Constantius III, Galla Placidia, and Libanius the Magician: Olympiodorus of Thebes and the Reconstruction of Imperial Politics in Ravenna in 421

In Fragmentum 36, the ninth-century Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, summarises Olympiodorus of Thebes teratological story about Libanius the magician and the contradictory responses to his presence in Ravenna by Constantius III and his wife, Galla Placidia. The story of the dispute between the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dunn, Geoffrey D. 1962- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [publisher not identified] [2020]
In: Journal for late antique religion and culture
Year: 2020, Volume: 14, Pages: 50-64
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Olympiodorus, Thebanus, Historikoi logoi / Constantius, III., Römisches Reich, Kaiser -421 / Galla Placidia, Römisches Reich, Kaiserin 391-450 / Libanius 314-393 / Christianity / Paganism / Ravenna / Geschichte 412
IxTheo Classification:BE Greco-Roman religions
CG Christianity and Politics
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
KDF Orthodox Church
Further subjects:B Honorius
B Constantius III
B Magic
B Olympiodorus
B Galla Placidia
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Summary:In Fragmentum 36, the ninth-century Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, summarises Olympiodorus of Thebes teratological story about Libanius the magician and the contradictory responses to his presence in Ravenna by Constantius III and his wife, Galla Placidia. The story of the dispute between the couple and of Galla Placidia’s success in having Libanius put to death is to be believed, in the light of what else we can reconstruct about how this married couple operated in other situations. Although R.C. Blockley assessed this story in terms of Olympiodorus’ interest in paganism and magic, it will be argued here that it is best seen in terms of the poet-historian’s hostility to Constantius - something Blockley noted but did not explain. That hostility is to be understood as flowing from Olympiodorus’ aim of providing an encomium for Theodosius II in Constantinople, who was ill-disposed towards Constantius, parallel as it were with the efforts of Claudian for Stilicho, detailed a generation ago by Alan Cameron.
ISSN:1754-517X
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for late antique religion and culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.18573/issn.1754-517X