Laodicée de Syrie sous l’empereur Julien d’après des lettres méconnues de Libanios

Abstract

A certain Auxentios, known in the reign of Julian from several letters of Libanius, has been identified, after O. Seeck, as a Cilician from Tarsus. This paper shows that this Auxentios has been mistaken for two different men: a governor from Cilicia, of equestrian rank, known from an inscription of Adana and a Roman senator mentioned by Symmachus. Letter 1392 of Libanius shows that the «city by the sea», where Auxentios is curialis, is not Tarsus but Syrian Laodicea. It is to this city that the mention of Pythian games celebrated in 363 refers. Letter 692 attests that Auxentios had previously offered his city a staged hunt with wild animals. Also the city by the sea mentioned in letter 1353 must be Laodicea and not Tarsus.