Orfitus came from a noble family, and started his career at a relatively young age. He held the posts of
quaestor and
praetor before becoming
consularis of
Sicilia under
Constantius II and
Constans (340/350). He supported Constantius in a war against
Magnentius and was appointed to the office of
proconsul of
Africa after Constantius got control over it. Between 353 and 355 he was
praefectus urbi, succeeding
Neratius Cerealis. In 357 he got urban prefecture again; at this time Constantius visited Rome in 357. In 359 he was replaced by Leontius. According to
Ammianus Marcellinus, "he was a man of wisdom, it is true, and highly skilled in legal practice, but less equipped with the adornment of the liberal arts than became a man of noble rank". Various Roman
corporas erected statues in his honor. A devout
pagan, he was a
Pontifex Deae Vestae and
Pontifex Dei Solis and during his second term as the
praefectus urbi he built a shrine to
Apollo. In 364 he was accused of peculation by the baker Terentius. Because of that Orfitus was exiled and had his property confiscated, but soon he was recalled through the influence of
Vulcacius Rufinus. He died around 369. His wife, Constantia, was related to the
house of Constantine; according to
Alan Cameron, she probably was a daughter of
Hannibalianus and
Constantina. His daughter, Rusticiana, married the orator
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus. Another daughter, whose name is unknown, lived in
Etruria in 385. == References ==