El segundo bronce de Temistio

Abstract

Themistius, an orator, philosopher and politician of the fourth century A.D., was one of the most influential men of his time. His life flourished in a period of change, when Christianity was reaching its peak, while the pagan circles were getting more and more reduced. Even though Themistius belonged to these pagan circles, he always remained close to power and he managed to get the esteem of Christian emperors. Proof of that is the fact that Constantius II added him to the Senate of Constantinople in 355, maybe impressed by his oratorical skill. Besides, the emperor dedicated him a bronze statue, mentioned by Themistius himself in his Oration 4, where he makes clear that the statue came from this emperor. However, in other three passages which belong to later speeches, Themistius explains that two different emperors had honoured him with two bronze statues. It is evident that the former came from Constantius II, but it is not clear who was the sovereign that rewarded him with the second one. Discarded Constantius II, Jovian and Theodosius for different reasons, there are only two possibilities left: Julian or Valens.