Argolicus, of City of Rome

Argolicus served as Urban Prefect (Praefectus Urbi) of Rome under the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, in the early sixth century. Several letters of Cassiodorus's Variae are addressed to him in that capacity, conveying royal instructions on the administration of the city, public works, the grain supply, and the adjudication of disputes among the Roman senatorial aristocracy. As prefect he stood at the head of Rome's civic government, and the correspondence shows the Ostrogothic court relying on him to maintain order, justice, and the dignity of the old capital. He is known almost exclusively through this official correspondence, which fixes his prominence at Theodoric's court but leaves his family background and later career obscure.