Memmius Vitrasius Orfitus Honorius (died c. 369) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

politician.

Biography

Orfitus came from a noble family, and started his career at a relatively young age. He held the posts of ''

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

'' and ''

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

'' before becoming ''

consularis ''Consularis'' is a Latin adjective indicating something pertaining to the position or rank of consul. In Ancient Rome it was also used as a noun (plural ''consulares'') to designate those senators who had held the office of consul or attained con ...

'' of

Sicilia (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

under

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...

and

Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), sometimes called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of ''caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was made ...

(340/350). He supported Constantius in a war against

Magnentius Magnus Magnentius ( 303 – 11 August 353) was a Roman general and usurper against Constantius II from 350 to 353. Of Germanic descent, Magnentius served with distinction in Gaul under the Western emperor Constans. On 18 January 350 Magnentius ...

and was appointed to the office of

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

after Constantius got control over it. Between 353 and 355 he was ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, 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 ...

'', succeeding

Neratius Cerealis Neratius (or Naeratius) Cerealis ( 328–358) was a Roman senator and politician, ''Praefectus urbi'' and Consul. Biography He was the brother of Galla, wife of Julius Constantius, and half-brother of Vulcacius Rufinus, and probably had a s ...

. In 357 he got urban prefecture again; at this time Constantius visited Rome in 357. In 359 he was replaced by Leontius. According to

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...

, "he was a man of wisdom, it is true, and highly skilled in legal practice, but less equipped with the adornment of the liberal arts than became a man of noble rank". Various Roman ''corporas'' erected statues in his honor. A devout

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

, he was a ''Pontifex Deae Vestae'' and ''Pontifex Dei Solis'' and during his second term as the ''praefectus urbi'' he built a shrine to

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. In 364 he was accused of peculation by the baker Terentius. Because of that Orfitus was exiled and had his property confiscated, but soon he was recalled through the influence of

Vulcacius Rufinus Vulcacius Rufinus (died 368) was a Roman politician, related to the Constantinian dynasty. Biography A pagan, Rufinus was the brother of Neratius Cerealis, Galla (the mother of Constantius Gallus), and the mother of Maximus. He was '' pontifex ...

. He died around 369. His wife, Constantia, was related to the house of Constantine; according to Alan Cameron, she probably was a daughter of

Hannibalianus __NOTOC__ Flavius Hannibalianus (also Hanniballianus; died September 337) was a member of the Constantinian dynasty, which ruled over the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Hannibalianus was the son of Flavius Dalmatius, and thus nephew of Const ...

and

Constantina Flavia Valeria Constantina (also sometimes called ''Constantia'' and ''Constantiana''; el, Κωνσταντίνα; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

.Alan Cameron (1996). "Orfitus and Constantius: a note on Roman gold-glasses," in ''Journal of Roman archaeology'', p. 301. His daughter, Rusticiana, married the orator

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus s ...

. Another daughter, whose name is unknown, lived in

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

in 385.

References

Sources

* * Seeck O. Symmachos 16 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. — 1931. — Bd. IV A, 1. — Kol. 1144—1146. {{DEFAULTSORT:Orfitus, Memmius Vitrasius 360s deaths 4th-century Romans Memmii Urban prefects of Rome Roman governors of Africa Vitrasii Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown