Symmachus was the son of a prominent aristocrat,
Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus, who had been
urban prefect of Rome twice. His mother, whose name has not survived, was a daughter of Fabius Tatianus, consul in 337 and a two-term
urban prefect. He had two brothers, both
consulares (provincial governors) and one possibly a Christian, and a sister who may have been the family member that established a connection through marriage between the Symmachi and the
Anicii, one of the first Roman families of the highest rank to convert to Christianity. Symmachus was educated in
Gaul, apparently at
Bordeaux or
Toulouse. Having discharged the functions of
quaestor and
praetor, he was appointed
Corrector of
Lucania and the
Bruttii in 365. In 373, he was
proconsul of
Africa. Probably about the same time, he became a member of the
College of Pontiffs. As a representative of the political
cursus honorum, Symmachus sought to preserve the
ancient religion of Rome at a time when the senatorial aristocracy was converting to Christianity. and zodiacal signs, attest to Symmachus' religious convictions In 382, the Emperor
Gratian, a Christian, ordered the
Altar of Victory removed from the
Curia, the
Roman Senate house in the
Forum, and curtailed the sums annually allowed for the maintenance of the
Vestal Virgins, and for the public celebration of sacred rites. Symmachus was chosen by the Senate on account of his eloquence to lead a delegation of protest, which the Emperor refused to receive. Two years later, Gratian was assassinated in
Lugdunum, and Symmachus, now urban prefect of Rome, addressed an elaborate epistle to Gratian's successor,
Valentinian II, in a famous dispatch that was rebutted by
Ambrose, the
bishop of Milan. In an age when all religious communities credited the divine power with direct involvement in human affairs, Symmachus argues that the removal of the altar had caused a famine and its restoration would be beneficial in other ways. Subtly he pleads for tolerance for traditional cult practices and beliefs that the Empire was poised to suppress in the
Theodosian edicts of 391. It was natural for Symmachus to sympathise with
Magnus Maximus who had defeated Gratian. When Maximus was threatening to invade
Italy in 387, his cause was openly advocated by Symmachus, who upon the arrival of
Theodosius I was impeached for treason, and forced to take refuge in a sanctuary. Having been pardoned through the intervention of numerous and powerful friends, he expressed his contrition and gratitude in an apologetic address to Theodosius, by whom he was not only forgiven, but was received into favour and elevated to the consulship in 391. During the remainder of his life, he appears to have taken an active part in public affairs. The date of his death is unknown, but one of his letters was written as late as 402. His leisure hours were devoted exclusively to literary pursuits, as is evident from the numerous allusions in his letters to the studies in which he was engaged. His friendship with
Ausonius and other distinguished authors of the era proves that he delighted in associating and corresponding with the learned. His wealth must have been prodigious, for in addition to his town mansion on the
Caelian Hill and several houses in the city which he lent to his friends. He possessed upwards of a dozen villas in Italy, many detached farms, together with estates in
Sicily and
Mauretania. Symmachus and his real-life associates
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus are the main characters of
Macrobius's
Saturnalia, which was written in the 5th century but set in 384. These three aristocratic intellectuals lead nine others, consisting of fellow noble and non-noble intellectuals, in a discussion of learned topics, dominated by the many-sided erudition of the poet
Virgil. == Writings ==