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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…

Nomen gentile of Etruscan origin; the family, which belonged to Rome's equestrian class, came from northern Picenum (Cic. Rab. perd. 22; Caes. B Civ. 1,15,2). [German version] [1] L., Q. Slain in the Curia c. 100 BC Uncle of L. [3], supported L. Ap(p)uleius [I 11] Saturninus in 100 BC and was slain at his side in the Curia on the Forum Romanum (Cic. Rab. perd. 14; 18; 20-22; Oros. 5,17,9). Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) [German version] [2] L. (Parthicus), Q. Commander in Asia Minor and Armenia c. 40 BC Son of L. [3]. At the end of 43 BC he undertook treaty negotiations at the behest of the m…

Roman gens, evident in the names of some individuals of the late Republican period, also in the Greak-speaking areas (CIL I2 2247). [German version] [1] M. Rufus, L. Quaestor 51 BC, assigned to Cicero in Cilicia In 51 BC, M was assigned as quaestor to the proconsul Cicero in Cilicia. Differences in their reports cast a shadow over their relations (Cic. Att. 6,3,1; 4,1; Cic. Fam. 5,20). Cicero attempted to cover up this resentment when he tried to win M. over as an adversary of Caesar (Cic. Fam. 5,21,1; 13,28,2). MRR 2,242. Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) Bibliography Schulze, 193, 272, 288.

Oscan praenomen, shortened to No., attested for N. Calavius [2], the maker of the Ficoronian cista Novios Plautios (ILS 8562), and in other inscriptions. Probably a particularly frequent gentilicium from the 3rd cent. BC onwards in Campania and spreading from there into the eastern Mediterranean. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] Representative of the literary Atellana, early 1st cent. BC As a representative of the literary atellana, N. appears to have been at work ahead of Pomponius (leading representative of the genr…

Roman gens name (probably Etruscan root), encountered in the late Republic and early Imperial period, it is however rather rare. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L. Regulus, L. Acquaintance of Cicero, who probably shared Cicero's banishment to Greece in 58 BC Acquaintance of Cicero, of about the same age, who around 58 BC probably shared Cicero's banishment to Greece (Cic. Att. 3,17,1; Cic. Fam. 13,60,1). The year of his service as praetor, deduced from coinage of his son L. [I 2], remains unclear. MRR 2,464. Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] L. Regulus, L. Partici…

Uncommon Roman family name; a few gentiles are identifiable as merchants in Greece (Delos, Asia Minor) during the later Republican period, e.g. a M.M. who died in Elis (Cic. fam. 5,20,2; 20,8; 13,26,2; 28,2). [German version] [1] M. Marcellus, M. Officer of the fleet from 38 BC From Velitrae, the home of Octavian ( Augustus), whom M. probably knew from his youth (App. civ. 5,422). Speculated in property with the encouragement of Caesar (Cic. fam. 15,17,2). Under the latter's adoptive son Octavian, a career as officer of the fleet from 38 BC:…

Common Italian proper name (associated with the praenomen Herennus that is often confused with H.), which however is not documented as a surname among the Roman upper class until the 1st cent. BC. It frequently appears with epithets showing place of origin ( Etruscus, Gallus, Picens, Siculus). In the Imperial period it is the name of Caesar Q.H. [II 3] Etruscus, son of emperor  Decius [II 1], of the historian H.  Dexippus [2], and of the jurist H.  Modestinus. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) I Republican Period [German version] [I 1] H. Centurio and murderer of Cicero Centurio, who at the…

Gens name of Oscan origin. During the Republican period there is evidence of individuals bearing this name in Campania (e.g. ILS 5347) and in the Greek areas (IG XII 9,845). I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] M., C. Tribune of the plebs 57 BC, called for Cicero's return from exile In 57 BC as people's tribune, M. called for Cicero's return from exile (initially without success: Cic. P. red. in sen. 21). Partisan of Pompey (Cic. Att. 4,1,7; 8,11D,2). 55 (plebeian?) aedile (organizer of the Floralia : Val. Max. 2,10,8). In 54 subsequently discovered…

(Ἵππαρχος; Hípparchos). [German version] [1] Second son of Peisistratus, around 530 BC Second son of  Peisistratus and an Athenian woman. Together with his older brother  Hippias [1] and the younger Thessalus, H. assumed his inheritance (528/527 BC) after his father's death (Thuc. 6,55; [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 18,1). In contrast to Hippias, H. exhibited no political profile. He dedicated himself to aristocratic social life and culture and invited, among others,  Anacreon [1] of Teos and  Simonides of Ceos to A…

Old Latin family name, whose origin is unexplained; in inscriptions also Hostillius and Hostilus [1. 30; 175]. The great age of the name is shown by the third Roman king Tullus H. [4] and names such as Curia Hostilia, Lares Hostilii and the goddess Hostilina. In historical times, the family was Plebeian and, from the 2nd cent. BC, politically active, particularly in the Tubuli and Mancini branches; it died out at the end of the 1st cent. BC. [German version] [1] H. Praetor and people's tribune in the 2nd cent. BC Praetor or people's tribune in the 2nd cent. BC (?), had a lex Hostilia passed, w…

Uncommon gentilicium name that is unlikely to be related to the tribe of the Ligures and that is epigraphically attested during the Republic in Rome (CIL I2 1092) and Praeneste (CIL I2 1449). [German version] [1] L., A. Friend of Caesar and the brothers of Cicero, died in 47 BC Friend of Caesar and the brothers of Cicero (Cic. Att. 11,9,2), died during the Civil War in 47 BC (Cic. Fam. 16,18,3f.). Frigo, Thomas (Bonn) [German version] [2] L., Cn. Military tribune in 197 BC Fell in 197 BC as military tribune in the battle against the Ligurians in Gallia Cisalpina (Liv. 33,22,8). Frigo, Thomas (Bon…

Name of a Roman plebeian family, probably derived not from hortus but from the place names Hortense, Hortenses [1. 660; 2. 175; 177; 534]. The first definitely attested bearer of the name is H. [4], the most prominent member the orator H. [7]. Family tree: [3. 75]. [German version] [1] H., L. Praetor 170 BC As praetor in 170 BC commanded the fleet in the third Macedonian War (honours in Athens: IG II2 907, and Delos: IDélos III 461 Aa 83). He conquered Abdera, sold its population into slavery, and oppressed Chalcis, but had to rescind his orders by instruction o…

[German version] [1] Matius, C. Friend of Cicero and Caesar, who sought to mediate between them in 53 BC. Contemporary and friend of Cicero (Cic. Fam. 11,27f.) and Caesar, who played a kind of mediating role between the two. In 53 BC he was in Gaul (Cic. Fam. 7,15,2) with Caesar, for whom M. remained a useful assistant even after the outbreak of the Civil War, although he tended to operate behind the scenes. In the summer of 47, M. was the addressee of the message announcing Caesar's victory at Zela, which became proverbial (‘I came, I saw, I conquered’: veni, vidi, vici, Plut. Caesar 50,3: the …

Name of a family which probably came from Campania. The military successes of L. [I 1] in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) and the connection to the elder Scipio probably gained them Roman citizenship and the ascent into the nobility. A younger line ( praenomen D.) became consuls under Augustus (L. [II 1-3]. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L., C. Consul 190 BC, elder contemporary of Scipio Africanus Born around 235 BC, died around 160; L. owed his political ascent to the close (and what has become a proverbial) connection to P. …

Name of a Roman gens, more frequently attested from the late Republic, though rooted in the early period of Rome as indicated by a street name, the vicus Instei(an)us on the southern peak of the Quirinal, the collis Latiaris (Varro, Ling. 5,52; Liv. 24,10,8). I. Republic [German version] [I 1] I., L. Fought in the Social War [3] in 89 BC, in 76 BC under Sertorius Served in the  Social War [3] in 89 BC under Cn. Pompeius Strabo outside Asculum (ILLRP 515); probably identical with the legate who fought on  Sertorius' side in Spain in 76 (Liv. 91, fr. 22: here also a C.I. as praefectus equitum, a broth…