science

Papirius Dionysius

Papirius Dionysius is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Papirius Dionysius rather than just read about it. In short: Marcus Aurelius Papirius Dionysius (died c. 190) was a Roman eques and jurist who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reign of the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, including praefectus annonae, or overseer of the grain rations for Rome. The career of Papirius Dionysius is partially documented in an incomplete inscription recovered from Antium.

Key takeaways

Papirius Dionysius belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Papirius Dionysius to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Papirius Dionysius from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marcus Aurelius Papirius Dionysius (died c. 190) was a Roman eques and jurist who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reign of the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, including praefectus annonae, or overseer of the grain rations for Rome. The career of Papirius Dionysius is partially documented in an incomplete inscription recovered from Antium. It attests several positions he held: prefectus vehiculorum, or director of the public post; sacerdos confarreationum et diffarreationum, or official responsible for conducting the ancient form of Roman marriage; and member the advisory board (consilium principis) to the emperor as legal adviser (centenario consiliario Augusti). Due to the incomplete nature of the text, we cannot be certain of the order or date of these positions, except that they were earlier in his career than the major one he held -- praefectus annonae. It was in this office that he intrigued to bring the downfall of the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Cleander. Dionysius abused his office to artifice an impending famine in Rome by deliberately withholding the grain reserves. This led to a revolt in the Circus Maximus during a horse race, when the crowd was convinced that Cleander was responsible for the lack of food, who then marched to where the emperor Commodus was. To appease the crowd, he had Cleander and his son executed. However, Dionysius did not enjoy his success for very long, as the emperor Commodus later ordered his death. While some authorities believe he was also prefect or governor of Roman Egypt, it is unclear whether Papirius Dionysius actually held the office: while Guido Bastianini includes Dionysius in his list of prefects, dating his tenure to around 188, in a footnote he admits that his prefecture "has not been attested by any papyrological or epigraphic source in Egypt", while noting that "Dionysius, slandered by Cleander, was dismissed before he even reached Alexandria; see the case of Sutorius Macro, in 38".

References

Further reading Hans-Georg Pflaum, Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain I-III (Paris, 1961), No. 181 Claire Préaux, "La Préfecture d' Égypte de 187 à 190", Chronique d'Egypte 22 (2020), pp. 338-342 doi:10.1484/J.CDE.2.307531 C. R. Whittaker, "The Revolt of Papirius Dionysius A.D. 190", Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 13 (1964), pp. 348-369

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Papirius Dionysius

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Papirius Dionysius claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Papirius Dionysius before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Papirius Dionysius ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Papirius Dionysius

In research: Papirius Dionysius appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Papirius Dionysius in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Papirius Dionysius is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 190 deaths, 2nd-century Roman governors of Egypt, 2nd-century Romans, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Papirius Dionysius outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Papirius Dionysius in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Papirius Dionysius means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Papirius Dionysius out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Papirius Dionysius in simple terms?

Why does Papirius Dionysius matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Papirius Dionysius?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Papirius Dionysius.