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{{Short description|5th-century Roman author and historian}}
{{for-multi|the lunar crater|Macrobius (crater)|the Irish bishop|Macrobius (bishop)|the place in Antarctica|Macrobius Cove}}
{{Neoplatonism}}
'''Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius''', usually referred to as '''Macrobius''' (fl. {{circa}} AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during [[late antiquity]], the period of time corresponding to the [[Later Roman Empire]], and when [[Latin]] was as widespread as [[Greek language|Greek]] among the elite. He is primarily known for his writings, which include the widely copied and read ''[[Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis]]'' ("Commentary on the Dream of Scipio") about ''[[Somnium Scipionis]]'', which was one of the most important sources for [[Neoplatonism]] in the Latin West during the Middle Ages; the ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'', a compendium of [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religious]] and [[antiquarian]] lore;  and ''De differentiis et societatibus graeci latinique verbi'' ("On the Differences and Similarities of the [[ancient Greek verbs|Greek]] and [[Latin verbs|Latin Verb]]"), which is now lost. He is the basis for the protagonist Manlius in [[Iain Pears]]' book ''[[The Dream of Scipio (novel)|The Dream of Scipio]]''.

==Name==
Macrobius's [[given name]] ({{lang|la|[[praenomen]]}}) is unrecorded as is his [[family name]] ({{lang|la|[[nomen gentilicium|nomen]]}}). His recorded name is a series of three surnames ({{lang|la|[[cognomina]]}}), properly ordered Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. This is what appears in the earliest surviving manuscripts of the {{lang|la|Saturnalia}} and how he is addressed in the excerpts from his lost {{lang|la|De Differentiis}}. He is called "Macrobius Theodosius" in both [[Cassiodorus]] and [[Boethius]] and was apparently known during his lifetime as "Theodosius": The [[dedication (publishing)|dedication]] of {{lang|la|De Differentiis}} is "Theodosius to his Symmachus" ({{lang|la|Theodosius Symmacho suo}}) and he addressed as "the very greatest Theodosius" ({{lang|la|Theodosi optime}}) in a dedicatory epistle to [[Avianus]]'s ''Fables''. This was mistakenly reversed in later manuscripts to "Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius", which James Willis then used in his edition of the ''Commentary''.<ref name="Cameron1966">{{Cite journal |last=Cameron |first=Alan |date=1966-11-01 |title=The date and identity of Macrobius |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |language=en |volume=56 |issue=1–2 |pages=25–38 |doi=10.2307/300131 |issn=0075-4358 |jstor=300131}}</ref>{{rp|p=27}}

==Life==
[[File:Macrobius and Eustachius.jpg|thumb|Macrobius presenting his work to his son Eustachius. From an 1100 copy of Macrobius' ''"Commentary on the «Dream of Scipio»"''.]]

Little is known for certain about Macrobius, but there are many theories and speculations about him. He states at the beginning of his ''Saturnalia'' that he was "born under a foreign sky" (''sub alio ortus caelo''), and both of his major works are dedicated to his son, Eustachius. [[Alan Cameron (classicist)|Alan Cameron]] notes that several of the earliest manuscripts of his works spell his son's name ''Eustathius'', then after pointing out that a certain Plotinus Eustathius was [[Urban prefect]] in 462 observes "Plotinus would be a peculiarly appropriate name for a neoplatonist philosopher and keen admirer of the great Lycopolitan (cf. ''Comm''. I, 8, 5) to have given his son." There is also a Macrobius Plotinus Eudoxius who collaborated with Memmius Symmachus over an edition of Macrobius' ''Commentary''.<ref name="Cameron1966"/>{{rp|p=38}} His major works have led experts to assume that he was a pagan.

Which "foreign sky" Macrobius was born under has been the subject of much speculation. [[Terrot Reaveley Glover|Terrot Glover]] considers Macrobius either an ethnic Greek, or born in one of the Greek-speaking parts of the Roman Empire, such as Egypt, due to his intimate knowledge of Greek literature. [[J. E. Sandys]] went further and argued that Macrobius was born in one of the Greek provinces. However other experts, beginning with [[Ludwig van Jan]], point out that despite his familiarity with Greek literature Macrobius was far more familiar with Latin than Greek—as evidenced by his enthusiasm for [[Vergil]] and [[Cicero]]—and favor North Africa, which was part of the Latin-speaking portion of the Roman Empire.<ref>William Harris Stahl, ''Macrobius: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio'' (New York: Columbia University, 1952), pp. 4f</ref>

Scholars have attempted to identify him with a Macrobius who is mentioned in the ''[[Codex Theodosianus]]'' as a [[Prefect#Praetorian prefects|praetorian prefect]] of [[Spain#Roman Empire|Spain]] (399–400), and a proconsul of Africa (410).<ref>''Codex Theodosianus'' XIV.10.15, VIII.5.61, XI.28.6</ref> The ''Codex Theodosianus'' also records a ''[[praepositus]]'' (or lord chamberlain) named Macrobius in 422.<ref>''Codex Theodosianus'' VI.8.1</ref> A number of older authorities go so far as to identify Macrobius the author with the first, and date his ''[[floruit]]'' to 399–410. There are objections to either identification: as Alan Cameron notes, the complete name of the first candidate is attested in an inscription to be "Flavius Macrobius Maximianus", while the second is excluded because "A ''praepositus'' must at this period have been a eunuch."<ref name="Cameron1966"/>{{rp|p=25}}

However, since Macrobius is frequently referred to as ''vir clarissimus et inlustris'', a title which was achieved by holding public office, we can reasonably expect his name to appear in the ''Codex Theodosianus''. Further, Cameron points out that during his lifetime Macrobius was referred to as "Theodosius", and looking for that name Cameron found a Theodosius who was [[praetorian prefect of Italy]] in 430. "It is significant that the only surviving law addressed to this Theodosius sanctions a privilege for [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa Proconsularis]] on the basis of information received concerning [[Byzacena]]," Cameron notes.<ref name="Cameron1966"/>{{rp|p=26}}

==Works==
===''Commentary on the "Dream of Scipio"''===
{{main|Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis}}
Macrobius's most influential book and one of the most widely cited books of the Middle Ages was a [[Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis|commentary]] on the book ''[[Dream of Scipio]]'' narrated by Cicero at the end of his ''Republic''. The nature of the dream, in which the elder Scipio appears to his (adopted) grandson and describes the life of the good after death and the constitution of the universe from a [[stoicism|Stoic]] and [[Neo-Platonic]] point of view, gave occasion for Macrobius to discourse upon the nature of the [[cosmos]], transmitting much classical philosophy to the later Middle Ages.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Macrobius, Ambrosius Theodosius|volume=17|page=269}}</ref> In [[astronomy]], this work is noted for giving the diameter of the Sun as twice the diameter of the Earth.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers|date=2007|publisher=Springer|location=New York|isbn=978-0-387-30400-7|page=723|doi=10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_882|chapter=Macrobius, Ambrosius (Theodosius)|editor-last1=Hockey |editor-first1=Thomas }}</ref> Of a third work ''On the Differences and Similarities of the Greek and Latin Verb'', we possess only an abstract by a certain Johannes, doubtfully identified with [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena]] (9th century).<ref name="EB1911"/>

See editions by Ludwig von Jan (1848–1852, with a bibliography of previous editions, and commentary), [[Franz Eyssenhardt]] (1893, [[Teubner]] text), James Willis (1994, new Teubner), and R. A. Kaster ([[Oxford Classical Texts|OCT]] and [[Loeb Classical Library|Loeb]], 2011); on the sources of the ''Saturnalia'' see H. Linke (1880) and [[Georg Wissowa]] (1880). The grammatical treatise will be found in Jan's edition and [[Heinrich Keil]]'s ''Grammatici latini''; see also [[Georg Friedrich Schömann]], ''Commentatio macrobiana'' (1871).

===''Saturnalia''===
{{main|Saturnalia (Macrobius)}}
[[Image:Macrobii scipionis saturnalorium ludguni paganum 1560.jpg|thumb|right|Early printed edition of Macrobius's ''In Somnium Scipionis'' and ''Saturnaliorum''.]]

Macrobius's ''Saturnalia'' ({{langx|la|Saturnaliorum Libri Septem}}, "Seven Books of the [[Saturnalia]]") consists of an account of the discussions held at the house of [[Vettius Agorius Praetextatus]] during the holiday of the [[Saturnalia]]. It contains a great variety of curious historical, mythological, critical, [[antiquarian]] and grammatical discussions. "The work takes the form of a series of dialogues among learned men at a fictional banquet."<ref>{{Cite web
| title = Seven Books of the Saturnalia
| work = World Digital Library
| access-date = 2014-02-28
| date = 2014-02-26
| url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11612/
}}</ref>

===Editions and translations===
* Robert A. Kaster (ed.), ''Macrobius: Saturnalia''. Loeb classical library 510–512. Cambridge, MA/ London:  Harvard University Press, 2011. 3 volumes.
* Percival Vaughan Davies (trans.), ''Macrobius: The Saturnalia''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
* [[William Harris Stahl]] (trans.), ''Macrobius: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1952. (Second printing, with revisions, 1966)
*{{Cite book
| last = Macrobius
| first = Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius
| title = Seven Books of the Saturnalia: Codex from the Plutei Collection of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence
| publisher = World Digital Library
| date = 1400s
| access-date = 2014-02-28
| language = la
| url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11612/
}}

==Legacy==
A prominent [[Macrobius (crater)|lunar crater]] is named after Macrobius.<ref>{{cite web | author = [[International Astronomical Union]] Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature | title = Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | publisher = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] | url = http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ | access-date = 2013-07-17 }}</ref>

[[Macrobius Cove]] in [[Antarctica]] is named after Macrobius.

== Gallery ==
Cicero's ''Dream of Scipio'' described the Earth as a globe of insignificant size in comparison to the remainder of the cosmos.<ref>Macrobius, ''Commentary on the Dream of Scipio'', transl. W. H. Stahl, (New York: Columbia Univ. Pr., 1952), chaps. v-vii, (pp. 200-212).</ref> Many early medieval manuscripts of Macrobius include maps of the Earth, including the [[antipodes]], zonal maps showing the [[Clime#Ptolemy|Ptolemaic climate]]s derived from the concept of a spherical Earth and a diagram showing the Earth (labeled as ''globus terrae'', the sphere of the Earth) at the center of the hierarchically ordered planetary spheres.<ref>B. Eastwood and G. Graßhoff, ''Planetary Diagrams for Roman Astronomy in Medieval Europe, ca. 800-1500'', ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', 94, 3 (Philadelphia, 2004), pp. 49-50.</ref>

Images from a 12th-century manuscript of Macrobius's ''Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis'' (Parchment, 50&nbsp;ff.; 23.9&nbsp;×&nbsp;14&nbsp;cm; Southern France). Date: ca.&nbsp;1150. Source: Copenhagen, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, ms. NKS 218&nbsp;4°.

{{gallery |align=center |perrow=3
|File:Macrobius.jpg|Initial E shaped in the form of a writing man, probably representing Macrobius himself.
|File:Macrobius, universe with the earth in the centre.jpg|The Universe, the Earth in the centre, surrounded by the [[classical planet]]s, including the sun and the moon, within the zodiacal signs.
|File:Macrobius, climatic zones.jpg|The five [[clime]]s of the Earth. Frozen climes in yellow; Temperate climes in blue; Torrid clime in red.
|File:Macrobius, mappa mundi.jpg|Sketch map showing the inhabited northern region separated from the [[antipodes]] by an imagined ocean at the [[equator]].
|File:Macrobius, lunar eclipse.jpg|Diagram showing a lunar eclipse.
|File:Macrobius, solar eclipse.jpg|Diagram showing a solar eclipse.
}}

==See also==
* [[Allegory in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Early world maps]]
* ''[[Mappa mundi]]''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* Brigitte Englisch: Die Artes liberales im frühen Mittelalter (5.–9. Jahrhundert). Das Quadrivium und der Komputus als Indikatoren für Kontinuität und Erneuerung der exakten Wissenschaften zwischen Antike und Mittelalter. Steiner, Stuttgart 1994, {{ISBN|3-515-06431-1}}
* Frateantonio, C., "Praetextatus – Verteidiger des römischen Glaubens? Zur gesellschaftlichen (Neu-)Inszenierung römischer Religion in Macrobius' ''Saturnalien''," ''[[Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum]]'', 11,2 (2007), 360–377.
* Kaster, R. (ed), ''Studies on the Text of Macrobius's 'Saturnalia''' (New York, 2010) (American Philological Association. American Classical Studies, 55).
* Cameron, A., ''The Last Pagans of Rome'' (Oxford, 2011).

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|la|Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius}}
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Macrobius/Saturnalia/home.html Macrobius: ''The Saturnalia''], the Latin text of the critical edition edited by Ludwig von Jan (Gottfried Bass; Quedlinburg and Leipzig, 1852), web edition by Bill Thayer.
* ''Opera quae supersunt'', 2 voll., Quedlinburgi et Lipsiae, typis et sumptibus Godofredi Bassii, 1848-52: [https://archive.org/details/macrobiiambrosii01macr vol. 1], [https://archive.org/details/macrobiiambrosii02macr vol. 2].
* [https://archive.today/20130107012615/http://kaali.linguist.jussieu.fr/CGL/text.jsp?id=T32 Iohannis (Scoti) defloratio de Macrobio], a paraphrase of Macrobius' De uerborum Graeci et Latini differentiis uel societatibus. Also as ''Excerpta parisina'' in ''Grammatici latini'', vol. 5, Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1923, [https://archive.org/stream/grammaticilatini05keil#page/598/mode/2up pagg. 599-629].
* [https://archive.today/20130107123606/http://kaali.linguist.jussieu.fr/CGL/text.jsp?id=T34 Macrobii excerpta Bobiensa], some extracts from Macrobius' De uerborum Graeci et Latini differentiis uel societatibus. Also as ''Excerpta bobiensa'' in ''Grammatici latini'', vol. 5, cit., [https://archive.org/stream/grammaticilatini05keil#page/630/mode/2up pagg. 631-55].
* [https://doi.org/10.58079/mm4w Bibliography on Macrobius' grammatical work]

{{Platonists}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:4th-century Romans]]
[[Category:5th-century Byzantine writers]]
[[Category:5th-century Greek philosophers]]
[[Category:5th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman antiquarians]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman scholars of religion]]
[[Category:Grammarians of Latin]]
[[Category:Late-Roman-era pagans]]
[[Category:Neoplatonists]]
[[Category:Philosophers of Roman Italy]]
[[Category:Praetorian prefects of Italy]]
[[Category:Romans from Africa]]