Abstract:
Ambrose found in Gratian the first emperor who offered him an official public space for the defence of the Christian-Nicene belief. This new space went beyond episcopal preaching and texts about the question of the female virginity debated by the priest. That is why, through his writings, the Milanese bishop transformed Gratian into a "holy emperor", protector of the Nicene. In this work, my purpose is to examine the memory created by Ambrose about the place of Gratian in the heaven, a discursive construction that moved away the august of the traditional divine apotheosis. This analysis will be made on the basis of two Ambrosian’s funeral laudations: De Obitu Valentiniani Consolatio (392 AD) and De Obitu Theodosii Oratio (395 AD).
Keywords:
Emperor Gratian; Memory; Death