This is a survey of the numerous contributions that, from 1964 to 2013, Alan Cameron has devoted to the Symmachi, in order to verify the validity of the results of his research. Through the in-depth examination of historical-literary questions already present in his early studies - such as the existence or not of the 'circle of Symmachus', the literary autonomy of Ammianus Marcellinus, the equation between literary culture and paganism, the cultural and religious identity of the late Roman aristocracy, the fictitious nature and fifth-century dating of Macrobius' Saturnalia - Alan Cameron has profoundly innovated our knowledge of one of the most remarkable family of the fourth-sixth century Roman nobility. He has found conspicuous prosopographical clues to show that the Symmachus’ family, considered by O. Seeck to be from the recent Roman aristocracy, boasted ancestors of consular rank as early as the second half of the third century AD. He cooperated in the exegesis of the works of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, in particular of his epistolary (establishing some fixed points on the publication of the various books), as an essential source for his relationship with Nicomachus Flavianus Senior and with the Bishop Ambrose; he reconstructed the religious, social and literary context in which Symmachus' father, Lucius Aurelius Avianus, and his sons worked, with interesting insights into the use of ivory diptychs, which in his opinion are still only improperly defined as 'consular diptychs'.
È questa un’indagine sui numerosi contributi che, dal 1964 al 2013, Alan Cameron ha dedicato ai Symmachi, per verificare la validità dei risultati delle sue ricerche. Attraverso l’approfondimento di questioni storico-letterarie già presenti negli studi giovanili – quali l’esistenza o meno del ‘circolo di Simmaco’, l’autonomia letteraria di Ammiano Marcellino, l’equazione tra cultura letteraria e paganesimo, l’identità culturale e religiosa dell’aristocrazia romana tardoantica, la natura fittizia e la datazione nel V secolo dei Saturnalia di Macrobio – Alan Cameron ha profondamente innovato la nostra conoscenza di una delle casate più rilevanti della nobiltà romana del IV-VI secolo. Egli ha trovato cospicui indizi prosopografici per dimostrare che la famiglia dei Symmachi, da O. Seeck considerata appartenente alla recente aristocrazia di servizio costantiniana, vantava antenati di rango consolare già nella seconda metà del III secolo; ha cooperato all’esegesi delle opere di Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, in particolare del suo epistolario (fissando punti fermi sulla pubblicazione dei vari libri), in quanto fonte essenziale per il suo rapporto con Nicomachus Flavianus Senior e con il vescovo Ambrogio; ha ricostruito il contesto religioso, sociale e letterario in cui operò il padre di Simmaco, Lucio Aurelio Avianio ed i suoi figli, con interessanti approfondimenti sull’uso dei dittici d’avorio, che a suo parere solo impropriamente sono tuttora definiti ‘consolari’.
Alan Cameron and the Symmachi
Lizzi
2021
Abstract
This is a survey of the numerous contributions that, from 1964 to 2013, Alan Cameron has devoted to the Symmachi, in order to verify the validity of the results of his research. Through the in-depth examination of historical-literary questions already present in his early studies - such as the existence or not of the 'circle of Symmachus', the literary autonomy of Ammianus Marcellinus, the equation between literary culture and paganism, the cultural and religious identity of the late Roman aristocracy, the fictitious nature and fifth-century dating of Macrobius' Saturnalia - Alan Cameron has profoundly innovated our knowledge of one of the most remarkable family of the fourth-sixth century Roman nobility. He has found conspicuous prosopographical clues to show that the Symmachus’ family, considered by O. Seeck to be from the recent Roman aristocracy, boasted ancestors of consular rank as early as the second half of the third century AD. He cooperated in the exegesis of the works of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, in particular of his epistolary (establishing some fixed points on the publication of the various books), as an essential source for his relationship with Nicomachus Flavianus Senior and with the Bishop Ambrose; he reconstructed the religious, social and literary context in which Symmachus' father, Lucius Aurelius Avianus, and his sons worked, with interesting insights into the use of ivory diptychs, which in his opinion are still only improperly defined as 'consular diptychs'.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
