Though much of his early life is spent in Rome’s political arena, Cassiodorus eventually retires to the contemplative life of a monastery. He establishes a monastery at Vivarium, simply called the Vivarium, a school for the monastic life, which teaches the religious how to study the scripture through rigorous training in Latin and Greek, as well as reading commentaries of early church fathers, copying sacred texts, and meditating on the Bible.
When Cassiodorus dies in the book Pandora (1998), a spirit named Gremt issues out of the beehive and possesses a scarecrow, which openly mourns. When the vampire Pandora sees this, she encourages the spirit to evolve. Taking her advice, Gremt eventually evolves into an incarnate form and, with the aid of Teskhamen and Hesketh, begins the Talamasca Order, inspired by Cassiodorus’s pursuit of truth.
Cassiodorus is mentioned in Pandora and Prince Lestat (2014). For more perspectives on the character of Cassiodorus in the Vampire Chronicles, read the Alphabettery entries Gremt Stryker Knollys, Hesketh, Pandora, Talamasca Order, Teskhamen, and Vivarium.