pp.72-73.
- John Robert Martindale, "Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius", in Prosopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1980, ISBN 0-521-20159-4, pp. 736–737.