This article aims to analyse how the De Regno by Synesius of Cyrene (ca. 370-413) and the Panegyric for the Fourth Consulship of Honorius by Claudian (ca. 370-404) contributed to the portrait of the ideal ruler at the end of the 4th century. Writing under the empire of the young brothers Arcadius and Honorius, both authors dealt with a complex reshaping of imperial portraiture in order to adapt it to the new powerholders, known as ‘child emperors’ due to their age upon imperial accession. Studied with renewed interest even in recent times, the ‘child-emperor’ type defines an imperial type with a ceremonial rather than a military style. These circumstances influenced the imperial praise of Claudian and Synesius and led towards a new framing of imperial power in which paideia played a key role.
