Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus Phosphorius (died 376) was an aristocrat of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, and father of

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 ...

Biography

A member of the aristocratic family of the Symmachi, he was the son of

Aurelius Valerius Tullianus Symmachus Aurelius Valerius Symmachus Tullianus ( 330–337) was a Roman senator and aristocrat. He was appointed consul in 330 by the emperor Constantine. Writing between 334 and 337 (probably 337), the author Firmicus Maternus noted Tullianus for his aus ...

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 throug ...

for 330. He had one daughter and four sons, among whom were Celsinus Titianus and the most influential of the Symmachi, the orator

. Avianius was a pagan senator,Mazzarino, p. 412. and was member of several priestly ''collegia'', including the ''Pontefices Vestae'' and the '' quindecimviri sacris faciundi'' (from 351 to 375). By January 350 he held the office of

praefectus annonae The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply") was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, in ...

; later that decade he was ''vicarius urbis Romae''. In 361, he went to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

(in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

), where he probably met

Libanius Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...

, to meet Emperor

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 ...

: it is probable that 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 ...

wanted to assure its loyalty to the ruling emperor after receiving a letter from Julian, cousin and

caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

of Constantius, who had been just proclaimed emperor by his troops. On their way back, Symmachus and his colleague

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

travelled through '' Nassus'', where they were received by Julian with all the honours.Sogno, pp. 3–4. From April 364 to March 365 he held the office of ''

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 ...

'' 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 ...

, under the rule of

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called 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. Vale ...

. As praefect, he restored the ancient ''pons Agrippae'' on the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

(on the place of the modern

Ponte Sisto Ponte Sisto is a bridge in Rome's historic centre, spanning the river Tiber. It connects Via dei Pettinari in the Rione of Regola to Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere. History The construction of the current bridge occurred between 1473 and 1479, and ...

), which took the name of ''pons Valentiniani''; Symmachus even paid for a lavish public celebration for the inauguration of this bridge.

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 ...

has a flattering opinion of his mandate.Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvii.3.3-4. His house was on the right side of the Tiber, in

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

, and was burned down by the plebs during a riot in 367. According to the story told by Ammianus, the riot originated from a rumour, diffused by a member of the plebs, according to which Symmachus, during his prefecture, had said that "he would prefer putting out the limekilns with his own wine, to selling the lime at the price expected of him"; forgetting the prosperity achieved during Symmachus' office, the enraged plebs burnt down his house. Symmachus left the city following this offence caused by "envy", that he tried to heal by writing a literary work. After a while, however, the plebs changed their minds and started supporting Symmachus, even asking for a punishment of the offenders. Symmachus returned to Rome, by request of the Roman Senate, whom he thanked on 1 January 376; the senators, even the Christians, proposed him to 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 wa ...

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was 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 be ...

and consul for year 377. Avianius Symmachus died in 376, as consul-elect.Sogno, p. 77. The following year, his memory was honoured with a gilded statue, erected by imperial decree after a request of the Senate, on 29 April.

Culture

Avianius Symmachus is described by his son as a reader of every kind of literature. He composed a small number of epigrams of low quality about members of the Constantinian age, such as

Amnius Anicius Iulianus Amnius Anicius Julianus ( 322–329) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Biography Anicius Julianus was consul in 322 with Petronius Probianus, ''praefectus urbi Romae'' between 326 and 329. He is identified with the proconsul of Africa wh ...

and

Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus Populonius ( 333–352) was a senator and a politician of the Roman Empire, twice ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome (in 337–338 and in 351–352) and once consul (in 340). Life He was a ''vir clarissimus'', the lowe ...

. Among his correspondents there was

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 until ...

, who was a member of the pagan and senatorial aristocracy.Kahlos, Chapter
"Cultural pursuits"
.

Notes

Bibliography

;Primary sources *

, ''Epistulae'', i.1-12 (addressed to his father); ''Orationes'', iv (''pro patre'') e v (''pro Trygetio'') *

, ''Res Gestae xxxi libri'', xxi.12.24, xxvii.3.3-4. ;Secondary sources * Kahlos, Maijastina, ''Vettius Agorius Praetextatus - Senatorial Life in Between'', Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae n. 26, Roma 2006. * Lizzi Testa, Rita, ''Senatori, popolo, papi: il governo di Roma al tempo dei Valentiniani'', EDIPUGLIA, 2004, , pp. 327–333. * Mazzarino, Santo, ''Antico, tardoantico ed èra costantiniana'', Edizioni Dedalo, 1980, , pp. 410–414. *Sogno, Cristiana, ''Q. Aurelius Symmachus: A Political Biography'', University of Michigan Press, 2006, * Wace, Henry
"Symmachus (3) Q. Aurelius"
''Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies'', Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symmachus, Avianius, Aurelius, Lucius 376 deaths 4th-century Romans Praefecti annonae Urban prefects of Rome Roman consuls designate Year of birth unknown Aurelii Symmachi