Details about the life of Firmicus Maternus (fl. mid-4th cent. CE) are rare and found only within his own texts. The manuscripts state his full name as Julius Firmicus Maternus, and he is noted to be of senatorial rank (vir clarissimus). He does not appear to be from an old senatorial family, and he may have been promoted to the rank of senator for the new capital at Constantinople (Bram, 1975, 2). Although no family members are mentioned, he has a patron, the senato…