* Possible date that Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius published his Saturnalia.

* Macrobius, Saturnalia iii. 17. 14 – 18.

The first non-Christian reference to the massacre is recorded four centuries later by Macrobius ( c. 395-423 ), who writes in his Saturnalia:

Here, according to Macrobius ( Saturnalia, iii.

The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for the holiday.

In the Saturnalia of Macrobius, the proximity of the Saturnalia to the winter solstice leads to an exposition of solar monotheism, the belief that the Sun ( see Sol Invictus ) ultimately encompasses all divinities as one.

In the Saturnalia of Macrobius, Servius appears as one of the interlocutors ; allusions in that work and a letter from Symmachus to Servius show that he was a pagan.

He may possibly be Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, the author of Saturnalia ; some think he may be the emperor of that name.

The correct order of his names is " Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius ", which is how it appears in the earliest manuscripts of the Saturnalia, and how he is addressed in the excerpts from his lost De differentiis.

The most important of Macrobius ' works is the Saturnalia, containing an account of the discussions held at the house of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus during the holiday of the Saturnalia.

), Macrobius: Saturnalia.

), Macrobius: The Saturnalia.

* Kaster, R. ( ed ), Studies on the Text of Macrobius ’ s ‘ Saturnalia ’ ( New York, 2010 ) ( American Philological Association.

* Compitalia, held sometime between December 17 ( the Saturnalia ) and January 5 ; in the later Empire, they were regularly held January 3 – 5, but Macrobius ( 5th century AD ) still categorized them as conceptivae.

He compiled a book called Dies Geniales, constructed after the model of the Noctes Atticae of Aulus Gellius, and the Saturnalia of Macrobius.

Symmachus, and his real-life associates Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus are the main characters of the Saturnalia of Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, which was written in the 5th century but set in 384.

* Macrobius, Saturnalia I. 10. 11-14

Since her abode was inside the earth, Ops was invoked by her worshipers while sitting, with their hands touching the ground, according to Macrobius ( Saturnalia, I: 10 ).

The Saturnalia by Macrobius mentions: " Everyone knows Eupolis, who must be considered among the elegant poets of Old Comedy.

According to Macrobius, who plundered his work for his Saturnalia, he was " the learned man of his age ".

Pomponius ’ skill in the utilization of rustic, obscene, quotidian, alliterative, punning, and farcical language was remarked on by Macrobius in his Saturnalia, as well as by Seneca and Marcus Velleius Paterculus.

Macrobius, in Saturnalia VII, 13 ( a notably fictional work ) refers to the connection between the ringfinger and the heart, but implies in the one phrase a nerve rather than a vein, and in another implies more of a magical than physical significance to the choice of finger.

Major antiquarian Latin writers with surviving works include Varro, Pliny the Elder, Aulus Gellius, and Macrobius.

Macrobius, which explains the name as Latin deriving it from the verb ire (" to go ").

His numerous translations from the Latin included Cicero's Somnium Scipionis with the commentary of Macrobius: Julius Caesar's Gallic War ; Ovid's Heroides and Metamorphoses ; Boethius ' De consolatione philosophiae ; and Augustine's De trinitate.

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.

Only in later manuscripts were his names reversed as " Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius ", which James Willis then adopted for his edition of the Commentary.

( Despite common belief, he did not take a day from February ; see the debunked theory on month lengths ) According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.

The literary record offers at least one variation on this type ; Macrobius describes her cult statue as overhung by a " spreading vine ", and bearing a sceptre in her left hand.

She is described as such in both Livy and Plutarch ; but in Dionysius, Macrobius, and another tradition recorded by Plutarch, she was instead the wife of Hostus Hostilius, a Roman champion at the time of Romulus.

Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius: Ianus would be both Apollo and Diana Iana, by the addition of a D for the sake of euphony.

Other scholars, mainly German, think it is related on the contrary to the martial character of the god Quirinus, an interpretation supported by numerous ancient sources: Lydus, Cedrenus, Macrobius, Ovid, Plutarch and Paul the Daecon.

Macrobius gives the same interpretation of the epithet in his list: " Consivius from sowing ( conserendo ), i. e. from the propagation of the human race, that is disseminated by the working of Janus.

Alan Cameron notes that Cassiodorus and Boethius both refer to him as " Macrobius Theodosius ", while he was known during his lifetime as " Theodosius ": the dedication to the De differentiis is addressed Theodosius Symmacho suo (" Theodosius to his Symmachus "), and by the dedicatory epistle to Avianus's Fables, where he is addressed as Theodosi optime.

However, 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.

Macrobius is also the author of a commentary in two books on the Dream of Scipio narrated by Cicero at the end of his Republic.

File: Macrobius, universe with the earth in the centre. jpg | The Universe, the Earth in the centre, surrounded by the seven planets within the zodiacal signs.

File: Macrobius, mappa mundi. jpg | Sketch map showing the inhabited northern region separated from the antipodes by an imagined ocean at the equator.

X. 1. 95 ), Varro was recognized as an important source by many other ancient authors, among them Cicero, Pliny the Elder, Virgil in the Georgics, Columella, Aulus Gellius, Macrobius, Augustine, and Vitruvius, who credits him ( VII. Intr. 14 ) with a book on architecture.

Ancient authors quoted by Servius Honoratus and Macrobius recorded that Salii had existed at Tibur, Tusculum and Veii even before their creation in Rome.

He is mentioned by Macrobius as the author of a work mentioning two sacral formulae to use against besieged cities, while Cicero, in de Republica, praises the style of Furius ' speeches.

Image: Macrobius DK nks218 4o fol 38v. jpg | Sketch map showing the inhabited northern region separated from the antipodes by an imagined ocean at the equator.

A commentary on the Dream of Scipio by the late Roman writer Macrobius, which included a discussion of the various schools of thought on the order of the spheres, did much to spread the idea of the celestial spheres through the Early Middle Ages.

Her identity became theologically intertwined also with the goddesses Fauna, Magna Mater (" Great Goddess ", referring to the Roman form of Cybele but also a cult title for Maia ), Ops, Juno, and Carna, as discussed at some length by the late antiquarian writer Macrobius.