|
Sextilia Gens
The gens Sextilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of this gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Sextilius, consular tribune in 379 BC. None of the family obtained the consulship, but they endured throughout Roman history from the early Republic into imperial times. Origin The nomen ''Sextilius'' is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen ''Sextus''. The nomen of the gens Sextia was derived from the same name, much as the praenomen ''Quintus'' gave rise to the gentes '' Quinctia'' and '' Quinctilia''. Praenomina The praenomina used by the Sextilii included ''Gaius'', ''Lucius'', '' Marcus'', '' Publius'', and ''Quintus'', all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Although ''Sextilius'' was derived from ''Sextus'', none of the Sextilii known to history bore that name. Branches and cognomina The Sextilii were not divided into families with distinctive surnames. Most of the Sextilii under the Republic bore no cognomen, but a few su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plebeian
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the group and the term are unclear, but may be related to the Greek, ''plēthos'', meaning masses. In Latin, the word is a singular collective noun, and its genitive is . Plebeians were not a monolithic social class. Those who resided in the city and were part of the four urban tribes are sometimes called the , while those who lived in the country and were part of the 31 smaller rural tribes are sometimes differentiated by using the label . (List of Roman tribes) In ancient Rome In the annalistic tradition of Livy and Dionysius, the distinction between patricians and plebeians was as old as Rome itself, instituted by Romulus' appointment of the first hundred senators, whose descendants became the patriciate. Modern hypotheses date ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quinctilia Gens
The gens Quinctilia, also written Quintilia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome, dating from the earliest period of Roman history, and continuing well into imperial times. Despite its great antiquity, the gens never attained much historical importance. The only member who obtained the consulship under the Republic was Sextus Quinctilius in 453 BC. The gens produced numerous praetors and other magistrates, but did not obtain the consulship again for over four hundred years.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 634 (" Quintilia, or Quinctilia Gens"). Origin The nomen Quinctilius is a patronymic surname, based on the praenomen ''Quintus'', meaning "fifth". ''Quinctilius'' is the correct orthography, but ''Quintilius'' is also quite common. The gens Quinctia is derived from the same praenomen. It was not unusual for multiple nomina to be derived from a common source; the Sabine name ''Pompo'' is the Oscan equivalent of ''Quintus'', and gave rise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Factorum Ac Dictorum Memorabilium Libri IX
''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written around AD 30 or 31.Walker, p. xiii It is a collection of approximately a thousand short stories that Valerius wrote during the reign of Tiberius (42 BC – AD 37). The stories are a variety of anecdotes illustrating how the ancient Romans lived. While the majority of the stories are of Roman life, he does have some foreign stories at the end of some chapters. Most of these are of Greek life and most of those are about Greek philosophers or famous kings. Several of the stories relate to moral subjects that parallel those in the Old Testament and New Testament. Valerius refers to his moral stories as "examples" that were to be used as moral guidance. Valerius' work on the preservation of moral values of the Roman Republic of the past was w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worked during the reign of Tiberius (14 AD to 37 AD). During the Middle Ages, Valerius Maximus was one of the most copied Latin prose authors, second only to Priscian. More than 600 medieval manuscripts of his books have survived as a result.Briscoe, ''Valerius Maximus'', p. 15. Biography Nothing is known of his life except that his family was poor and undistinguished, and that he owed everything to Sextus Pompeius (consul AD 14), proconsul of Asia, whom he accompanied to the East in 27. Pompeius was the center of a literary circle to which Ovid belonged; he was also an intimate friend of the most literary prince of the imperial family, Germanicus. Although he shared the same name as a prestigious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Via Sacra
The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road was part of the traditional route of the Roman Triumph that began on the outskirts of the city and proceeded through the Roman Forum. Later it was paved and during the reign of Nero it was lined with colonnades. The road provided the setting for many deeds and misdeeds of Rome's history, the solemn religious festivals, the magnificent triumphs of victorious generals, and the daily throng assembling in the Basilicas to chat, throw dice, engage in business, or secure justice. Many prostitutes lined the street as well, looking for potential customers. From the reign of Augustus, the Via Sacra played a role in the Apotheosis ceremony by which deceased Roman Emperors were formally deified. The body of the Emperor, concealed under a wax death ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribunes Of The Plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate and magistrates. These tribunes had the power to convene and preside over the ''Concilium Plebis'' (people's assembly); to summon the senate; to propose legislation; and to intervene on behalf of plebeians in legal matters; but the most significant power was to veto the actions of the consuls and other magistrates, thus protecting the interests of the plebeians as a class. The tribunes of the plebs were sacrosanct, meaning that any assault on their person was punishable by death. In imperial times, the powers of the tribunate were granted to the emperor as a matter of course, and the office itself lost its independence and most of its functions.''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Tribuni Plebis." It was cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tresviri Capitales
The ''tresviri capitales'' or ''tresviri nocturni'' were one of the Vigintisexviri colleges in Ancient Rome. They were a group of three men that managed police and firefightering. Despite this they were feared by the Roman people due to their police roles, and they were condemned due to their neglect of firefighting during one moment, probably the Great Fire of Rome. The Roman people gave the ''Tresviri Capitales'' the nickname ''nocturni'' due to the night patrols they managed. The ''tresviri capitales'' were elected by the Urban Praetors and later Tribal Assembly. They acted under the mandate of the Senate. Role The ''Tresviri Capitales'' managed the police in Ancient Rome. They were somewhat feared by the citizens of Rome. Although the ''Tresviri Capitales'' had total criminal jurisdiction over the people of Rome, they did not have judicial jurisdiction. They dispensed justice in the forum, supervised executions, and castigated thieves and slaves. Also, they, along w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from a number of suitable candidates, freed from any legal ties and obligations to their birth family, and enrolled in Vesta's priestly college of six priestesses. They were supervised by a senior vestal but chosen and governed by Rome's leading male priest, the ; in the Imperial era, this meant the emperor. Successful acolytes vowed to serve Vesta for at least thirty years, to study and practise her rites in service of the Roman State, and to maintain their chastity throughout. As well as their obligations on behalf of Rome, Vestals had extraordinary rights and privileges, some of which were granted to no others, male or female. The Vestals took it in turns to supervise Vesta's hearth, so that at least one Vestal was stationed there at a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the group and the term are unclear, but may be related to the Greek, ''plēthos'', meaning masses. In Latin, the word is a singular collective noun, and its genitive is . Plebeians were not a monolithic social class. Those who resided in the city and were part of the four urban tribes are sometimes called the , while those who lived in the country and were part of the 31 smaller rural tribes are sometimes differentiated by using the label . (List of Roman tribes) In ancient Rome In the annalistic tradition of Livy and Dionysius, the distinction between patricians and plebeians was as old as Rome itself, instituted by Romulus' appointment of the first hundred senators, whose descendants became the patriciate. Modern hypotheses date ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrician (ancient Rome)
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC). By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. The social structure of Ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians. The relationship between the patricians and the plebeians eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time period resulted in changing the social structure of Ancient Rome. After the Western Empire fell, the term "patrician" continued as a high honorary title in the Eastern Empire. In the Holy Roman Empire and in many medieval Italian republics, medieval patrician classes were once again formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary ''cognomina'' were used to augment the second name, the ''nomen gentilicium'' (the family name, or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings. Roman names Because of the limited nature of the Latin '' praenomen'', the ''cognomen'' developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whose cognomen ''Magnus'' was earned after his military victories under Sulla's dictatorship. The ''cognomen'' was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius (praenomen)
Publius is a Latin ''praenomen'', or personal name. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and was very common at all periods of Roman history. It gave rise to the patronymic '' gens Publilia'', and perhaps also '' gens Publicia''. The feminine form is ''Publia''. The name was regularly abbreviated P.''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'' (1994) Throughout Roman history, Publius was one of the most frequently-used praenomina, typically occupying fourth or fifth place, behind ''Lucius'', ''Gaius'', and ''Marcus'', and occurring with about the same frequency as ''Quintus''. The feminine form, ''Publia'', was also quite common, and is found in numerous inscriptions as late as the 3rd century, and perhaps beyond. Origin and meaning of the name Publius is thought to derive from the same root as ''populus'' and ''pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
