Demetrias (''fl''. 413–440) was a Roman noblewoman, member of the powerful family of the

Anicii The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war agai ...

and acquaintance of several churchmen.

Biography

Anicia Demetrias, born around 398, was the daughter of

Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius ( 395–397) was a politician and aristocrat of the Roman Empire. Life Olybrius was a son of Sextus Petronius Probus, one of the most influential men of his era and consul in 371, and wife and cousin Anicia Faltonia ...

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

, ''Epistles'', 130. consul in 395, and of Anicia Iuliana,

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, ''Epistles'', 150, 188. and thus member of the noble ''gentes'' Anicia and Amnia; her grandmother Proba is described as the noblest and richest person in the Roman world in the 410s. In 410, in occasion of the sack of Rome, Demetrias left Rome with her mother Iuliana and with her paternal grandmother Anicia Faltonia Proba and went to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

; here they were imprisoned by the ''comes''

Heraclianus Heraclianus ( grc, Ἡρακλειανὸς, ''Herakleianòs''; died 7 March 413) was a provincial governor and a usurper of the Western Roman Empire (412–413) opposed to Emperor Honorius, who had originally brought him to power. Heraclianus h ...

, and freed only after a huge payment. While her mother and her grandmother lived in Carthage, they came into contact with

, who helped them to follow the path of a

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

life. Demetrias, who was about fifteen years old in 413, was to be married, but she secretly followed an ascetical way of life, influenced by Augustine. She did not tell her relatives about her choice, as she was worried about displeasing them. However, as her marriage was approaching, she decided to tell her mother Iuliana and her grandmother Proba about her intention to renounce to marry and to take the veil. Her relatives were very happy with her, and, in 413, Demetrias took the veil in a ceremony celebrated by Bishop

Aurelius of Carthage Aurelius of Carthage was a Christian saint who died around 430. A friend of Augustine of Hippo, he was bishop of Carthage from about 391 until his death. Life Not much is known about his life outside of his ecclesiastical activities. At the tim ...

. To help her in her spiritual life, Iuliana and Proba asked several churchmen to send Demetrias advice. Augustine answered, suggesting the reading of his ''De sancta virginitate'', Jerome sent a long letter with several pieces of advice, while

Pelagius Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius and his followers abhorred the moral s ...

, a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

opposed by Augustine, addressed her a treatice in the form of a letter, the ''Epistola ad Demetriam''. Later in her life, Demetrias returned to her native city 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 ...

. During this time she received the ''Epistula ad Demetriadem de vera humilitate'', written in 440 by

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

or, according to recent studies, in 435 by

Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at B ...

, and attacking Pelagius' doctrine on the basis of Augustine. Demetrias built a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

devoted to

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

along the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

( ), three miles from Rome, on one of her properties. ILCV I, 1765. She died during the pontificate of

Notes

Bibliography

* Augustine, Mary S. Muldowney, ''Treatises on various subjects'', CUA Press, 2002, {{ISBN, 0-8132-1320-7, pp. 270–2. *

Arnold Hugh Martin Jones Arnold Hugh Martin Jones FBA (9 March 1904 – 9 April 1970) (known as A. H. M. Jones or Hugo Jones) was a prominent 20th-century British historian of classical antiquity, particularly of the later Roman Empire. Biography Jones's best-known wor ...

, John Martindale, John Morris, "Demetrias", ''

The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'' (PLRE). vol. 2, Cambridge 1971, pp. 351–2. 398 births 5th-century deaths 4th-century Christians 5th-century Christians 4th-century Roman women 5th-century Roman women Anicii