Maternus Cynegius (died 388) was a Roman bureaucrat and close confidant of the emperor Theodosius I. He held the offices of praetorian prefect of the East (384–388) and consul (388), and has been widely blamed by historians for instigating the widespread destruction of pagan temples and shrines throughout the eastern Roman provinces. Some recent authors, however, have questioned his role in events and his overall reputation as a Christian fanatic and temple destroyer. Biography Maternus Cynegius is usually thought to be a native of Hispania, deduced from the fact that his body was sent there to be buried. He also seems to have belonged to the extended circle of relatives and intimates of the emperor Theodosius I, who was likewise a Spaniard. All of Cynegius's recorded career shows him holding the highest court rank () and offices under that emperor, which has led scholars to deduce that his connection to Theodosius earned him a quick promotion to these honors. On the other hand, a dedicatory inscription records that Cynegius held all grades of honors in the civil hierarchy, which led historian McLynn to infer that he had some experience under previous emperors, and that it was this which recommended him to Theodosius. Cynegius is first securely attested in the spring of 383 serving as Theodosius's treasurer (). Within a few months, he was appointed to the office of and, shortly afterwards (January 384), praetorian prefect of the East, with the task of replenishing the undermanned municipal councils () of the eastern provinces, as well as, according to the 6th-century historian Zosimus, closing pagan temples and suppressing worship of the gods therein. Cynegius's ensuing tour of the east brought him to Egypt, probably in late 386, where he announced at Alexandria that Theodosius had recognized the military usurper Maximus as a legitimate emperor. Rewarded by his services with the consulship in 388, Cynegius died early in the same year, either at Constantinople or on the return journey there from Egypt. He was interred at the Church of the Holy Apostles on 19 March 388, but his widow, named Achantia, sent his body to Hispania a year later. Known administrative measures which Cynegius helped implement while in office include laws aimed at filling vacant seats in city councils and punishing the neglection of curial duties by local officials, as well as the building of city walls and other public works at Antioch.