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[German version] [1] Fl. D. Half-brother of the Emperor Constantine I Son of  Constantius [1] and Theodora, half-brother of Constantine I. Nothing is known of his role in the initial period of Constantine's rule, although presumably he was given Toulouse as his abode during the tensions with Licinius in c. AD 320-324 (Auson. Prof. 16,11-12). Consul in 333, he was sent to Antioch at around the same time with the archaizing title of censor (Athan. c. Ar. 65,1ff.). There he was concerned with murder accusations against Athanasius. In Tarsus he had  Calocaerus burnt to d…

[German version] [1] Valeria Maximilla Daughter of Galerius and wife of Maxentius Daughter of Galerius [5] and wife of Maxentius. The marriage produced two sons, Valerius Romulus (died 309?) and another son who is mentioned along with her as late as 312 (Pan. Lat. 12,16,5). Bleckmann, Bruno (Strasbourg) Bibliography PLRE 1, 576 [German version] [2] Cofounder of Montanism in the 2nd cent. AD In the middle of the 2nd. cent. AD she founded, together with Montanus and Priscilla, the Christian revivalist movement of Montanism. She was also a writer (Hippolytus, Refutatio omnium haeresium 8,…

[German version] [1] Missionary, 1st cent. (Πρίσκα/ Prísca, in Acts Πρίσκιλλα/ Prískilla; Latin Prisca, Priscilla). In the middle of the 1st cent. AD, P. and her husband Aquila [4] worked as Christian missionaries. As a result of the edict of emperor Claudius [III 1] (expulsion of the Jews, Acts 18:2; Suet. Claud. 25), the Jewish-Christian couple left Rome to continue their tent making in Corinth (spreading the Gospel whilst supporting themselves through additional, unrelated work). They encountered Paulus [II 2] c. AD 50, accompanying him to Ephesus. P.’s importance as a …

[German version] [1] Praef. urbi 304-5, 312-13 AD Q. (?). Member of the African family of the Aradii Rufini, which had arisen to Senate membership early in the 3rd cent. AD. Presumably praef. urbi. already from 4.1.304 - 12.2.305 A. R. held this office again under Maxentius (9.2. - 27.10.312), after he had been consul together with  Ceionius in the last months of 311. After the victory of Constantine over Maxentius, A. was again praefectus urbi from 29.11.312 to 8.12.313. His proving himself under the various emperors was praised by Avianius Symmachus (Symmachus, Ep. 1; 2; 3). Bleckmann, Br…

[German version] [1] Half-sister of Constantine the Great Half-sister of Constantine the Great and wife of  Bassianus. She must have still been alive during the founding of Constantinople; the Thermae Anastasianae are named after her (Amm. Marc. 26,6,14). From time to time, her name, which refers to belief in the Resurrection, was regarded as circumstantial evidence of the fundamentally Christian convictions of her father  Constantius (PLRE 1, 58, A.1). Bleckmann, Bruno (Strasbourg) [German version] [2] Daughter of the emperor Valens Daughter of the emperor Valens. She and…

[German version] [1] Cognomen of Diocletian Cognomen of Diocletian,  Tetrarchy. Bleckmann, Bruno (Strasbourg) [German version] [2] Praetorian prefect of emperor Honorius [3] Praetorian prefect under emperor  Honorius [3]. In 407, he was made Praefectus Praetorio Illyrici by Stilicho, in order to wrest this prefecture from the eastern empire, but remained dependent on the Gothic king  Alaricus [2] (Sozom. Hist. eccl. 8,25,3; 9,4,3; Zos. 5,48,2). In 409, he became Praef. Praet. Italiae and Patricius (Cod. Theod. 2,8,25; 16,5,47; Zos. 5,47,1). As the most influential…

(Θεοδώρα; Theodṓra). [German version] [1] Roman empress, about AD 300 Roman empress; stepdaughter (Aur. Vict. Caes. 39,25; Eutr. 9,22,1) or daughter (Anon. Vales. 1,1; Philostorgius 2,16) of Maximianus [1]. Contrary to the assertions of later sources, she was already married to Constantius [1] even before he was elevated to the rank of Caesar in AD 293  ( tetrárchēs IV.), and probably when he was praefectus praetorio to Maximianus (unclear Paneg. 2,11,4). The six children of their marriage represent the younger branch of the Constantinian imperial fam…

[German version] [1] First priestess of Fortuna Muliebris, 5th cent. BC Sister of P. Valerius [I 45] Poplicola, said to have saved Rome in 488 BC from Coriolanus (Plut. Coriolanus 33; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 8,39; 8,43,1 f.); first priestess of Fortuna Muliebris (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 8,55,3-5; Fortuna B.). Strothmann, Meret (Bochum) Bibliography Latte, 181. [German version] [2] Daughter of P. Valerius [I44], ca. 500 BC Daughter of P. Valerius [I 44] (elected belatedly cos. for the year 509 BC), sent to Porsenna with 19 other hostages (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 5,32,3). They …

[German version] [1] Flavius Iulius C. Roman Emperor (Augustus), 337-350 AD Roman Emperor, born c. 320 AD, the youngest son of Constantine [1] and Fausta, elevated to Caesar on 25 December 333 and at about the same time betrothed to Olympias, the daughter of  Ablabius [1]. From 9 September 337 Augustus. At a meeting of the brothers in Pannonia (Julian Or. 1,19a) C. received Italy, Illyricum and Africa (Zon. 13,5). He refused to acknowledge the guardianship of his eldest brother Constantine [2] II [1]. Constan…

[German version] [1] Roman god of the forest Male deity. Mihály-Lorand, Dészpa I. Cult and places of worship Roman god of the forest [German version] A. Etymology and origin Based on the etymology of the name, four hypotheses have so far been put forward regarding the origins of this god: S. is identical with the Etruscan god Selvan [4. 54-59; 12. 200]; S. is an adjectival derivation of the word silva ('forest') and was originally an epithet of either Faunus [14. 213] or Mars [6. 132]; S. is a direct derivative of the Latin silva ('forest'), with the suffix -no- adding the meaning of 'mas…

[German version] [1] C. I, Flavius Valerius C., C. Chlorus, Roman Emperor (Augustus) AD 305-306 or M., Caesar (293-305) and Augustus (305-306), in later times nicknamed Chlorus; born c. 250 in what would become Dacia Ripensis. On the staff of the Illyrian soldier emperors, first protector, then tribunus. Under the rule of  Carinus attained equestrian rank as praeses Dalmatiarum (Anon. Vales. 1; SHA Car. 17,6). It seems likely that even before 293 (thus Aur. Vict. Caes. 39,24; Eutr. 9,22,1), and in fact before 289, when he was praefectus praetorio to  Maximianus, he had to divorce h…

[German version] [1] C. Commodus, L. Cos. ord. 78 AD A native of Etruria; senator from the time of Nero; cos. ord. 78; governor of Syria from AD 78/79; married to Appia Severa (PIR2 C 603) [1. I 308; 2. 45 A. 22]. Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [2] C. Commodus, L. Cos. ord. 106 AD Son of [1]. Cos. ord. AD 106 (PIR2 C 604). Married to one Plautia, their son being C. [3]. Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [3] C. Commodus, L. = Aelius Caesar, L. Cos. ord. 136 AD Son of [2]. His maternal half-brother was M. Vettulenus Civica Barbarus [3. 845]. Born on 13 January in about AD 1…

(τετράρχης/ tetrárchēs, τετραρχία/ tetrarchía). [German version] I. Definition The noun tetrarches (from τετράς/ tetrás = 'entity of four parts' and ἄρχειν/ árchein = 'rule') designates a military rank, but specifically the head of a tribal area within a fourfold alliance ( tetrás or tetrarchía); subsequently a ruler of lesser rank (see below III.). The two meanings were brought together at the time of Diocletian, so that the term now meant rule in four parts of the Roman Empire, but with differentiated competencies for each ruler (see below IV.). Bringmann, Klaus (Frankfurt/Main) …

[German version] [1] M. Aurelius Valerius M. Herculius Roman emperor, 286-305 AD Roman emperor, AD 286-305 or 310; on 13 December 285 (?) proclaimed Caesar by Diocletianus and employed in the fight against the Bagaudae (Eutr. 9,22,1; Pan. Lat. 7,8,3); after proving himself he was proclaimed Augustus on 1 April (Chron. Min. I, p. 229 f.) or 1 May 286 (cf. [1. 22]). Diocletian received him as a brother in his family, with M. acquiring the epithet Herculius while Diocletian became Iovius ( Tetrarchy). As Augustus, M. continued military operations in the western part of the empire,…

[German version] [1] C. I. The Great, Roman Emperor AD 306-337 ‘the Great’, Roman emperor from AD 306-337. Born c. 275 (Euseb. Vita Const. 4,53; Aur. Vict. Caes. 41,16; [Aur. Vict.] Epit. Caes. 41,15, differently Euseb. Vita Const. 2,51) at Naïssus (Anon. Vales. 2) the son of Constantius [1] I and of Helena. After his father was made Caesar, Constantine served on the staff of  Diocletian and of  Galerius (Pan. Lat. 7[6] 5,3; Lactant. De mort. pers. 18,10; Anon. Vales. 2). In 305 he left the court of Galerius to jo…

[German version] [1] Myth Hero from Greek mythology (Ἀχιλλεύς, Ἀχιλεύς [ Achil(l)eús], Etruscan Αχλε [ Achle], Latin Achilles). Sigel, Dorothea (Tübingen) [German version] A. Etymology We still lack a reliable explanation of A.'s name, which is presumably of pre-Greek origin. Explanations from antiquity vary: Schol. Il. 1,1 derives the name from the ‘sorrow’ ( áchos) caused by A. to the Trojans (i.e. the ‘Ilians’). Another explanation (e.g. Tzetzes, Lycoph. 178) derives the name from χεῖλος ( cheîlos; ‘lip’) and α- privativum; A. meaning ‘without lip’, as he is said to hav…

[German version] [1] Originally the cognomen of  Caracalla Originally the cognomen of  Caracalla. Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) [German version] [2] Originally the cognomen of the future emperor M. Aurelius  Severus Alexander Originally the cognomen of the future emperor M. Aurelius  Severus Alexander. Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) [German version] [3] Caesar for Italy around 316 AD Married to  Anastasia [1], named Caesar for Italy by  Constantinus the Great shortly before the war against Licinus (AD 316), but was then spurred on by his brother Senecio to…

Roman plebeian family name, attested from the 4th cent. BC onwards (ThlL, Onom. 3,217-227). The most important families into the 1st cent. AD are the Ahenobarbi [I 1-8] and the Calvini [I 9-12]. Identification of some members of the family in the 2nd cent. BC is uncertain. I. Republican period [German version] Domitii Ahenobarbi Family history in Suet. Ner. 1-5. Legend of the origin of the cognomen (ThlL, 1,135; in manuscript also Aenobarbus) ‘Red-beard’, ‘Bronze-beard’ in Suet. Ner. 1,1; Plut. Aem. 25. The family was probably accorded patrician st…

(Ἑλένη; Helénē, Lat. Helena). [German version] [1] Beautiful wife of Menelaus ('Helen of Troy') Goddess who was worshipped at various cult sites in and around Sparta, especially in the Menelaion in  Therapne (Hdt. 6,61; Paus. 3,15,3; Hsch. s.v. Ἑλένεια, [1]). In  Rhodes she had a cult as H. Dendritis (Paus. 3,19,10), in  Cenchreae and  Chios she is attested as a deity of springs (Paus. 2,2,3; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἑλένη). There is no completely reliable etymology for her name [2. 63-80]. For evidence of her cult i…

[German version] [1] M. Daia Roman emperor, AD 305-313 Roman emperor, AD 305-313. The son of Galerius' [5] sister and like Galerius born in Dacia ripensis, possibly in Šarkamen (modern Serbia), he rose from protector to tribunus (Lactant. De mort. pers. 19,6); as Galerius' adoptive son he became Caesar in the change of rulers of 305 (thereafter: Galerius Valerius Maximinus). As co-ruler over the diocese Oriens he continued the persecutions of Christians (Euseb. Hist. eccl. 8,14,9). Like Constantinus [1] not content with the title …