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[German version] I. Life and Work a) A philologist and polymath of the Augustan era from Spain or Alexandria; a freedman of Augustus who served as the prefect of the Palatine library after 28 BC while simultaneously engaging in extensive teaching activities (for biography, cf. Suet. Gram. 20). Nevertheless, he had to be supported his whole life by Clodius [II 6] Licinus and died in poverty. Ov. Tr. 3,14 is addressed to him. His substantial œuvre includes works of philology (comm. to the Propempticon Pollionis of  Helvius [I 3] Cinna; discussion of selected passages of  Vergili…

[German version] [1] Roman orator, Augustan period One of the leading orators of the Augustan period (Sen. Controv. 2,5,17), died in 9 BC (Jer. Chron. p. 167 H.), a friend of the Elder Seneca (Sen. Controv. 3, pref. 10). Nothing survives of his speeches, but Seneca quotes highlights from his declamations, whose aridity apparently detracted from their success (Sen. Controv. 3, pref. 10f.; 10, pref. 11). Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) Bibliography J. Fairweather, Seneca the Elder, 1981 (Index 400). [German version] [2] L. P. Rufus Son of the orator P. [1]. He entered the Senate as a homo nov…

I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] Poet and critic of Virgil, Augustean period Supposedly a poet (Porph. in Hor. Sat. 2,3,239) of the Augustean period, brother of Bavius, with whom he allegedly quarreled over a woman (Domitius Marsus fr. 1 M.). M was a critic of Virgil (Serv. Georg. 1,210), which made the poets of the circle around Maecenas count him among their opponents (Verg. Ecl. 3,90; Hor. Epod. 10; Domitius Marsus fr. 5 M.). Some notes may have been obtained from Suet. De poetis via the life of Domitius [III 2] Marsus. The possibility of guild banter can not be excluded. Schmidt, P…

[German version] [1] Writer of the Justinian period (6th cent. AD) Writer of the Justinian period (6th cent. AD), a German, probably of Gothic descent, grandson of Paria (secretary to the Prince of the Alani Candac), son of Alanoviamuth. Probably born in the late 5th cent. AD, I. also served as secretary to Cantac's nephew Gunthigis (Iord. Get. 265). Following his conversio (from Arianism to Orthodoxy?, from a secular to a clerical position?), in Constantinople in 551 (Iord. Rom. 4. 363; cf. Iord. Get. 104) he was asked by a friend named Vigilius (unlik…

[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 …

[German version] [1] Equestrian military tribune in the Syrian army (1st cent. AD) Equestrian military tribune in the Syrian army, sent by the governor of Syria, Cestius [II 3] Gallus, against the rebellious Jews in AD 66. From 67, he served under Vespasian (Vespasianus) in the same capacity, fighting the Jewish military commander Flavius Iosephus [4] on several occasions, the last in 67, when the city of Iotapata was conquered (Jos. BI 3,144; 323-326). The last reference to him is from  68, when he subjugated Transjordanian Perea (Jos. BI 4,419-439). PIR2 P 437. Eck, Werner (Cologne) …

Roman cognomen (‘blond’, ‘radiant’, with ablaut, related to flavus [1]), in the Republican period epithet of C. Aquilius [I 11] F. and L. Mestius F. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] P. Annius F. Lat. poet and writer, 1st/2nd cent. AD Under the cognomen Florus (in conjunction with the family name Annius or Ann(a)eus and the first name P. or L.) four works or groups of works are known: 1. the introduction to a dialogue Vergilius orator an poeta (P. Annius F.), 2. and 3. fragment of a correspondence (Charisius, Gramm. 66,10f.; 157,21f. B.) and an exchange o…

[German version] [1] Chariot race victor M. of Thebes, son of Telesiades, addressee of Pind. I., 3 and 4 ( Pindarus). Two victories are mentioned, one in the horse or chariot race at Nemea (ibid. 3,9-13), the other in the pankration (ibid. 4,44). The two metrically identical poems are not treated separately in all MSS. The race victory was probably later, I. 3 being appended to the longer poem I. 4 in regard to a single celebration [1. 202-203]. M.'s father belonged to the family of the Cleonymidae, h…

Plebeian nomen gentile of Etruscan origin, more frequent references only towards the end of the Republic. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L. Military tribune 258 BC Military tribune during the First Punic War, in 258 BC he secured the retreat of consul A. Atilius [I 14] Calatinus (Claudius Quadrigarius fr. 42 HRR) near Camarina. All 400 legionaries of L. were killed, he himself survived badly wounded, but nevertheless was celebrated as ‘The Leonidas of Rome’ (Gell. NA 3,7,21). Other war heroes mentioned are: Q.…

N. (also Nonnius, Nunnius), Italic nomen gentile derived from the numeral praenomen Nonus (evidence: [3. 229; 424]). Several families are attested since the 1st cent. BC, among which the - probably Picene [1. 925] - Nonii Asprenates stand out. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] N. Asprenas, L. Consul suff. in 36 BC Follower of Caesar during the Civil War, propraetor in Gaul before late 49 BC. (ILS 884; [1. 138-142]), proconsul in Africa in 46 (Bell. Afr. 80,4) and cavalry commander in Spain in 45 (Bell. Hisp. 10,2). In 44 N. was people'…

[German version] [2] Roman wall painter, late 4th cent. AD Roman wall painter of late antiquity from the end of the 4th cent. AD. He decorated the house of the aristocratic orator and philosopher Q. Aurelius Symmachus, which the latter mentioned with praise in various letters (Symmachus, Ep. 2,2; 8,21; 9,50b). The nature and appearance of this painting may have resembled that of contemporary catacombs or mosaics from late Imperial villas. Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) Bibliography L. Guerrini, s.v. L., EAA 4, 721 S. Roda, Commento Storico al Libro 9 dell'Epistolario di Q. Aurelio Si…

[German version] [1] Roman cognomen Roman cognomen (‘Muse’) of the family of the Pomponii (Pomponius). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography Kajanto, Cognomina, 53; 216. [German version] [2] Roman rhetor of the Augustan-Tiberian period Roman rhetor of the Augustan-Tiberian period. His contemporary Seneca the Elder (Contr. 10, pr. 9f.) characterised him as talented but tasteless, since he had a tendency towards unnatural bombast (cf. also Sen. Contr. 7,5,13; Sen. Suas. 1,13). However, M. appears to have found the approval of Seneca's sons (Sen. Contr. 10, pr. 9). Schmidt, Pet…

Rare Italic surname, derived from luscus, ‘one-eyed, squinting’ (early examples: CIL I2 182-184; AE 1992, 586). I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] L., L. Centorio under Sulla Centurion under Sulla, enriched himself during the Proscriptions in 82 BC and was condemned in 64 for triple murder (Ascon. 90 C). Fündling, Jörg (Bonn) [German version] [I 2] L. Lanuvinus Writer of fabula palliata, rival of Terentius As a writer of palliata , a rival of Terentius (Donat. Andria 7), author of a Phasma (‘The Ghost’; according to Menander) and of a Thesaurus (‘The Treasure’; content in Don…

(Αἴτνη; Aítnē). [German version] [3] Latin  didactic poem to explain volcanism, most likely from Neronian times, perhaps by Seneca's penfriend Lucilius (cf. Sen. Epist. 79). The author distances himself not only from the (mythological) epic (vv. 9-23), but also in his own genre -- with polemics against  Manilius -- from cosmological and astrological speculation (vv. 228-250). Among his informants,  Posidonius stands out (transmitted partially via Sen. Nat. 6?). Ascribed doubtfully to Virgil in the 2n…

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 nomen gentile of Etruscan origin ( pumple). King Numa Pompilius was considered as the first ancestor of the family. The known bearers of the name are historically insignificant. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [1] P. Andronicus, M. Grammarian, 1st cent. BC According to Suet. Gram. 8, a 1st century BC grammarian and freedman from Syria; because of his Epicurean philosophical focus, he failed to establish himself in Rome and so moved to Cumae (Cyme [2]). His main work, a criticism of the Annales of Ennius [1] ( Annalium Enni Elenchi in 16 books), was published by …

Name of a Latin family which belonged to the upper class in Puteoli (Schulze 480). I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] Duumvir of Puteoli 78 BC As duumvir of Puteoli, he entered into a dispute with Cornelius [I 90]  Sulla in 78 BC, who was so upset that he died (Val.Max. 9,3,8; Plut. Sulla 37,3). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [I 2] G., Q. Public crier and auctioneer Public crier and auctioneer ( praeco) in the late Republican period (Cicero claims to have known him, Brut. 172). Many anecdotes about his wit and repartee (Cic. De or. 2,244; 28…

Roman plebeian family name, attested from the 4th cent. BC onwards (ThlL, Onom. 3,217-227). The most important families into the 1st cent. AD are the Ahenobarbi [I 1-8] and the Calvini [I 9-12]. Identification of some members of the family in the 2nd cent. BC is uncertain. I. Republican period [German version] Domitii Ahenobarbi Family history in Suet. Ner. 1-5. Legend of the origin of the cognomen (ThlL, 1,135; in manuscript also Aenobarbus) ‘Red-beard’, ‘Bronze-beard’ in Suet. Ner. 1,1; Plut. Aem. 25. The family was probably accorded patrician st…

[German version] [1] O. maior Augustus' half sister She was the child from C. Octavius’[I 2] first marriage to Ancharia and was therefore the half sister of Octavian who later became Augustus. She was married to Sex. Appuleius [II 2]; their son was Sex. Appuleius [II 3]. O. is honoured as the sister of Augustus and the mother of Sex. Appuleius on an inscription from Pergamon (ILS 8783 = IGR 4, 323). Fischer, Klaus (Bonn) Bibliography PIR2 O 65  M.W. Singer, The Problem of Octavia Minor and Octavia Maior, in: TAPhA, 79, 1948, 270-271. [German version] [2] O. minor Older sister of Augustus Born …

[German version] I. Greek (Φαῖδρος; Phaîdros). [German version] [I 1] 5th cent. BC Son of Pythocles, from the Attic deme of Myrrhinus, born probably c. 450 BC. Accused of participation in the profanation of the Eleusinian Mysteria and the mutilatation of the herms, P. went into exile in 415 BC. His property was confiscated (And. 1,15; ML 79,112-115). By 404 BC at the latest, he had returned to Athens; he subsequently married a cousin (Lys. 19,15). Died before 393. Participant in the meeting in Plato's Protagoras (315c), interlocutor of Socrates in Plato's Phaedrus and first speaker in his Sy…