Messius Phoebus Severus (''floruit'' 469–470) was a Roman politician and philosopher. 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 thro ...

with Flavius Iordanes for 470.

Biography

Born in Rome, he studied at the school of the

neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

philosopher

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor (, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers of late antiquity. He set forth one of th ...

, in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

; among the other students there were the Pagan poet

Pamprepius Pamprepius (, ''Pamprépios''; Latin: ''Pamprepius''; 29 September 440 – November 484) was a philosopher and a pagan poet who rebelled against the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno (emperor), Zeno. Damascius described him as a brilliant poet, Malchu ...

(who was instrumental in the revolt of

Illus Flavius Illus (; died 488) was a Roman general who played an important role in the reigns of the Eastern Emperors Zeno (emperor), Zeno and Basiliscus. Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno and switched sides to support the return ...

), the military officer Marcellinus (later semi-autonomous commander in Illyricum), the noble

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (; died 11 July 472) was the Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dyna ...

(Consul and Western Roman Emperor), and Illustrius Pusaeus (

Praetorian prefect of the East The praetorian prefecture of the East, or of the Orient (, ) was one of four large praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. As it comprised the larger part of the Eastern Roman Empire, and its seat was at Constantinop ...

in 465 and Consul in 467). During this period, a pause in his career after he had become disillusioned with public life, he received some scholars who were interested in his rich library. In 467/469 Severus returned to Rome, where the Western Emperor Anthemius elevated him to the honour of the consulate in the year 470, as well as gave him the rank of '' Patricius'' and 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 ...

''. According to

Damascius Damascius (; ; 462 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists", was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws confirmed by emperor Jus ...

, Severus and Anthemius had a secret plan to restore the Pagan cults. During his office, he restored parts of the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

. and

Notes

Bibliography

* MacGeorge, Penny, ''Late Roman Warlords'', Oxford University Press, 2002, * Martindale, John, John R. Morris, "Fl. Messius Phoebus Severus 19" ''PLRE'' II, (

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 ...

Vol. II A.D. 395–527) * O'Meara, Dominic, ''Platonopolis: Platonic Political Philosophy in Late Antiquity'', Oxford University Press, 2003, {{s-end 5th-century western Roman consuls Neoplatonists Patricii Urban prefects of Rome Messii Late-Roman-era pagans 5th-century Greek philosophers