Maternus Cynegius
Maternus Cynegius (died on March 14, 388, in Berytos) was a praetorian prefect of the East and consul at the end of the 4th century, best known for destroying some of the most sacred sites of Hellenic religion.
Contents
Life[edit]
Cynegius is thought to originate from Spain and was a Christian. Between 381 and 383 he was appointed comes sacrarum largitionum, the imperial treasurer, by Emperor Theodosius I.[1] Later he was appointed quaestor sacri palatii and, in 384, Praetorian prefect of the East.[2] He issued laws that forbade Pagan sacrifices and closed and destroyed non-Christian temples in Egypt and Syria (386). As a deviation from Theodosius' policy, he issued anti-Jewish laws.[3]
On his second visitation - to the East (including Egypt) - he was accompanied by Bishop Marcellus of Apamea. With Marcellus' encouragement, he destroyed, among other things,
- One of the temples in Edessa or one lunar temple in Carrhae;[4]
- the temple of Zeus Belos in Apamea, which had included a famed oracle, which Septimius Severus, among others, had consulted;
- the Temple of Allat in Palmyra.[5]
In 388 he was appointed Roman consul, though he died that same year.
Maternus has been identified with the high official who received the Missorium of Theodosius I and was probably depicted on it. A country house found by archaeologists near Carranque, in Spain, has been attributed to Maternus.[6]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Codex Theodosianus, XII.1.97.
- ^ Codex Theodosianus, XII.13.5.
- ^ Zosimus, Historia nea, IV.
- ^ Olszaniec 2013, p. 104.
- ^ Theodoret, Historia ecclesiastica, V.21.
- ^ Ruth E. Leader-Newby, Silver and Society in Late Antiquity. Functions and Meanings of Silver Plate in the Fourth to the Seventh Centuries, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2004, ISBN 0-7546-0728-3, pp. 11-14.
Sources[edit]
- Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-521-07233-6, p. 235-236.
- Olszaniec, Szymon (2013). Prosopographical studies on the court elite in the Roman Empire (4th century A. D.) Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika [S.l.] ISBN 8323131430.
| Preceded by Flavius Valentinianus Iunior Augustus III, Eutropius |
Consul of the Roman Empire 388 with Magnus Maximus Augustus II (West) Flavius Theodosius Augustus II (East) |
Succeeded by Flavius Timasius, Flavius Promotus |
| Preceded by Domitius Modestus |
Praetorian prefect of the East 384–388 |
Succeeded by Flavius Eutolmius Tatianus |