 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
King EURIC of the Visigoths in Gaul next came to Anthemius' attention, and Ricimer allowed this
campaign to be conducted mainly by the emperor's son, Anthemiolus. Euric easily crushed him near the
Rhone, and Anthemius held Ricimer accountable. In 472, the magister militum besieged Anthemius and
his Visigoth ally, Bilimes, in Rome. Ricimer intended to play kingmaker again, and with his help
Olybrius became emperor, a ruler desired by the Vandals as well. The defense of the city was
courageous, but after Bilimes was killed, the city fell. Legend has it that Anthemius tried to flee dressed as
a beggar but was recognized and beheaded.
¤ ANTINOPOLIS A city in Egypt, founded on October 30, 130 A.D., by a decree of Emperor
HADRIAN. The tremendous scope and vision of Hadrian's mind had been influenced by Eastern thought,
and Antinopolis was a living example of this. It was decreed into existence when Antinous, Hadrian's
favorite court official, was drowned in the Nile while taking part in an imperial tour. Antinopolis was the
official's memorial. Its laws were derived from Greek traditions, and many of the first settlers were
Greek. Lying across the Nile from Hermopolis, the city in time became racially mixed, as Egyptians from
the Faiyum region settled in its districts.
¤ ANTINOUS (d. 130 A.D.) Lover and confidant of Emperor HADRIAN. In 130, while traveling
through Egypt with the emperor, the young, handsome courtier drowned in the Nile River. He was so
mourned by the emperor that Hadrian commanded a series of cultic ceremonies throughout the East.
Antinous became Pan, Hermes and the Greek ideal for beauty and virility in these rituals. The city of
ANTINOPOLIS, across the river from Hermopolis, was erected in his honor. Antinous was a Bithynian,
originally from the city of Claudiopolis.
¤ ANTIOCH (1) Resting on the left bank of the Orontes, about 20 miles upriver from the Mediterranean
Sea, Antioch served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire (see SELEUCIA) in Syria for over 200 years,
and then became a major metropolis under Rome's rule, which was bitterly disputed for centuries.
Sometime around 300 B.C., Seleucus Nicator chose a fertile valley wherein to build his great city, an
economic center named after his father, Antiochus. With a geographical situation similar to Alexandria,
and its position on the great trade routes, Antioch became a powerful commercial center and a tempting
target for Rome.
In 64 B.C., POMPEY THE GREAT seized the city, which was weakened as a result of the broader
Seleucid decline. The new province of SYRIA was created, and Antioch made its capital. Around 47