Asclepiodotus (consul 423)
Encyclopedia
Flavius Asclepiodotus or Asclepiades (fl. 423-425) was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire
taking the name of Aelia Eudocia
. Eudocia favoured her family, exercising her influence over her husband to make Asclepiodotus' career advance.
In 422, Asclepiodotus was comes sacrarum largitionum
, while between 14 February 423 (year in which Eudocia was appointed Augusta
) to 1 February 425 he was Praetorian prefect of the East, and Consul in 423. He was deposed because he was denounced to Theodosius by Simeon Stylites
to encourage pagans and Jews and to fight Christians, a charge no doubt reinforced by the fact that his family was pagan, although Atenaides had to convert to Christianity before marriage.
Biography
Asclepiodotus was the brother of the sophist Leontius, and thus of Atenaides, who married in 421 the Emperor Theodosius IITheodosius II
Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...
taking the name of Aelia Eudocia
Aelia Eudocia
Aelia Eudocia Augusta was the wife of Theodosius II, and a prominent historical figure in understanding the rise of Christianity during the beginning of the Byzantine Empire. Eudocia lived in a world where Greek paganism and Christianity were still coming together...
. Eudocia favoured her family, exercising her influence over her husband to make Asclepiodotus' career advance.
In 422, Asclepiodotus was comes sacrarum largitionum
Comes sacrarum largitionum
The comes sacrarum largitionum was one of the senior fiscal officials of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire....
, while between 14 February 423 (year in which Eudocia was appointed Augusta
Augusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
) to 1 February 425 he was Praetorian prefect of the East, and Consul in 423. He was deposed because he was denounced to Theodosius by Simeon Stylites
Simeon Stylites
Saint Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite was a Christian ascetic saint who achieved fame because he lived for 39 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo in Syria. Several other stylites later followed his model...
to encourage pagans and Jews and to fight Christians, a charge no doubt reinforced by the fact that his family was pagan, although Atenaides had to convert to Christianity before marriage.