AGAPETUS II., pope from 946 to 955, at the time when Alberic, son of Marozia, was governing the independent republic of Rome under the title of “prince and senator of the Romans.” Agapetus, a man of some force of character, did his best to put a stop to the degradation into which the papacy had fallen, the so-called “Pornocracy,” which lasted from the accession of Sergius III. in 904 to the deposition of John XII. in 963. His appeal to Otto the Great to intervene in Rome remained without immediate effect, since Alberic’s position was too strong to be attacked, but it bore fruit after his death.  Agapetus died on the 8^th of November 955.