Gabriel ESTRADA SAN JUAN (Universitat de Barcelona)
THE PROPHET OF THE STORK: A POSSIBLE MONTA-NIST AGENT IN MARCUS AURELIUS’ ROME
Keywords: Montanism, heresy, Marcus Aurelius, Historia Augusta, Marius Maximus.
Abstract: One passage from the biography of Marcus Aurelius in the Historia Augusta (13.5-6), probably taken from the lost biography by Marius Maximus, illustrates the calamities of the Antonine Plague with the anecdote of a prophet who, perched on a fig tree in the Campus Martius, proclaims an apocalyptic speech. This anonymous prophet was arrested and tried by the emperor, who spared his life. In this article, we propose to identify him as an agent of the Church of the New Prophecy, which would make him the first known Montanist prophet in Rome. So, we analyse his speech, the scenery and consequences attached, and the evolution of the Phrygian heresy at the time in order to draw comparisons.