Praetextatus - Contents
Maijastina Kahlos, Vettius Agorius Praetextatus - Senatorial Life in Between. Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae no. 26, Roma 2002.
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Pagans and Christians
The sources
Praetextatus in late antique studies
1.2 SENATORIAL LIFE
The senatorial aristocracy in the fourth century
Birth and family
The senatorial career in the fourth century
Early career
The city prefecture of Rome
The trials under Valentinian I
Otium cum dignitate
The praetorian prefecture and the consolate
2 RELIGION AS A PART OF THE ARISTOCRATIC CODE OF LIFE
2.1 ROME IN THE FOURTH CENTURY
The legislation against pagans under the Christian emperors
2.2 THE PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE IN ROME
2.3 CULTS
The Roman civic religion
Mysteries and initiations
The Cultivation of a myriad gods
2.4 PAGAN TOPOGRAPHY
The restoration of the Porticus deorum consentium
The Maeniana
Protection of pagan buildings
Praetextatus’ ascent to the Capitol
2.5 IDEAS AND CONNECTIONS
The universal divinity
Neoplatonic traditions
Emperor Julian and the Roman aristocracy
Themistius and religious pluralism
The performance of the Roman civic religion
2.6 PRAETEXTATUS AND DAMASUS
The conflict between Damasus and Ursinus
The alliance between the ’popes’
3 CULTURAL PURSUITS
3.1 THE SENATORIAL OTIUM LITTERARUM
Amicitia and letter writing in senatorial code of life
Praetextatus as an arbiter of literary taste
Libris veterum ruminandis – Praetextatus’ otium litterarum
3.2 PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
Analytica priora et posteriora
Speculations on the Categoriae decem
Praetextatus as a philosopher
The philosophical studies of the Roman aristocracy
3.3VALUES AND VIRTUES
The prestige of culture
The hierarchy of virtues
Holy matrimony – the ideal of senatorial marriage
4 DEATH AND IMMORTALITY
4.1 THE REACTIONS TO PRAETEXTATUS’ DEATH
4.2 CHRISTIAN INVECTIVE
The condemnation by Jerome
The Carmen contra paganos – specualtions
The polarisation of pagan and Christian attitudes
4.3 IMMORTALITY
Sorte mortis eximens
The certainty of immortality
The astral immortality of the soul
Pagan and Christian expressions of immortality
5 SAECULUM PRAETEXTATI: PRAETEXTATUS IN MACROBIUS’ SATURNALIA
5.1 MACROBIUS’ SATURNALIA
5.2 THE IMAGE OF PRAETEXTATUS IN MACROBIUS’ SATURNALIA
An ideal host
Omnium sacrorum praesul
Apology for the Roman pagan aristocracy?
5.3 PRAETEXTATUS’ TREATISE ON THE SUN
Solar theology
Macrobius sources
Macrobius and Vergil
Praetextatus as Macrobius’ spokesman
6 A HOLY MAN FOR THE PAGANS?
6.1 PRAETEXTATUS AND HOLY MEN IN ANTIQUITY
6.2 APOTHEOSIS?
7 A SENATORIAL LIFE IN BETWEEN
A man of letters
A man of gods
The making of the memory of a ’great man’
APPENDIX: SOURCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX OF NAMES
GENERAL INDEX
INDEX LOCORUM