ARATOR  , of

Liguria, a Christian poet, who lived during the 6th century . He was an orphan, and owed his early education to Laurentius, archbishop of Milan, and Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, who took great interest in him . After completing his studies, he practised with success as an advocate, and was appointed to an influential post at the court of Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths . About 540, he quitted the service of the state, took orders and was elected sub-deacon of the Roman Church . He gained the favour of Pope Vigilius, to whom he dedicated his De Actibus Aposlolorum (written about 544), which was much admired in the middle ages . The poem, consisting of some 2500 hexameters, is of little merit, being full of mystical and allegorical interpretations and long-winded digressions; the versification, except for certain eccentricities in prosody, is generally correct . Text by Hubner, 185o . See Leimbach, " Der Dichter Arator," in Theologische Studien and Kritik (1893); Manitius, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie (1891) .