Gaius Octavius Laenas was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, who was active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was suffect consul in the second half of AD 33 as the colleague of

Lucius Salvius Otho Lucius Salvius Otho was the father of the Roman emperor Otho. He was born of a distinguished and well-connected family on his mother's side. His close friendship with Tiberius, and physical similarity to him, led to rumours that he was Tiberius's ...

. Laenas was also ''

curator aquarum The ''Curator Aquarum'' was a Roman official responsible for managing Rome's water supply and distributing free grain. Curators were appointed by the emperor. The first curator was Agrippa. Another notable ''Curator Aquarum'' was Frontinus, a R ...

'', or overseer of the aqueducts and water supply of Rome from the death of Marcus Cocceius Nerva from about the year 33 to the year 38.R. H. Rodgers
"Curatores Aquarum"
''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', 86 (1982), p. 172 Octavius Laenas is important for genealogical reasons, as

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

explains. He was the son of another Octavius Laenas, who is otherwise unattested, and Sergia "presumed a daughter of the

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

L. Sergius Plautus". Besides the future consul, the elder Laenas and Sergia also had a daughter, Sergia Plautilla, who married Marcus Cocceius Nerva; their children included the future emperor

Nerva Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

. The younger Laenas married

Rubellia Bassa Rubellia Bassa (born between 33-38) was a daughter of Gaius Rubellius Blandus, consul in AD 18 and possibly his wife Julia Livia (killed 43) but more probably an earlier wife. Possible imperial ancestry It has been theorized that her mother was Ju ...

, the daughter of his maternal cousin

Gaius Rubellius Blandus Gaius Rubellius Blandus was a Roman senator who lived during the Principate. Blandus was the grandson of Rubellius Blandus of Tibur, a member of the Equestrian class, who was the first Roman to teach rhetoric. He was suffect consul from August to ...

, suffect consul in 18. That Blandus was married, either before or after the birth of Rubellia, to

Julia Livia Julia Livia (7 – 43 AD), was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla, and granddaughter of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. She was also a first cousin of the emperor Caligula, and niece of the emperor Claudius. Biography Early life Jul ...

, great-granddaughter of the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, which aligned Laenas with the ruling

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

.Syme
"The Marriage of Rubellius Blandus"
''

American Journal of Philology The ''American Journal of Philology'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1880 by the classical scholar Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. It covers the field of philology, and related areas ...

'', 103 (1982), pp. 67f Together Laenas and Rubellia Bassa are known to have at least one child, a surmised son, who was the grandfather of

Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus Marcus Sergius or Servius Octavius Laenas Pontianus was a Roman politician of the early second century. He served as consul in AD 131, alongside Marcus Antonius Rufinus, during the reign of Hadrian. Name Pontianus is not mentioned in ancient wr ...

, consul in 131.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Octavius Laenas, Gaius 1st-century Romans Laenas, Gaius Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome