Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus was a politician of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

. He was appointed

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 ...

for 502 with Flavius Probus as his colleague. His father was Anicius Probus Faustus, who was the leading supporter of

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...

in the

Laurentian schism Laurentius (possibly Caelius) was the Archpriest of Santa Prassede and later antipope of the See of Rome. Elected in 498 at the Basilica Saint Mariae (presumably Saint Maria Maggiore) with the support of a dissenting faction with Byzantine sympat ...

, and his brother was Ennodius Messala, one of the consuls for 506.Jeffrey Richards, ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages'' (London:Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 79 Avienus was later

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

(527–528).

References

6th-century Italo-Roman people 6th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of Italy {{AncientRome-politician-stub