Search

Your search for 'dc_creator:( "Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum)" ) OR dc_contributor:( "Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum)" )' returned 505 results. Modify search

Sort Results by Relevance | Newest titles first | Oldest titles first

Gavius

(1,035 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Walde, Christine (Basle) | Rüpke, Jörg (Erfurt)
Roman family name, frequently attested in inscriptions, also in the form Cavius [1. 76f.]; in the Republican period its bearers are still politically insignificant; also a Faliscan praenomen [2. 103]. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] G., P. Crucified as a spy of Spartacus 72 BC from Compsa (Lower Italy), was captured and crucified in Sicily in 72 BC by C.  Verres as an alleged spy of the slave leader  Spartacus (Cic. Verr. 2,5,158-170). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [I 2] G. Bassus Roman grammarian and antiquarian of the late Republic Roman grammarian and…

Felix

(619 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Michel, Simone (Hamburg) | Portmann, Werner (Berlin) | Leppin, Hartmut (Hannover) | Fröhlich, Roland (Tübingen) | Et al.
Roman cognomen (‘The Fortunate One’), in the Republican period initially an epithet of the dictator L. Cornelius [I 90] Sulla and his descendants (Cornelius [II 59-61]); in the Imperial period, as a name invoking luck, one of the most common cognomina and the most common slave name. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] Gem-cutter of the Roman Republican period Gem-cutter of the Roman Republican period, probably a contemporary of  Dioscurides [8], named together with  Anteros in an inscription as a gemari de sacra via [1. 44 and note 40]. He signed the famous sard…

Pupius

(528 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Günther, Matthias (Bielefeld) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Roman nomen gentile, possibly connected to the Etruscan pupu. The family is otherwise politically insignificant; the adoptive father of the consul for 61 BC, P. [I 3], is unknown. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republic [German version] [I 1] In Horace, the author of tragedies, 1st cent. BC The only source for the author P. is Horatius (Epist. 1,1,67). According to this, P. was probably an author of tragedies. He lived in the 1st cent. BC. The scope and precise content of his poetry is unknown. Günther, Matthias (Bielefeld) Bibliography Bardon, vol. 2, 47  Courtney, 307. …

Naevius

(1,767 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Italic personal name, perhaps derived from the praenomen Gnaivos ( Gnaeus, Cn.); popular etymology derives it from naevus, ‘birthmark’ (Arnob. 3,14). The antiquity of this name in Rome, which is also widely attested in inscriptions, is suggested by the name of porta Naevia in the Servian city wall (Varro, Ling. 5,163; cf. Liv. 2,11,8). However, the family emerged politically only in the 2nd cent. BC. The most important bearer of the name is the poet N. [I 1]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] N., Cn. Dramatist and epic poet, 3rd cent. BC Roman drama…

Postumius

(2,687 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Et al.
Roman patrician gentilic name (from the praenomen Postumus ), found in the highest offices from the 5th cent. BC on and politically significant until the 2nd cent. BC. As dictator in 499 or 496 BC, an A. P. is supposed to have decided the battle at Lacus Regillus (Liv. 2,19-20). The Albi or Albini (Regillenses), who withdrew from politics with P. [I 9]'s military failure in the Jugurthine War at the end of the 2nd cent. BC, are his descendants. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] P., C. Etruscan haruspex, even consulted by Sulla Etruscan haruspex ( haruspices

Manilius

(2,287 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Roman gens name, probably taken from the forename Manius, which in mss is frequently confused with Mallius, Manilius, Manlius. The family was significant in the 2nd cent. BC through M. [I 3] and [I 4]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] M. (or Manlius?), L. Writer, senator AD 97, [I 1] M. (or Manlius?), L. Senator in 97 BC, wrote about the Phoenix (as first in Lat.: Plin. HN 10,4f.), about natural wonders and sacred law. Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) Bibliography Schanz/Hosius 1, 605f. [German version] [I 2] M., C. People's tribune in 66 AD People's tribune in …

Alfius

(360 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Beck, Jan-Wilhelm (Bochum) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Calboli, Gualtiero (Bologna) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn)
Roman gentilicium. [German version] [1] Historian, 1st cent. BC 1st cent. BC, published a work of history or epic probably about the first Punic war ( bellum Carthaginiense Fest. 158 M), perhaps identical to no. 5 [1]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [2] Banker Banker (Hor. Epod. 2,67). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [3] Marius, 2nd half of 3rd cent. BC Marius, Campanian, fell in 215 BC fighting against Rome (Liv. 23,35,13; 19). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Schanz/Hosius, 1, 202. [German version] [4] Avitus Latin poet of the 2nd/3rd…

Aemilius

(4,870 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main)
[German version] Nomen gentile Name of a very old patrician line (more often written Aimilius), after which the tribus Aemilia, one of the oldest rustic tribes, is also named. Republican pseudo-genealogy traced the gens back to Mamercus, said to be the son of Pythagoras or of Numa, or to Trojan ancestors: Aemilia, a daughter of Aeneas; Aimylos, a son of Ascanius; or to King Amulius himself (Plut. Aemilius 2; Numa 8; Romulus 2; Fest. 22 L; Sil. Pun. 8,294-296) [1]. The Aemilii belonged to one of the most respected lines in the R…

Magius

(793 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Family name of Oscan origin. [I 184]. The family was prominent in Capua (M. [I 3], cf. Cic. Pis. 24) and M.'s [I 5] sons were the first to be admitted to the Senate in the 1st cent. BC. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] Grandfather of the poet Vergilius on his mother's side Grandfather of the poet Vergilius on his mother's side; was allegedly an official messenger ( viator ; Donat. Vita Vergilii 1). Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) [German version] [I 2] M., Cn. Governor of Numidia AD 256-258. From Larinum in Samnium, died about 88 BC; heir of his (half…

Cornelius

(14,783 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Frateantonio, Christa (Gießen) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Stroh, Wilfried (Munich) | Et al.
Name of one of the oldest and most celebrated Roman patrician families; during the Roman Republic the largest and most extensive gens, giving its name to the tribus Cornelia. Its patrician branches probably stem from the Maluginenses, frequently attested in the 5th cent. BC (C. [I 57-58]); the sequence was probably as follows: in the 5th cent. the Cossi [I 20-22]; in the 4th cent. the Scipiones [I 65-85], Rufini [I 62] and Lentuli [I 31-56]; from the 3rd cent. the Dolabellae [I 23-29], Sullae [I 87-90], Blasiones [I 8-10],…

Vettius

(1,947 words)

Author(s): Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Rüpke, Jörg (Erfurt) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster) | Et al.
Widespread Italic nomen gentile. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] V., L. Roman equestrian from Picenum, c. 106-59 BC. In 89 BC, V. probably served on the staff of Cn. Pompeius [I 8] Strabo (ILS 8888; [1. 161 f.]) and subsequently enriched himself as a favourite of L. Cornelius [I 90] Sulla (Sall. Hist. 1,55,17). He later joined the conspiracy of Catilina (Q. Tullius Cic. commentariolum petitionis 10), but betrayed it to Cicero in 63 BC (Cass. Dio. 37,41; Oros. 6,6,7). In 62, it seems that opponents o…

Maenius

(930 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
Name of a Roman plebeian family, perhaps of Etruscan origin [1. 185; 187]. The most important bearer of the name is M. [I 3]; the family is politically unimportant in the 1st cent. BC. Lex Maenia is the title of a Menippean satire of Varro (Varro Men. 153-155). The law concerned the power of the paternal head of the house; content and dating are contested [3. 1085 - 1121]. A further lex Maenia probably passed before 290 BC directed that the ‘agreement of the Senate’ ( auctoritas patrum) for elections be obtained before proclaiming the election results (Cic. Brut. 55). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Boch…

Antistius

(1,814 words)

Author(s): Degani, Enzo (Bologna) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main)
[German version] I. Greek Epigrammatic poet Epigrammatic poet; although it is not possible to be certain, because the name is fairly common, A. is usually equated with the Macedonian C. Antistius Vetus, who in AD 11 was sent into exile because of treason (Tac. Ann. 3,38), or with the praetor A. Sosianus, who suffered the same destiny in AD 62 (Reason: factitatis in Neronem carminibus probrosiis... Tac. Ann. 14,48; 16,14; 21; cf. Hist. 4,44). His four epigrams, which derive from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus are balanced, elegant variations of traditional motives…

Nicopolis

(1,739 words)

Author(s): von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) | Burian, Jan (Prague) | Strauch, Daniel (Berlin) | Wirbelauer, Eckhard (Freiburg) | Strobel, Karl (Klagenfurt) | Et al.
(Νικόπολις; Nikópolis). [German version] [1] Town on the upper Nestus river This item can be found on the following maps: | Moesi, Moesia Town on the upper Nestus river on the road from Philippopolis to the Aegean coast (Ptol. 3,11,13: Ν. ἡ περὶ Νέσσον; 8,11,7; Hierocles, Synekdemos 636,5), near modern Goce Delčev (Bulgaria), founded in AD 106 by Traianus. From the 2nd to 4th cents. AD, N. reached a high economic and cultural level (minting from Commodus to Caracalla: HN 287; thermal baths, peristyle buildings, sculpt…

Plautius

(2,995 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian family, in the late Republic also often spelt Plotius, with no clear difference in use (cf. Claudius/Clodius). The earliest epigraphic evidence comes from Praeneste (among it the maker of the Ficoronian Cista, Novios Plautios, CIL I2 561), while the family in Rome achieved political eminence after 367 BC (Münzer therefore considers them to have migrated from Praeneste [1. 42; 44f.; 412]), providing seven consuls between 358 and 318; their migration may explain their interest in integrating Latini (cf. P. [I 5]…

Livius

(6,493 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian family, who probably came from Latium and was accepted into Roman nobility when Latium was integrated politically in 338 BC ( Latin law). The most important branches were first the Salinatores, then the Drusi (on the cognomen see Drusus). The third wife of Augustus and mother of the emperor Tiberius, Livia [2] Drusilla came from this branch (Stemma see Augustus; the family history of the branch is in Suet. Tib. 3). The line of the Salinatores was continued in the late Republic by the Livii Ocellae, who i.a. produced Livia Ocella, the stepmother of the emperor Galba [2]. E…

Lucretius

(3,448 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Italian surname (on its Etruscan connection cf. [1. 182f.]). In the 5th and 4th cents. BC we encounter the patrician family of the Lucretii Tricipitini (among others with the rare praenomen Hostus) which later died out; from the 3rd cent. BC onwards several plebeian families are known (Gallus, Ofella, Trio, Vespillo). The most important bearers of the name are Lucretia [2] from early Roman history and the poet L. [III 1]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L. Prosecutor of M. Livius Drusus [I 5] Claudianus In 54 BC he prosecuted M. Livius Drusus …

Mucius

(2,116 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Et al.
Name of a Roman gens (in inscriptions also Muucius, CIL I2, 584, Greek Μούκιος/ Moúkios). Tradition tells us of the legendary C.M. [I 2] Cordus Scaevola; the great age of the family is perhaps demonstrated by the name Mucia Prata of a place to the east of the Tiber [1]. In the historical period (from the 3rd century BC) the family was plebeian and provided a series of significant lawyers (M. [I 5; I 8-9]). One of M. [I 4]'s sons was adopted by a P. Licinius Crassus and as P. Licinius [I 19] Crassus Dives Mucianus founded the reputation of this branch of the family of Licinii Crassi. I. Republican …

Sergius

(1,659 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Name of an old patrician family. The tribus Sergia was named after it. The family is attested to have attained consulship in the 5th cent. BC (S. [I 5]) but did not achieve lasting importance in the historical period. The attempt of its best-known member, L.S. Catilina, to attain the consulship once more failed with the Catilinarian Conspiracy. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] S., M. The brother of L.S. Catilina (?) According to Plutarch (Sulla 32,3; Cicero 10,3), the brother of L.S. Catilina, killed by him in 81 and posthumously put on the proscriptions…

Lucilius

(2,458 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Christes, Johannes (Berlin) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian family, derived from the first name Lucius [II], widespread from the 2nd cent. BC onwards. The satirical poet L. is the best-known of them. [I 6]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican era [German version] [I 1] A friend of M. Iunius [I 10] Brutus, who wanted to protect the latter in 42 BC at Philippi by pretending to be him (App. B Civ. 4,542-545). After that he followed M. Antonius [I 9] with similar loyalty until they both died in the year 30. Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] L., Sex. People's tribune 87 BC, thrown from the Tarpeian rock beca…

Sempronius

(6,399 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Et al.
Name of a Roman family. According to tradition, its members of the 5th cent. BC (Atratini, S. [I 3-8]) are supposed to have been patricians and champions of patrician privileges (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 10,41,5; 10,42,3), an assumption that may have been a retrospective invention (the Sempronii only became patricians under Caesar or Augustus); in the historical period, we know only of plebeian branches of the family during the Republic (Asellio, Blaesus, Gracchus, Longus, Tuditanus) who played an important role in the 3rd and 2nd cents. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican Period …

Rufinus

(1,669 words)

Author(s): Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Johne, Klaus-Peter (Berlin) | Gatti, Paolo (Trento) | Gutsfeld, Andreas (Münster) | Et al.
[German version] I Greek (Ῥουφῖνος/ Rhouphînos). [German version] [I 1] Epigrammatist Greek epigrammatist; dating uncertain (Neronian/Flavian era? [2; 4]; 2nd cent. AD? [3]; late 4th cent. AD? [1]); origin unknown (Anth. Pal. 5,9: residence in Ephesus). 37 erotic poems are extant, all in Anth. Pal. 5,2-103 (on this so-called Sylloge Rufiniana, perhaps also from the 4th cent. AD, cf. [5]). With the exception of the paederastic poem 28 (cf. also 19), R.' epigrams, in which 13 women's names are mentioned (two further fictitious ones in 44,1), tr…

Tryphon

(1,210 words)

Author(s): Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich) | Touwaide, Alain (Madrid) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Et al.
(Τρύφων/ Trýphōn). [German version] [1] The usurper Diodotus of Casiane, 2nd cent. BC Name assumed by the usurper Diodotus from Casiane near Apamea [3] (Str. 16,2,10). As strategos of Demetrius [7] I, D./T. went over to the pretender to the throne Alexander [II 13] Balas, betrayed Antioch [1] on the Orontes to Ptolemaeus [9] VI, occupied Apamea [3] and Chalcis, but then did not switch over to Demetrius [8] II, instead raising Alexander's [13] son to king as Antiochus [8] VI in 145 BC. He defeated Demetrius and allied with…

Fabius

(6,346 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Scholz, Udo W. (Würzburg) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Roman patrician family name, probably derived from Etruscan fapi [1. 162]. According to ancient etymology, however, either from faba ‘(broad)bean’ (‘legume grower’: Plin. HN 18,10; [2]) or from the original ‘Fodius’, ‘Fovius’ (‘wolf pit hunter’: Plut. Fabius 1,2; Fest. 77 L.) because the Fabii with the Quinctii originally appointed the priesthood of the Luperci; the  Lupercalia were also the family celebration of the Fabii (Ov. Fast. 193ff.). Early Imperial pseudogenealogy, which perhaps arose in the literary ci…

Magnus

(1,025 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Groß-Albenhausen, Kirsten (Frankfurt/Main) | Portmann, Werner (Berlin) | Johne, Klaus-Peter (Berlin) | Et al.
Roman cognomen, which originally designated bodily size or birth order (‘the Elder’), as in the Republican period in the case of Sp. Postumius Albinus M. ( cos. 148 BC) and T. Roscius M. (Cic. Rosc. Am. 17) [1. 275; 3. 47]. As an assumption of the epithet of Alexander [4] ‘the Great’ (ὁ μέγας/ ho mégas, in the sense of great historical importance), first taken by Cn. Pompeius ( cos. 70 and 55) in the 1st cent. BC, then inherited by his sons Cn. and Sex. Pompeius and their descendants. Sex. Pompeius used M. also as a praenomen resp. nomen gentile [4. 364f.]. In the Imperial period, more frequen…

Clodius

(2,871 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Glock, Andreas (Bremen) | Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) | Et al.
In the 1st cent. BC, vernacular form of the gentilicium  Claudius (C. [I 4] and  Clodia), since late Republican period also an independent family name. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] C., C. Praefect of M. Brutus in 43/42 BC In 43/42 BC follower and prefect of M. Brutus; he murdered C. Antonius [I 3]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [I 2] C., Sex. Henchman of P. Clodius [I 4] Pulcher, Sex. Cloelius [2] Henchman of P. Clodius [I 4] Pulcher, Sex.  Cloelius [2]. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [I 3] C. Aesopus Tragic actor, 2nd half of the 1st cent. BC Tragic …

Iuventius

(1,470 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Roman cognomen [1. 281; 482; 2. 735]. The gens belonged to the municipal nobility of Tusculum, came into Roman politics around 200 BC and with I. [I 6] achieved the sole consulate in the middle of the 2nd cent. BC, to which they referred to also later (Cic. Planc. 12, 15; 18f. and others; cf. Catull. 24,1-3). The most important families were the Thalnae (also Talnae in inscriptions) and the Laterenses. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] Alleged first curule aedile of the plebs, 4th cent. BC According to fictitious family tradition, the first curule aedile of the plebs at the end …

Victor

(1,595 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Groß-Albenhausen, Kirsten (Frankfurt/Main) | Habermehl, Peter (Berlin) | Brändle, Rudolf (Basle) | Portmann, Werner (Berlin) | Et al.
('winner, victor(ious)'). [German version] [1] Roman cognomen Roman cognomen, only attested from the mid-1st cent. BC (Cic. Att. 14,14,2), but from then one of the commonest bynames, and a name of choice. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography Kajanto, Cognomina, 57; 72; 89; 96; 98; 278 H. Solin, Die stadtrömische Sklavennamen, 1996, 100 f. [German version] [2] Roman epithet for gods (Roman epithet for gods), see Hercules; Iuppiter; Mars; Tibur. Groß-Albenhausen, Kirsten (Frankfurt/Main) [German version] [3] Imperial title Roman Imperial title from the early 4th c…

Manlius

(3,605 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Et al.
(in Greek usually Μάλλιος/ Mállios, often confused in MSS with Mallius and Manilius). Name of a Roman patrician family, probably of Etruscan origin [1. 227]. It attained an early political zenith in the 5th and 4th cents. BC with the Vulsones and Capitolini branches (continued by the Torquati). Sources connect the family's history primarily with the repelling of the Celts ( M. [I 8] and [I 12]. Stemmata, details of which are uncertain: [2. 1157f., 1166]). A period of decline ended in about 260 BC wi…

Porcius

(3,528 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Suerbaum, Werner (Munich) | Et al.
Name of a Plebeian family from Tusculum. In the belief that the family had been pig-breeders, in antiquity their name was derived from porcus  (Varro Rust. 2,1,10 etc.). From the middle of the 3rd century BC, the Catones and Licinii branches belonged to Rome's leading class and at the beginning of the 2nd century, they attained the consulship with  Cato [1] (Censorius) and P. [I 13]. The exact blood relationship between the most prominent bearer of the name, Cato [1], and his great-grandson, P. [I 7] Cato (Uticensis), is not completely clarified. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republic…

Octavius

(2,326 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Kaster, Robert A. (Princeton) | Et al.
Widely occurring Roman nomen gentile derived from the numeral praenomen Octavus ('one born in the eighth month', which disappeared later, still surviving in Octavus Mamilius [2]). Of political importance in Rome from the 2nd cent. BC is only the older line which consecutively produced five consuls (O. [I 4-8]; preferred praenomen: Cn.; regarding the family relationships [1. 405-407]); the members of the related younger line (resident in Velitrae), on the other hand, from which the later princeps Augustus originated, did not rise above equestri…

Quinctius

(3,960 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Et al.
Name of a patrician Roman family, derived from the praenomen Quintus (comparable to Sextus/ Sextius, etc.), often also Quintius in inscriptions and MSS. The origin of the family is unknown; its great age is suggested by its connection with the festival of the Lupercalia (Ov. Fast. 2,378 has Quintilii) and the unusual praenomen of the family, Kaeso, encountered in this context ( v. Q. [I 1]). Livy counts them among the families that migrated to Rome from Alba with King Tullius Hostilius (1,32,2; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 3,29,7 mentions the Quinctilii). The Quinctii are mentioned many tim…

Aelius

(3,107 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian house (originally Ailius), verifiable from the 4th cent. BC until the late imperial era. The most important families are the Paeti (since the 4th cent. BC), Tuberones (since the 2nd cent. BC), and from the 1st cent. also the Galli and Lamiae. In the imperial era, especially since Hadrian, the most famous bearer of the name, the name Aelius is so widespread that it -- just like Flavius and Aurelius -- loses its character as nomen gentile. I. Republic [German version] [I 1] Ae. Unknown author of a lex Aelia, mid 2nd cent. BC unknown author of a lex Aelia (mostly mentioned t…

Rutilius

(2,145 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Gruber, Joachim (Munich) | Et al.
Name of a widely-branched Roman plebeian family who became well known from the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC on, but only achieved the consulate for the first time at the end of the cent. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] R. Lupus, P. Consul in 90 BC Praetor no later than 93 BC; consul in 90. During the Social War [3], he received the command of the northern army; against the advice of his legate C. Marius [I 1], he was lured into an ambush by the Marsi and was killed in the valley of the Tolnus (modern Turano; Liv. Per. 73; App. B Civ. 1,191-194; Oros. 5,18,11 f.). MRR 2,25. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig…

Furius

(3,311 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA) | Richmond, John A. (Blackrock, VA) | Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Et al.
Name of an ancient Roman patrician lineage (on inscriptions also Fourios), derived from the praenomen Fusus and also occurring occasionally in the original form Fusius in the literary tradition; the family perhaps came from Tusculum (cf. the family grave of the Furii ILLRP 895-903). The numerous members of the gens from the early Republic in the 5th/4th cents. BC are scarcely tangible as historical persons, and their history is in part later annalistic invention. Most well known is the ‘Saviour of Rome’ after the catas…

Scribonius

(2,206 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) | Kaster, Robert A. (Princeton) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian family, probably from Caudium (CIL I2 1744 f.) and attested from the time of the 2nd Punic War. The branch of the Libones (S. [I 5-7; II 4-7]) attained the consulship with S. [I 7] and was part of the Roman high nobility in the early Imperial period. The Curiones (S. [I 1-4]), prominent in the 2nd and 1st cents. BC, disappeared with the Republic. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] S. Curio, C. As aedile in 196 BC, he built the Temple of Faunus on the Tiber Island. Praetor urbanus in 183 and the second plebeian to be elected curio [2] maximus

Sulpicius

(5,409 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Schmidt, Peter Lebrecht | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Et al.
Name of a Roman patrician family, probably originally from Cameria (hence the cognomen Camerinus); documented in the fasti from c. 500 BC. The otherwise rare praenomen Servius appears comparatively frequently and at times is even used in place of the nomen gentile (Tac. Hist. 2,48; Plut. Galba 3,1). The number of cognomina within the gens is high, but it has been impossible to identify clear branches. The link between the S. from the 3rd to the 2nd and 1st cent. BC is unclear. In the 2nd cent. BC, the most important branch of the family was that of…

Terentius

(5,938 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Et al.
Roman nomen gentile of Sabine origin. Its members begin to appear in the sources late in the 3rd cent. BC. Politically the most important branch was that of the Terentii Varrones which attained the ranks of the nobility with T. [I 14] Varro, consul in 216 BC. From the mid-2nd cent., several families of this branch were in simultaneous and unconnected existence. Cognomina showing geographical origins are widespread among the Terentii (Afer, Lucanus, Massaliota). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] As people's tribune in 54 BC, T. prevented…

Marius

(5,642 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Roberts, Michael (Middletown, CT) | Et al.
Oscan praenomen ( Egnatius [I 3]). Attested as a Roman nomen gentile from the 2nd cent. BC. The most important holder is the seven-time consul M. [I 1]; the prominent Imperial-period Spanish bearer of the name, M. [II 3], is probably a descendant of family members of that Marius. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] M., C. Seven-time consul, victor over Jugurtha and over the Cimbri and Teutoni, opponent of Sulla The seven-time consul; victor over Jugurtha and over the Cimbri and Teutoni. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] A. The rise to political prominence Born c. 157 BC…

Pompeius

(8,348 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Et al.
Name of a Plebeian family (connection with the Campanian city of Pompeii is unclear). The family acquired political significance with P. [I 1]; he is the origin of the Rufi branch. With P. [I 8] a related branch attained consulship and with his son Cn. P. [I 3] Magnus supplied the most significant member of the gens. Both lineages continue until the early Imperial period (family trees: [1; 2; 3]). I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] P., Q. Consul 141 BC A homo novus and popular orator (Cic. Brut. 96), he became consul in 141 BC, despite resistance from the nobility a…

Valerius

(11,988 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Et al.
Name of an old patrician family, which was said to have immigrated to Rome under King T. Tatius with V. [I 10] (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,46). The name, derived from the old personal name Valesus/ Valerus, was originally Valesios (cf. V. [I 7]; CIL XII p. 298g: Valesies; Fest. 22; Varro, Rerum divinarum fr. 66 Cardauns [4; 5]); the censor App. Claudius [I 2] introduced the new spelling in 312 BC (cf. Dig. 1,2, 2,36). Because in Antiquity the name was derived (etymologically correctly) from valere, 'to be strong', it was considered to be a good omen ( boni ominis nomen, Cic. Div. 1,102; Cic. Sca…

Marcellus

(1,746 words)

Author(s): Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Fornaro, Sotera (Sassari) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Et al.
[German version] I. Greek (Μαρκέλλος; Markéllos). [German version] [I 1] From Pergamum, orator, 2nd cent. AD, [1] Rhetor from Pergamum known solely from a brief reference in the Suda; he is said to have written a book (or several books) entitled Ἀδριανὸς ἢ περὶ βασιλείας/ Adrianòs ḕ perì basileías (‘Hadrian, or On Monarchy’). He would thus have lived in the first half of the 2nd cent.; whether Dio's [I 3] speeches perì basileías, addressed to Trajan, served as a model is uncertain. Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) [German version] [I 2] From Side, physician and poet, 2nd cent. AD M. from …

Pomponius

(5,501 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Et al.
Name of a Roman plebeian family probably deriving from the Italic praenomen Pompo, tracing back, like the Aemilii, Calpurnii and Pinarii, to one of the sons of Numa Pompilius (Plut. Numa 21,2; cf. Nep. Att. 1,1). In the 3rd century BC the Mathones (cf. P. [I 7-9]) achieved consulship, but later the family was insignificant. The most prominent member was a friend of Cicero, T. P. [I 5] Atticus. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] P., Cn. People's tribune in 90 BC People's tribune in 90 BC, killed in the Civil War in 82; Cicero quite often heard him in his youth; his j…

Cassius

(5,432 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) | Et al.
Name of a plebeian gens (cf. Tac. Ann. 6,15,1), the representatives of whom have been known historically since the middle of the 3rd cent. BC. The most important family, especially in the 1st cent. BC, are the Cassii Longini. A patrician C. (around 500 BC, C. I 19) is rare. I. Republican age [German version] [I 1] C., C. Governor of Asia 89-88 BC Praetor 90 BC (?), in 89-88 governor of the province of Asia whence he, with M'. Aquillius [I 4], induced Nicomedes of Bithynia to attack  Mithridates (MRR 2,34). He then had to retreat from the victorious Mithridat…

Papirius

(3,269 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Bringmann, Klaus (Frankfurt/Main) | Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) | Nadig, Peter C. (Duisburg) | Et al.
Roman nomen gentile, in its older form, Papisius (Cic. Fam. 9,21,3), from which one of the 16 old rural tribes ( tribus ) took its name. The patrician gens formed several branches at an early time (5th/4th cents. BC: Crassi, Cursores, Mugillani, 3rd cent.: Masones) who played a significant role in the military successes of the Republic, but became either extinct no later than the 2nd cent. BC or politically insignificant. The younger plebeian branch of the Carbones rose in the 2nd half of the 2nd cent. and gained notoriety…

Maximus

(3,163 words)

Author(s): Trapp, Michael (London) | Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster) | Brisson, Luc (Paris) | Leppin, Hartmut (Hannover) | Savvidis, Kyriakos (Bochum) | Et al.
[German version] I. Greek (Μάξιμος; Máximos) [German version] [I 1] Maximus of Tyre Author of lectures mainly on ethics and theology, 2nd cent. AD, [1] Maximus of Tyrus AD 2nd cent.; author of 41 short dialéxeis (lectures), according to the most important MS (Cod. Parisinus graecus 1962) delivered in Rome (the Suda dates a visit to the reign of Commodus, AD 180-191). His concepts are simple yet rhetorically sophisticated (frequent use of comparisons, quotations from poetry, mythological and historical examples); his main topic is…

Antonius

(5,913 words)

Author(s): Degani, Enzo (Bologna) | Fusillo, Massimo (L'Aquila) | Savvidis, Kyriakos (Bochum) | Berschin, Walter (Heidelberg) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Et al.
[German version] A. Greek (Ἀντώνιος; Antṓnios). [German version] [1] Thallus Epigrammatic poet, 2nd half of the 1st cent. BC Epigrammatic poet from Miletus (according to [2] he had received Roman citizenship, through the patronage of Antonia Minor) lived in the 2nd half of the 1st cent. BC (in Anth. Pal. 6,235 the birth of a Καῖσαρ [ Kaîsar] is celebrated, who is to be equated with either C. Julius Caesar, the grandson of Augustus, or with Germanicus). His five epigrams, which derive from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus, are certainly conventional in their…

Claudius

(10,704 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Birley, A. R. (Düsseldorf) | Et al.
Name of a Roman lineage (Sabine Clausus, with the vernacular variant of   Clodius , esp. in the 1st cent. BC). The Claudii supposedly immigrated to Rome from the Sabine city of Regillum at the beginning of the republic in 504 BC under their ancestor Att(i)us Clausus ( Appius) and were immediately accepted into the circle of patrician families (Liv. 2,16,4-6), which explains why the early members received the invented epithets of Inregillensis C. [I 5-6] and Sabinus C. [I 31-32], [1. 155f.]. The praenomen Appius came to signify the family. Named after them was the Tribus Claudi…

Marcius

(5,160 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Bendlin, Andreas (Erfurt) | Frateantonio, Christa (Gießen) | Müller, Christian (Bochum) | Kierdorf, Wilhelm (Cologne) | Et al.
Old Roman nomen gentile, derived from the prename Marcus. Tradition knows of a patrician branch with the (mythical) king Ancus M. [I 3] and Cn. M. Coriolanus as its most important members. The younger members of the family (from the 3rd cent.) were plebeian without a link to the patrician Marcii being evident. Important families included the Rutili, later also the Censorini, Tremuli, Reges and Rallae. In the Late Republic the family claimed descent from the kings Ancus M. and Numa Pompilius (therefore the cognomen Rex, see M. [I 5]; RRC 346; 425; Suet. Iul. 6,1; [4. 154]) as wel…

Caecilius

(6,633 words)

Author(s): Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Will, Wolfgang (Bonn) | Eck, Werner (Cologne) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Et al.
Name of a plebeian gens (probably derived from Caeculus, older form is Caicilios, Greek Καικίλιος, Κεκίλιος [ Kaikílios, Kekílios]; ThlL, Onom. 12-14), whose existence is documented since the 5th cent. (since C. [I 1]), but who only gained importance in the 2nd cent.; their most famous branch were the C. Metelli (I 10-32). A later explanation related the name back to Caeculus, the legendary founder of Praeneste, or Caecas, a companion of Aeneas (Fest. p. 38). I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] C., Q. Supposedly people's tribune in 439 BC Supposedly people's tribune in 439 BC …
▲   Back to top   ▲