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

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and father of

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Nickname, signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and intellectual. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa (province), Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and R ...

Biography

A member of the aristocratic family of the

Symmachi The Aurelii Symmachi were an aristocratic senatorial family ''(gens)'' of the late Roman Empire. The family received its first offices at the beginning of the 3rd century under emperor Septimius Severus. It further increased its prestige, reaching ...

, 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 au ...

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 thro ...

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 among the senators who had not converted to Christianity and continued to practice the traditional state religion of Rome,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, ...

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

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

(in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

), where he probably met

Libanius Libanius (; ) 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 critical source of history of the Greek ...

, to meet Emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 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 Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

: it is probable that the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

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

caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a 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 a civil war. He ...

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: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...

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, an ...

'' of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, under the rule of

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

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

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, 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 R ...

(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 Rioni of Rome, Rione of Regola (rione of Rome), Regola to Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere. History The construction of the current bri ...

), 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 anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

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 of Rome, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin (). Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lion on a red background, the meaning of which i ...

, 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 (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) 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 becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

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 (c. 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 h ...

, 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, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

{{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