Arator

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Arator was from Liguria derived late antique poets of the 6th century († after 544). He wrote a classical tradition in Latin poetry about the Acts of the Apostles .

Little is known about the life of the Arator, and his full name is also unknown. What is certain is that he was the son of a rhetor who died early and, thanks to ecclesiastical support, began a career as a lawyer and civil servant at the court of the Ostrogoth kings in Ravenna . When the Eastern Roman troops of Emperor Justinian I began to recapture Italy, Arator seems to have sided with the invaders, whom he saw as liberators from Germanic rule; this should indicate that Arator was Orthodox Catholic and therefore rejected the "Arian" faith of the Goths. In any case, around 540 he joined the Roman clergy as a subdiacon . From a note in the most important manuscripts of his work, we know that Arator 544, in the middle of the second, bloodier Gothic War , held a celebrated public reading that lasted several days in Vincula. After that his track is lost.

Arator's work, the Historia Apostolica or De actibus apostolorum (the original title has not been passed down), is linguistically based on Virgil , Lucan and Statius ; In terms of content, there are many elements of the late ancient popular sermon. In addition to the purely theological aspects, it is noticeable that Arator, on the one hand, is directed against the Arian Ostrogoths and, on the other hand, tries to justify the claims of the Roman bishop against the emperor. The long poem, which consists of 2325 hexameters , is divided into 43 sections and enjoyed great popularity in late late antiquity and throughout the entire Middle Ages .

translation

  • Richard Hillier: Arator. Historia Apostolica , Liverpool 2020.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Arator
BRIEF DESCRIPTION late antique poet
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Liguria
DATE OF DEATH after 544