Flavius ​​Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius

Flavius ​​Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius was a late Roman aristocrat who lived in the late 4th century AD. Together with his brother Flavius ​​Anicius Probinus he held the consulate in 395 .

His father Sextus Petronius Probus was considered one of the most distinguished men of his time and in 371 he himself held the consulate. His family tomb is located near the alleged burial place of the apostle Simon Peter . The Anicii family was one of the most important families in the Roman Empire in late antiquity ; it included several emperors and popes.

Olybrius and Probinus came from the highest circles of the Roman Senate aristocracy , but were Christians in the Senate , which was still heavily pagan around 390 (although the majority of the Roman Senate was probably already made up of Christians at the end of the 4th century). When Emperor Theodosius I appointed the two brothers, who were probably still very young at that time, as consuls for the year 395, he probably wanted to finally bridge the gap that had arisen in the civil war in 394 against Eugenius , who had been supported by pagan senators.

Arusianus Messius dedicated the book Exempla Elocutionum to the brothers , Claudian kept a panegyric in their honor .

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus reported, as city prefect, of machinations through which Olybrius seized a country estate.

literature

• Arnold Hugh Martin Jones , John Robert Martindale, John Morris : Olybrius 2. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6 , pp. 639-640.
• Hartmut Leppin : Theodosius the Great . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-15431-2 , p. 222 f.

Remarks

1. ↑ Epistulae 10:28; see. also Detlef Liebs: Land theft and justice in Rome 384 AD ( online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ).