Tarasios 5 was the brother of the patriarch Photius (Photios 1); he was a patrikios and a correspondent of Photios 1; three letters survive from him to Photios 1 and thirteen letters from Photios 1 to him, of which three are dateable, Ep. 79 (late 867?), Ep. 234 (Oct. 867/875) and Ep. 256 (Oct. 867/872); the letters are mainly theological in content; one letter, Ep. 234 (cited below), a letter of consolation written to him on the death of his daughter, also records that he had surviving children, both sons and daughters (lines 174-191): Photius, Ep. 31 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ ἠγαπημένῳ), Ep. 79 (addressed Ταρασίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 131 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 132 (addressed τῷ αὐτῷ), Ep. 152 (addressed Ταρασίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 153 (addressed τῷ αὐτῷ), Ep. 160 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 234 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ παραμυθητικὴ ἐπὶ θυγατρὶ τεθνηκυίᾳ), Ep. 256 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 258 (addressed Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 259 (Ταράσιος πατρίκιος Φωτίῳ τῷ ἐμῷ δεσπότῃ καὶ ἀρχιερεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ), Ep. 260 (Φώτιος Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 261 (Ταράσιος Φωτίῳ ἀρχιερεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ ἐμῷ δεσπότῃ καὶ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 262 (Φώτιος Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ καὶ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 263 (Ταράσιος πατρίκιος Φωτίῳ ἀρχιερεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐμῷ δεσπότῃ καὶ ἀδελφῷ), Ep. 264 (Φώτιος Ταρασίῳ πατρικίῳ ἀδελφῷ). He is styled τῇ σῇ ... δεξιότητι, Ep. 153; and τῇ σῇ εὐμενείᾳ καὶ χρηστότητι, Ep. 160. In Laourdas-Westerink the references to the letters are I 82, 121, 169-173, II 7ff., 14, 150-158, 197-200, 203-210. He was therefore a son of Sergios 16 and Eirene 6 and brother of Konstantinos 261, Theodoros 329 and Sergios 107. He was presumably sent into exile with the rest of the family under the emperor Theophilos (Theophilos 5), because of their support for the veneration of icons against imperial orders; cf. Synax. Eccl. Const. 682, 18ff. (unnamed), Men. Bas. 453D (unnamed).

(Publishable link for this person: )