Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Encyclopedia
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (ca. 315–384) was a wealthy pagan aristocrat in 4th-century Roman Empire
and a high priest in the cults of numerous gods. He served as the praetorian prefect
at the court of Emperor Valentinian II
in 384 until his death that same year.
and Ammianus Marcellinus
, supplemented by some epigraphical records.
Symmachus (320 c. – 402 c.) was a leading member of the senatorial aristocracy of his time and the best orator of his age. Symmachus' letters, speeches and relations have been preserved and testify a sincere friendship between Symmachus and Praetextatus: according to Symmachus, Praetextatus was a good magistrate and a virtuous man.
Ammianus Marcellinus (330 c. – 390 c.) tells about Praetextatus in three passages of his Res Gestae: in all of them Ammianus shows appreciation of Praetextatus' actions, while the same author is usually critical about the members of the Senate; for this reason some historians think Ammianus and Praetextatus knew each other.
Several inscriptions referring to Praetextatus has been preserved, and among them the most important is the one on the funerary monument to Praetextatus and his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
; other informations are provided in some law addressed to Praetextatus as praefectus urbi
and praetorian prefect
, and preserved in the Theodosian Code, in some letters addressed to him by Emperor Valentinian III
about a religious dispute and preserved in the Collectio Avellana
.
Jerome
(347–420), a Christian writer and theologian, knew the Roman aristocracy through his acquaintances among the Roman matrons. He wrote about Praetextatus in two letters and in his polemic Contra Ioannem Hierosolymitanum (397); the sorrow caused by the death of Praetextatus was so diffused among his acquaintances that Jerome wrote a letter to a matron in which he wrote that Praetextatus was in hell.
A different kind of source is represented by the philosopher and writer Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, who made Praetextatus the main character of his Saturnalia, a book describing the Pagan renaissance of the late 4th century. However the Saturnalia was written half a century after Praetextatus' death, so his description is highly idealised.
Finally, two later historians wrote about Praetextatus. The first is Zosimus
, a Pagan historian who lived in the first half of the 6th century and author of the Historia Nova, who described Praetextatus as a defender of the Hellenic cults in Greece; the second historian is Joannes Laurentius Lydus
, who lived in the second half of the 6th century, and who talks about a hierophant
named Praetextatus, but this identification is uncertain.
. They also state that in 384, the year of his death, Praetextatus had been married to his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
for forty years; if Paulina was his first wife and if they married when he was twenty/twenty-five years old, as custom among the senatorial aristocracy, his birth can be assumed between 314 and 319. According to Joannes Lydus
, however, a "Praetextatus the hierophant" and the Neo-platonic philosopher Sopater of Apamea
participated to the polismós ceremony during the foundation of Constantinople
, around 330. As aristocrats took sacerdotal roles very young, it is possible that this Praetextatus was Vettius Agorius, who actually was Pontifex Vestae; in this case, he would have been born between 310 and 324.
As regards Praetextatus' family, sources are silent and only hypothesis can be drawn. Gaius Vettius Cossinus Rufinus (Praefectus urbi
of Rome in 315–316) could have been his father, both because of their names and because they followed a similar career (corrector Tusciae et Umbriae, proconsul Achaiae, pontifex Solis and augur): in the senatorial aristocracy, the sons often held the same political, administrative and religious positions. However, several years pass between their offices (Praetextatus was praefectus urbi in 367), so it has been proposed that Cossinus Rufinus was the father of Vettius Rufinus (Consul in 323), who was Praetextatus' father.
Nonetheless, we know that Praetextatus' family was ancient and noble, and therefore he possessed a network of relationships with other members of the senatorial aristocracy, a network that was used also to gain advantages. His acquaintances included Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
, his father Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus
, Virius Nicomachus Flavianus and probably the senators Volusius Venustus
and Minervius. An example of this network of relationships is the very wedding between Praetextatus and his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
, celebrated around 344 (they had been married for 40 years in 384); Paulina, in fact, was the daughter of Fabius Aconius Catullinus Philomathius
, Praefectus urbi in 342–344 and Consul in 349. They had at least a son, recalled in the funeral eulogy and the author of an inscription in honour of his father, dated to little time after his death and found in their home on the Aventine. Even if most historians identify the commissioner of the inscription with a son, this could be also a daughter, maybe the Praetextata cited by Jerome
. Finally, Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius
, Consul in 527 and with an interest in literature ad Praetextatus had, could have been his great-grandson.
.
Praetextatus held several religious positions: pontifex of Vesta
and Sol
, augur
, tauroboliatus, curialis of Hercules
, neocorus
, hierophant
, priest of Liber
and of the Eleusinian mysteries
. He also held several political and administrative positions: he was quaestor, corrector
Tusciae et Umbriae, Governor of Lusitania
, Proconsul of Achaea
, praefectus urbi in 384 and was praetorian prefect
of Italy and Illyricum, as well as consul
elected for the year 385, an honour he did not hold because he died in the late 384.
In 370, several senators were tried for alleged magic practices by prefect Maximinus
; Praetextatus led a senatorial legation to emperor Valentinian I
, including Volusius Venustus
and Minervius, which had the task to ask Valentinian to avoid torture for those senators involved in trials; the three of them were allowed at the presence of the Emperor, who denied having given such a disposition, but, thanks to the influence of the quaestor Eupraxius, the rights of the senators were restored.
While holding the office of praefectus urbi, he gave back to the Bishop of Rome, Damasus
, the basilica of Sicininus and had the other bishop, Ursicinus
, expelled from Rome, thus restoring peace in the city, even if he granted an amnesty to the followers of the defeated bishop. His justice was celebrated; he had removed those private structures that were built against pagan temples (the so called maeniana) and distributed within the whole city uniform and verified weights and measures. He also restored the Porticus Deorum Consentium in the Roman Forum
.
After his death, the Emperor asked the Roman Senate
for a copy of all his speeches, while the Vestal Virgins proposed to the Emperor to erect some statues in his honour.
, the Roman religion, in Late Antiquity
; he was particularly devoted to Vesta
, as was his wife. Praetextatus was friend with another major figure of the pagan aristocracy, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, with whom he exchanged letters partially conserved. According to Jerome, in reference to Bishop Damasus
' luxurious lifestyle, he joked to him "Make me bishop of Rome and I will become a Christian".
During his office as Proconsul of Achaea
he appealed against an edict by Emperor Valentinian I
(issued in 364) that forbade night sacrifices during the Mysteries: Praetextatus maintained that this edict made impossible for Pagans to keep their faith, and Valentinian nullified his own edict.
In 367, during his tenure as praefectus urbi
, he oversaw the restoration of the Porticus Deorum Consentium in the Roman Forum
(41°53′33.2"N 12°29′1.27"E), the last great monument devoted to a Pagan cult in Rome. Even if this was a simple restoration of the damaged statues and a renovation of the worship, it was a symbolic choice, as the Di Consentes were the protectors of the Senate, and therefore used to balance the power of the Emperor (it is significant the fact that the inscription does not mention the Emperor). It has been also proposed that the restoration of the cult of the Di Consentes appealed to Praetextatus as a propagation of "his ideology of the numen multiplex" cited in his funerary poem.
A few years before his death, while his friend Symmachus was praefectus urbi, Praetextatus held an important ceremony, a Pagan ascent to the Capitolium, an event that is recorded by Jerome: Praetextatus ascended, preceded by the highest magistrates, in a ceremony that was not a triumph
, but which was really close to a Pagan triumphal ceremony.
In 384, during his tenure as praetorian prefect
, he obtained by the Emperor Valentinian II
an edict about the persecution of the crimes of demolition of Pagan temples and the attribution of the related investigations to the praefectus urbi of Rome (who, at that time, was his friend Symmachus). Praetextatus' policy of restoration of the ancient Roman religion hit the Christian members of the imperial court (at Milan) and possibly it was for this reason that Symmachus, as friend and ally of Praetextatus', was falsely accused of torturing Christian priests: Symmachus responded that he was authorised by Praetextatus on the basis of the imperial edict and even Damasus supported him.
Praetextatus and Paulina had a palace located at the corner of via Merulana and viale del Monte Oppio (41°53′39.83"N 12°29′59.09"E) in Rome
, on the place of the modern Palazzo Brancaccio. 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 there is 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; the latter statue was criticised by Symmachus, who wrote a letter to Flavianus saying he opposed this erection because that was the first time that the Virgins had erected a statue to a man, even if pontifex.
, in the Greek version composed by the philosopher Themistius
; It is possible that Praetextatus knew Themistius, either meeting him in Constantinople or when the philosopher visited Rome (in 357, when Themistius followed Emperor Constantius II
as leader of the Senate of Constantinople, or in 376, when Themistius honoured Emperor Gratian
with a speech in the Roman Senate), and it is known he could read Greek, as he had been one of the quindecimvir sacri faciundi, who had to know Greek in order to read Sybilline books.
Praetextatus also collaborated with acquaintances of Symmachus and Nicomachus Flavianus in the emendation and transmission of texts of the traditional Roman culture. He was also the main character of the Saturnalia by Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, and might be the target of the anonymous Carmen contra paganos.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and a high priest in the cults of numerous gods. He served as the praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
at the court of Emperor Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
in 384 until his death that same year.
Sources
His life is primarily known through the works by Quintus Aurelius SymmachusQuintus 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...
and Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
, supplemented by some epigraphical records.
Symmachus (320 c. – 402 c.) was a leading member of the senatorial aristocracy of his time and the best orator of his age. Symmachus' letters, speeches and relations have been preserved and testify a sincere friendship between Symmachus and Praetextatus: according to Symmachus, Praetextatus was a good magistrate and a virtuous man.
Ammianus Marcellinus (330 c. – 390 c.) tells about Praetextatus in three passages of his Res Gestae: in all of them Ammianus shows appreciation of Praetextatus' actions, while the same author is usually critical about the members of the Senate; for this reason some historians think Ammianus and Praetextatus knew each other.
Several inscriptions referring to Praetextatus has been preserved, and among them the most important is the one on the funerary monument to Praetextatus and his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina was an aristocratic woman and one of the last pagan Romans who tried to save the Roman religion from decline.- Biography :...
; other informations are provided in some law addressed to Praetextatus as 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...
and praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
, and preserved in the Theodosian Code, in some letters addressed to him by Emperor Valentinian III
Valentinian III
-Family:Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. The former was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, and the latter was at the time Patrician and the power behind the throne....
about a religious dispute and preserved in the Collectio Avellana
Collectio Avellana
Collectio Avellana is a collection of 244 documents, dating from AD 367 to 553, that includes many imperial letters written to popes and others, imperial acts and papal letters and other documents that were gathered just after the mid- 6th century. Many of the documents have not been preserved in...
.
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...
(347–420), a Christian writer and theologian, knew the Roman aristocracy through his acquaintances among the Roman matrons. He wrote about Praetextatus in two letters and in his polemic Contra Ioannem Hierosolymitanum (397); the sorrow caused by the death of Praetextatus was so diffused among his acquaintances that Jerome wrote a letter to a matron in which he wrote that Praetextatus was in hell.
A different kind of source is represented by the philosopher and writer Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, who made Praetextatus the main character of his Saturnalia, a book describing the Pagan renaissance of the late 4th century. However the Saturnalia was written half a century after Praetextatus' death, so his description is highly idealised.
Finally, two later historians wrote about Praetextatus. The first is Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
, a Pagan historian who lived in the first half of the 6th century and author of the Historia Nova, who described Praetextatus as a defender of the Hellenic cults in Greece; the second historian is Joannes Laurentius Lydus
Joannes Laurentius Lydus
John the Lydian or John Lydus was a 6th century Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects. His works are of interest for specific data about classical events.- Life and career :...
, who lived in the second half of the 6th century, and who talks about a 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...
named Praetextatus, but this identification is uncertain.
Early life
Praetextatus' birthday is unknown, but the sources show he was born before Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus FlavianusVirius Nicomachus Flavianus
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus was a grammarian, a historian and a politician of the Roman Empire.A pagan and close friend of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, he was Praetorian prefect of Italy in 390–392 and, under usurper Eugenius , again praetorian prefect and consul...
. They also state that in 384, the year of his death, Praetextatus had been married to his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina was an aristocratic woman and one of the last pagan Romans who tried to save the Roman religion from decline.- Biography :...
for forty years; if Paulina was his first wife and if they married when he was twenty/twenty-five years old, as custom among the senatorial aristocracy, his birth can be assumed between 314 and 319. According to Joannes Lydus
Joannes Laurentius Lydus
John the Lydian or John Lydus was a 6th century Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects. His works are of interest for specific data about classical events.- Life and career :...
, however, a "Praetextatus the hierophant" and the Neo-platonic philosopher Sopater of Apamea
Sopater of Apamea
Sopater of Apamea , was a distinguished sophist and Neoplatonist philosopher.He was a disciple of Iamblichus, after whose death Sopater of Apamea (d. before 337), was a distinguished sophist and Neoplatonist philosopher.He was a disciple of Iamblichus, after whose death Sopater of Apamea (d. before...
participated to the polismós ceremony during the foundation of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, around 330. As aristocrats took sacerdotal roles very young, it is possible that this Praetextatus was Vettius Agorius, who actually was Pontifex Vestae; in this case, he would have been born between 310 and 324.
As regards Praetextatus' family, sources are silent and only hypothesis can be drawn. Gaius Vettius Cossinus Rufinus (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 315–316) could have been his father, both because of their names and because they followed a similar career (corrector Tusciae et Umbriae, proconsul Achaiae, pontifex Solis and augur): in the senatorial aristocracy, the sons often held the same political, administrative and religious positions. However, several years pass between their offices (Praetextatus was praefectus urbi in 367), so it has been proposed that Cossinus Rufinus was the father of Vettius Rufinus (Consul in 323), who was Praetextatus' father.
Nonetheless, we know that Praetextatus' family was ancient and noble, and therefore he possessed a network of relationships with other members of the senatorial aristocracy, a network that was used also to gain advantages. His acquaintances included 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...
, his father Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus
Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus
Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus signo Phosphorius was a politician of the Roman Empire, father of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus.-Biography:...
, Virius Nicomachus Flavianus and probably the senators Volusius Venustus
Volusius Venustus
Volusius Venustus was a politician of the Roman Empire.- Biography :Volusius Venustus set up a monument in the forum of Canosa in honour of Constantine I and his two sons...
and Minervius. An example of this network of relationships is the very wedding between Praetextatus and his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina
Aconia Fabia Paulina was an aristocratic woman and one of the last pagan Romans who tried to save the Roman religion from decline.- Biography :...
, celebrated around 344 (they had been married for 40 years in 384); Paulina, in fact, was the daughter of Fabius Aconius Catullinus Philomathius
Fabius Aconius Catullinus Philomathius
Fabius Aconius Catullinus signo Philomathius was an aristocrat and a politician of the Late Roman Empire.- Biography :...
, Praefectus urbi in 342–344 and Consul in 349. They had at least a son, recalled in the funeral eulogy and the author of an inscription in honour of his father, dated to little time after his death and found in their home on the Aventine. Even if most historians identify the commissioner of the inscription with a son, this could be also a daughter, maybe the Praetextata 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...
. Finally, Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius
Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius
Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius was a Roman senator and consul.- Biography :Mavortius was probably the son of Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius, consul in 486, and related to Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, an influential aristocrat of the late 4th century...
, Consul in 527 and with an interest in literature ad Praetextatus had, could have been his great-grandson.
Political and religious career
The tomb of Praetextatus and of his wife Aconia Fabia Paulina, conserved at the Musei Capitolini, records his cursus honorumCursus honorum
The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum...
.
Praetextatus held several religious positions: pontifex of Vesta
Vesta
-Astronomy:* 4 Vesta, second largest asteroid in the solar system, also a proto-planet, named after the Roman deity* Vesta family, group of asteroids that includes 4 Vesta- Places :* Monte Vesta, Lombardy, Italy* Temple of Vesta, Rome, Italy...
and Sol
Sol
Soľ is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 140 metres and covers an area of 10.286 km². It has a population of about 2,293 people....
, augur
Augur
The augur was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome and Etruria. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds: whether they are flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of...
, tauroboliatus, curialis of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, neocorus
Neocorus
Johann Adolf Köster was a pastor, teacher and historian in Büsum, Germany. He is better known by his Latin name Neocorus, under which he chronicled the medieval history of Dithmarschen...
, 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...
, priest of Liber
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber , also known as Liber Pater was a god of viticulture and wine, fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of their Aventine Triad. His festival of Liberalia became associated with free speech and the rights...
and of 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...
. He also held several political and administrative positions: he was quaestor, corrector
Corrector
A corrector is a person who or object that practices correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.The word is originally a Roman title corrector, derived from the Latin verb corrigēre, meaning "an action to rectify, to make right a wrong."Apart from the general sense of anyone who corrects...
Tusciae et Umbriae, Governor of Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
, Proconsul of Achaea
Achaea (Roman province)
Achaea, or Achaia, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece and parts of Thessaly. It bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus vetus and Macedonia...
, praefectus urbi in 384 and was praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
of Italy and Illyricum, as well as consul
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...
elected for the year 385, an honour he did not hold because he died in the late 384.
In 370, several senators were tried for alleged magic practices by prefect Maximinus
Maximinus (Praetorian Prefect)
Maximinus was a Roman barrister and Praetorian Prefect of the later fourth century AD.-Origins:Maximinus was born in Sopianae, Pannonia. His family was of Carpic origin. Maximinus' father was an accountant in the provincial government office of Pannonia Valeria.Maximinus studied law, and practiced...
; Praetextatus led a senatorial legation to emperor Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
, including Volusius Venustus
Volusius Venustus
Volusius Venustus was a politician of the Roman Empire.- Biography :Volusius Venustus set up a monument in the forum of Canosa in honour of Constantine I and his two sons...
and Minervius, which had the task to ask Valentinian to avoid torture for those senators involved in trials; the three of them were allowed at the presence of the Emperor, who denied having given such a disposition, but, thanks to the influence of the quaestor Eupraxius, the rights of the senators were restored.
While holding the office of praefectus urbi, he gave back to the Bishop of Rome, Damasus
Pope Damasus I
Pope Saint Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from 366 to 384.He was born around 305, probably near the city of Idanha-a-Velha , in what is present-day Portugal, then part of the Western Roman Empire...
, the basilica of Sicininus and had the other bishop, Ursicinus
Antipope Ursicinus
Ursicinus, also known as Ursinus, was elected pope in a violently contested election in 366 as a rival to Pope Damasus I. He ruled in Rome for several months in 366 – 367, was afterwards declared an antipope, and died after 381....
, expelled from Rome, thus restoring peace in the city, even if he granted an amnesty to the followers of the defeated bishop. His justice was celebrated; he had removed those private structures that were built against pagan temples (the so called maeniana) and distributed within the whole city uniform and verified weights and measures. He also restored the Porticus Deorum Consentium in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
.
After his death, the Emperor asked the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
for a copy of all his speeches, while the Vestal Virgins proposed to the Emperor to erect some statues in his honour.
Support to traditional Roman religion
Praetextatus was one of the last political supporters of the res divinaRes divina
In ancient Rome, res divinae, singular res divina , were the laws that pertained to the religious duties of the state and its officials...
, the Roman religion, in Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
; he was particularly devoted to Vesta
Vesta (mythology)
Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred fire that burned at her hearth and temples...
, as was his wife. Praetextatus was friend with another major figure of the pagan aristocracy, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, with whom he exchanged letters partially conserved. According to Jerome, in reference to Bishop Damasus
Pope Damasus I
Pope Saint Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from 366 to 384.He was born around 305, probably near the city of Idanha-a-Velha , in what is present-day Portugal, then part of the Western Roman Empire...
' luxurious lifestyle, he joked to him "Make me bishop of Rome and I will become a Christian".
During his office as Proconsul of Achaea
Achaea (Roman province)
Achaea, or Achaia, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece and parts of Thessaly. It bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus vetus and Macedonia...
he appealed against an edict by Emperor Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
(issued in 364) that forbade night sacrifices during the Mysteries: Praetextatus maintained that this edict made impossible for Pagans to keep their faith, and Valentinian nullified his own edict.
In 367, during his tenure as 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...
, he oversaw the restoration of the Porticus Deorum Consentium in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
(41°53′33.2"N 12°29′1.27"E), the last great monument devoted to a Pagan cult in Rome. Even if this was a simple restoration of the damaged statues and a renovation of the worship, it was a symbolic choice, as the Di Consentes were the protectors of the Senate, and therefore used to balance the power of the Emperor (it is significant the fact that the inscription does not mention the Emperor). It has been also proposed that the restoration of the cult of the Di Consentes appealed to Praetextatus as a propagation of "his ideology of the numen multiplex" cited in his funerary poem.
A few years before his death, while his friend Symmachus was praefectus urbi, Praetextatus held an important ceremony, a Pagan ascent to the Capitolium, an event that is recorded by Jerome: Praetextatus ascended, preceded by the highest magistrates, in a ceremony that was not a triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
, but which was really close to a Pagan triumphal ceremony.
In 384, during his tenure as praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
, he obtained by the Emperor Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
an edict about the persecution of the crimes of demolition of Pagan temples and the attribution of the related investigations to the praefectus urbi of Rome (who, at that time, was his friend Symmachus). Praetextatus' policy of restoration of the ancient Roman religion hit the Christian members of the imperial court (at Milan) and possibly it was for this reason that Symmachus, as friend and ally of Praetextatus', was falsely accused of torturing Christian priests: Symmachus responded that he was authorised by Praetextatus on the basis of the imperial edict and even Damasus supported him.
Praetextatus and Paulina had a palace located at the corner of via Merulana and viale del Monte Oppio (41°53′39.83"N 12°29′59.09"E) in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, on the place of the modern Palazzo Brancaccio. 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 there is 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; the latter statue was criticised by Symmachus, who wrote a letter to Flavianus saying he opposed this erection because that was the first time that the Virgins had erected a statue to a man, even if pontifex.
Literature
Praetextatus published the Latin version of the Analytics written by AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, in the Greek version composed by the philosopher Themistius
Themistius
Themistius , named , was a statesman, rhetorician, and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius I; and he enjoyed the favour of all those emperors, notwithstanding their many differences, and the fact that he himself was not a...
; It is possible that Praetextatus knew Themistius, either meeting him in Constantinople or when the philosopher visited Rome (in 357, when Themistius followed Emperor Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
as leader of the Senate of Constantinople, or in 376, when Themistius honoured Emperor Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
with a speech in the Roman Senate), and it is known he could read Greek, as he had been one of the quindecimvir sacri faciundi, who had to know Greek in order to read Sybilline books.
Praetextatus also collaborated with acquaintances of Symmachus and Nicomachus Flavianus in the emendation and transmission of texts of the traditional Roman culture. He was also the main character of the Saturnalia by Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, and might be the target of the anonymous Carmen contra paganos.
Primary sources
; ; ;- Collectio AvellanaCollectio AvellanaCollectio Avellana is a collection of 244 documents, dating from AD 367 to 553, that includes many imperial letters written to popes and others, imperial acts and papal letters and other documents that were gathered just after the mid- 6th century. Many of the documents have not been preserved in...
- Ammianus MarcellinusAmmianus MarcellinusAmmianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
, Res Gestae Libri XXXI - JeromeJeromeSaint 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...
, letters - Joannes Laurentius LydusJoannes Laurentius LydusJohn the Lydian or John Lydus was a 6th century Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects. His works are of interest for specific data about classical events.- Life and career :...
, De mensibus - SozomenSozomenSalminius Hermias Sozomenus was a historian of the Christian church.-Family and Home:He was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christian family of Palestine....
, Historia Ecclesiastica - ZosimusZosimusZosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
Historia Nova
Secondary sources
- Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, 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...
: A.D. 260–395, volume 1 (PLRE I), Cambridge University Press, 1971, ISBN 0521072336. - Kahlos, Maijastina, "The Restoration Policy of Praetextatus", Arctos 29 (1995), pp. 39–47.
- 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 and New York, 1898, pp. 169–170. On-line at LacusCurtius