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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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Roman surname, derived from the name of the goddess Iuno [1. 470; 2. 731]. The gens was plebeian; the idea that this family originated from the patrician founder of the Republic L. I. [I 4] Brutus (Cic. Att. 13,40,1), which was particularly propagated by the murderers of Caesar, M. and D. I. Brutus [I 10 and 12], was already a matter of controversy in ancient times (Plut. Brutus 1,6-8). T.  Pomponius Atticus (Nep. Att. 18,3) composed a family history at the request of M. Brutus. This gens became politically im…

Name of probably the most important Roman plebeian family. The similarity to the Etruscan name lecne and the links between the gens and Etruria in historical times (L. [I 7]) suggest an origin in that region [1. 108, n. 3]; the name may, however, also be of Latin origin ( Licinus). The spelling with a double ‘n’ occurs not only in the Greek form Λικίννιος ( Likínnios), but also in Latin inscriptions [1. 108, n. 1]. In the annalistic historical records dealing with the early Republic, members of the family appear among the earliest people's tribunes, reaching their polit…

Name of an old patrician family, probably connected with the name of the god  Jupiter [1. 281; 2. 729]. The gens was one of the so-called ‘Trojan families’, who were said to have moved from Alba Longa to Rome under king Tullus Hostilius [I 4] (see below). The Iulii were prominent in the 5th and 4th cents. BC. Their connection to the family branch of the Caesares, which rose to prominence from the 3rd cent. and whose outstanding member was the dictator  Caesar (with family tree), is unclear. Caesar's adoptive son,…