Page 119 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

The hero as envoy: Sidonius Apollinaris

though the surviving works of his poet, the Spaniard Merobaudes, praise
Aetius as much as the emperor. Sidonius himself records the patronage
of poets by generalissimi throughout the early fifth century. 34 Avitus’ use
of his son-in-law’s talents should be seen in the context of this tradition,
the use of a specific poet as spokesman, rather than in the more general
convention of panegyric as an occasional literary work.
Panegyricists sought to impress on the Roman elite the legitimacy and
success of their rulers. Their approach varied with the basis of emperors’
claims to legitimacy. When referring to an imperial accession, the propa-
gandist could emphasise such qualities as the new emperor’s dynastic ties
to his predecessors; his military successes – the essential quality of victory;
his support among different sections of society; portents associated with
his rise; and his ‘virtues’. 35
How circumstances forced panegyricists to vary the aspects of rule they
emphasised can be seen by comparing Sidonius’ Panegyric on Avitus with
Claudian’s on the third consulship of Honorius. The latter was delivered
in January 396, the first year of Arcadius’ and Honorius’ independent rule
after the death of Theodosius I eleven months before. Throughout the
poem, Claudian emphasises the obvious basis of Honorius’ legitimacy:
his descent from Theodosius, his birth to a ruling emperor (an honour
not shared by his brother Arcadius), and Theodosius’ arrangements for
rule of the empire to descend upon his two sons. No less emphasised
is Theodosius’ charge to Stilicho to guard his successors. 36 In his later
poems, Claudian praises the victories of the generalissimo Stilicho, even
when his nominal subjectwas Honorius. 37
Sidonius can claim for Avitus no ties to the Theodosian dynasty, and
though he praises Avitus’ military prowess, it is not his main theme.
In the political conditions of the 450s, greatly different from those of
Claudian’s time, the audience of the panegyricist had new concerns.
Sidonius’ portrait of Avitus combines traditional and new elements. At-
tention to Avitus’ military prowess reflects Roman military culture and

34
Sid. Ap., Carm. ix, 277–301 (following his description of Claudian’s De raptu Proserpinae).
35
MacCormack, Art and Ceremony,part iii, ‘Accessio’, 161–266, esp. 164, 179, 209.
36
Claudian, Panegyricus dictus Honorio Augusto tertium consuli.
37
E.g. Panegyricus dictus Honorio Augusto quartum consuli, 439–83; De consulatu Stilichonis i, 94–137,
170–385; iii; Panegyricus dictus Honorio Augusto sextum consuli, 210–330, 440–90.
Claudian includes the successful completion of an embassy to Persia among the achievements of
Stilicho (Claudian, De consulatu Stilichonis i, 51–68); this passage is very closely imitated by Sidonius
in regard to the general Procopius, father of the future emperor Anthemius (Sid. Ap., Carm. ii,
75–88). Both passages, describing non-imperial honorands, concentrate on the impression made
by the envoys on their hosts and, especially, the Persian oaths sealing the treaties won by the
envoys. There is no parallel to Sidonius’ innovative depiction of the envoy wielding a personal
influence over another power or his central theme, the elevation of contact with neighbouring
powers to a claim for authority. Cf. Mause, Darstellung des Kaisers, 107–8.
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