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
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 ...
in 373,
urban prefect of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 384 and 385, and
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
in 391. Symmachus sought to preserve the traditional
religions of Rome at a time when the aristocracy was converting to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
, and led an unsuccessful delegation of protest against Emperor
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...
's order to remove the
Altar of Victory from the
curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
, the principal meeting place of the Roman Senate in the
Forum Romanum. Two years later he made a famous appeal to Gratian's successor,
Valentinian II, in a dispatch that was rebutted by
Ambrose, the
bishop of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lo ...
. Symmachus's career was temporarily derailed when he supported the short-lived usurper
Magnus Maximus, but he was rehabilitated and three years later appointed consul. After the death of
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, he became an ally of
Stilicho, the guardian of emperor
Honorius. In collaboration with Stilicho he was able to restore some of the legislative powers of the Senate. Much of his writing has survived: nine books of letters; a collection of ''Relationes'' or official dispatches; and fragments of various orations.
Life
Symmachus was the son of a prominent aristocrat,
Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus Phosphorius (died 376) was an aristocrat of the Roman Empire, and father of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus.
Biography
A member of the aristocratic family of the Symmachi, he was the son of Aurelius Valerius Tullianu ...
and a daughter of
Fabius Titianus
In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother.
In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the '' Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the count ...
, who had been twice
urban prefect of Rome. Symmachus was educated in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, apparently at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...
or
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
. In early life he became devoted to literature. In 369 he met
Ausonius; their friendship proved mutually beneficial.
Having discharged the functions of
quaestor and
praetor, he was appointed Corrector of Lucania and the Bruttii in 365; in 373 he was
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 ' ...
of
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 ...
, and became, probably about the same time, a member of the pontifical college. As a representative of the political ''
cursus honorum
The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The ''c ...
'', Symmachus sought to preserve the
ancient religion of Rome at a time when the senatorial aristocracy was converting to Christianity.
In 382, the Emperor
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...
, a Christian, ordered the
Altar of Victory removed from the
Curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
, the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
house in the
Forum, and curtailed the sums annually allowed for the maintenance of the
Vestal Virgins
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before pubert ...
, and for the public celebration of sacred rites. Symmachus was chosen by the Senate on account of his eloquence to lead a delegation of protest, which the emperor refused to receive. Two years later, Gratian was assassinated in
Lugdunum
Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...
, and Symmachus, now urban prefect of Rome, addressed an elaborate epistle to Gratian's successor,
Valentinian II, in a famous dispatch that was rebutted by
Ambrose, the
bishop of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lo ...
. In an age when all religious communities credited the divine power with direct involvement in human affairs, Symmachus argues that the removal of the altar had caused a famine and its restoration would be beneficial in other ways. Subtly he pleads for tolerance for traditional cult practices and beliefs that the Empire was poised to suppress in the
Theodosian edicts of 391.
It was natural for Symmachus to sympathise with
Magnus Maximus who had defeated Gratian. When Maximus was threatening to invade
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in 387, his cause was openly advocated by Symmachus, who upon the arrival of
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
was impeached for treason, and forced to take refuge in a sanctuary. Having been pardoned through the intervention of numerous and powerful friends, he expressed his contrition and gratitude in an apologetic address to Theodosius, by whom he was not only forgiven, but was received into favour and elevated to the consulship in 391. During the remainder of his life, he appears to have taken an active part in public affairs. The date of his death is unknown, but one of his letters was written as late as 402.
His leisure hours were devoted exclusively to literary pursuits, as is evident from the numerous allusions in his letters to the studies in which he was engaged. His friendship with
Ausonius and other distinguished authors of the era proves that he delighted in associating and corresponding with the learned. His wealth must have been prodigious, for in addition to his town mansion on the
Caelian Hill, and several houses in the city which he lent to his friends, he possessed upwards of a dozen villas in Italy, many detached farms, together with estates in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and
Mauretania.
According to
Gerontius:
Symmachus, and his real-life associates
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (ca. 315 – 384) was a wealthy pagan aristocrat in the 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 unt ...
and
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, are the main characters of the ''
Saturnalia'' of
Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, which was written in the 5th century but set in 384. These three aristocratic intellectuals lead nine others, consisting of fellow noble and non-noble intellectuals, in a discussion of learned topics, dominated by the many-sided erudition of the poet
Vergil.
Writings
Of his many writings, the following have survived:
*Nine or ten books of letters, published by
his son. Many of the letters are notes extending to a few lines only, addressed to a wide circle of relations, friends, and acquaintances. They relate for the most part to matters of little importance. The most famous letter is the most highly finished and important piece in the collection, the celebrated epistle to "Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius" entreating them to restore the Altar of Victory to its ancient position in the senate house.
*A collection of ''Relationes'' or official dispatches, which is chiefly composed of the letters written by him when prefect of Rome to the emperors under whom he served.
*Panegyrics, written in his youth, two on Valentinian I and one on the youthful Gratian.
*Fragments of various orations, discovered by
Angelo Mai
Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discove ...
in
palimpsests in the
Ambrosian library and the
Vatican.
According to one of his letters (dated to 401), Symmachus also engaged in the preparation of an edition of
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
's ''Ab Urbe Condita''. Seven manuscripts of the first decade of Livy's extensive work (books 1-10) bear subscriptions including Symmachus' name along with
Tascius Victorianus,
Appius Nicomachus Dexter, and Nicomachus Flavianus; J.E.G. Zetzel has identified some of their effects to this tradition of the transmission of this portion of Livy's work.
In other letters, Symmachus describes preparations for his shows in the arena. He managed to procure antelopes, gazelles, leopards, lions, bears, bear-cubs, and even some crocodiles. Symmachus also purchased Saxon slaves to fight and die in the games. He was annoyed when twenty-nine of the Saxons strangled each other in their cells on the night before their final scheduled appearance.
One quote of Symmachus from "The Memorial of Symmachus,
Prefect of the City" reads (in translation), "We gaze up at the same stars; the sky covers us all; the same universe encompasses us. Does it matter what practical system we adopt in our search for the Truth? The heart of so great a mystery cannot be reached by following one road only."
The style of Symmachus was widely admired in his own time and into the early Middle Ages, but modern scholars have been frustrated by the lack of solid information about the events of his times to be found in these writings. As a consequence, little of his work has been translated into English.
Family
Symmachus married Rusticiana, whose parents were
Memmius Vitrasius Orfitus, twice urban prefect of Rome (353-355; 357-359) and Constantia, possibly the daughter of
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 Grea ...
and
Hannibalianus.
[Alan Cameron (1996). "Orfitus and Constantius: a note on Roman gold-glasses," in ''Journal of Roman archaeology'', p. 301.] Their children included:
* Galla, their oldest child who married Symmachus' friend
Nicomachus Flavianus
Nicomachus Flavianus ( 382–432), sometimes referred to as Flavianus the Younger, was a grammarian and a politician of the Roman Empire. He was the son of Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. He held several offices under emperors Valentinian II (371� ...
*
Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus
Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus (383/384 – after 402) was a politician of the Roman empire, member of the influential family of the Symmachi.
Biography
He was son of the orator and politician Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and of Rusticiana; he ...
, aristocrat
See also
*
Symmachi–Nicomachi diptych
*
Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus
Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus (383/384 – after 402) was a politician of the Roman empire, member of the influential family of the Symmachi.
Biography
He was son of the orator and politician Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and of Rusticiana; he ...
, his son, who edited Aurelius' letters for publication
Notes
Further reading
* ''Q. Aurelii Symmachi quae supersunt'', ed. by
Otto Seeck
Otto Karl Seeck (2 February 1850 – 29 June 1921) was a German classical historian who is perhaps best known for his work on the decline of the ancient world. He was born in Riga.
He first began studying chemistry at the University of Dorpat b ...
(Berlin, 1883; reprinted Munich, 2001), . All surviving writings of Symmachus: letters, speeches and official reports, in the original Latin. This volume is Volume 6 of the series
Monumenta Germaniae Historica. The letters are also published in a supplementary volume XIII in the
Patrologia Latina. More recently, ''Symmaque: Lettres'', ed. by
Jean-Pierre Callu in four volumes (Paris, 1972–2002) published by
Les Belles Lettres contains the letters of Symmachus in Latin with facing-page French translation. This has the fullest text and translation.
* R.H. Barrow, ''Prefect and Emperor; the Relationes of Symmachus, A.D. 384,'' with translation and notes by R.H. Barrow (parallel Latin text and English translation), Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.
* Richard Klein, ''Symmachus. Eine tragische Gestalt des ausgehenden Heidentums''. Darmstadt (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
mpulse der Forschung, Band 2 1971, .
* Richard Klein, ''Der Streit um den Victoriaaltar''. Darmstadt (WBG
exte zur Forschung Band 7 1972, .
* J.F. Matthews, "The Letters of Symmachus" in ''Latin Literature of the Fourth Century'' (edited by J.W. Binns), pp. 58–99. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974, discusses them.
* J.F. Matthews, ''Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court, AD 364-425''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.
* Jillian M. Mitchell
"The Case of the Strangled Saxons"(regarding a letter in which Symmachus complains that 29 gladiators strangled each other rather than fight at games held for Symmachus' son)
* Cristiana Sogno, ''Q. Aurelius Symmachus: A Political Biography''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006.
External links
*
*
at Medieval Sourcebook; Symmachus requests that the old religion be restored, and the Altar of Victory again erected in the Senate House.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symmachus, Quintus Aurelius, Eusebius
340s births
402 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
4th-century Latin writers
4th-century Romans
5th-century Latin writers
4th-century Roman consuls
Late-Roman-era pagans
Imperial Roman consuls
Imperial Roman praetors
Latin letter writers
Pagan restorations
Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire
Pontifices
Roman governors of Africa
Roman quaestors
Quintus
Urban prefects of Rome