Sulla politica i tolleranza dell’imperatore Graziano agli inizi del suo regno

Abstract

The image of Gratian as christianissimus princeps, which emanates above all from the promulgation of Cod. Th. 16.5.5 of 3 August 379, from the well-known episode of the Altar of Victory, from the renunciation of the title of pontifex maximus and from the emperor’s decision to withdraw financial support from pagan cults, must be downsized. In fact, on the basis of the sources it may be asserted that the reign of Gratian actually would have known a first phase of conscious religious openness in two directions. On the one hand, the rescript repealed by the final part of Cod. Th. 16.5.5 (antiquato rescripto, quod apud Sirmium nuper emersit), which would be identified with the proclamation of tolerance reported by Socrates Scholasticus (Hist. eccl., 5.2), Sozomen (Hist. eccl., 7.1.3) and Suida (Lexicon, Γρατιανός) and dated in August/September 378, explicitly admitted interpretations of Christianity other than the Nicene creed. On the other hand, especially from Themistio’s Ερωτικός ή περί κάλλους βασιλικού (13.14.173a; 13.14.178b,c; 13.14.180a) of 376, from the speech delivered in the same year by Symmachus in the senate before Gratian (Epist. 10.2) and from some numismatic findings, it can be deduced that Gratian would have shown availability also towards traditional religion.