Volusius Venustus (''floruit'' 4th century) 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 ...

Biography

Volusius Venustus set up a monument in the forum of Canosa in honour of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

and his two sons (the fact that only two sons are honoured means that the monument was set up between 317 and 333, less the period between 324 and 326). This monument is a clue that he was from this city in southern

Italia 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 re ...

; it also marks his office, the one of ''

corrector A corrector (English plural ''correctors'', Latin plural ''correctores'') is a person or object practicing correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors. The word is originally a Roman title, ''corrector'', derived from the Latin verb '' ...

Apuliae et Calabriae'' (governor of the region corresponding to the present-day

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

). A Venustus is attested in the year 362, as a member of a senatorial delegation 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� ...

to the emperor Julian, who on this occasion nominated this Venustus as ''

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in "deputy"), used as part of th ...

Hispaniarum'' (362-363). In 370, together with

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 ...

and Minervius, he comprised a senatorial legation to the Emperor

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 ...

, asking him not to torture those senators involved in trials.Ammianus Marcellinus, xxviii.1.24-25. According to a long-standing reconstruction 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 bu ...

, the two previous officers were the same person, who is to be identified with Venustus, the father of

Virius Nicomachus Flavianus Virius Nicomachus Flavianus (334–394 AD) was a grammarian, a historian and a politician of the Roman Empire. A pagan and close friend of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, he was Praetorian prefect of Italy in 390–392. Under the usurper Eugenius ( ...

and grandfather of Nicomachus Flavianus the younger, and maybe another nephew called Venustus. This Venustus was, therefore, related to 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 ...

(also father-in-law of Flavianus the younger), since he was brother-in-law of Lucius Avianus Symmachus, father of Aurelius. However, recently this interpretation has been questioned. The most-widely accepted reconstruction is that the Venustus ''corrector Apuliae et Calabriae'' and the ''vicarius Hispaniarum'' are two different persons; the first, Volusius Venustus, would be a member of the ''Ragonii'', belonging to the generation between Lucius Ragonius Venustus

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 ...

in 240 and the Lucius Ragonius Venustus who performed a ''taurobolium'' in 390; the second, Venustus, might have been Nicomachus' father.

References

Bibliography

* Marcella Chelotti, Vincenza Morizio, Marina Silvestrini, Francesco Grelle, Mario Pani, ''Le epigrafi romane di Canosa'', Edipuglia, 1990, , pp. 21–23. * Rita Lizzi Testa, ''Senatori, popolo, papi: il governo di Roma al tempo dei Valentiniani'', Edipuglia, 2004, {{ISBN, 88-7228-392-2, p. 268. 4th-century Romans Ancient Roman governors Volusii