The gens Laecania or Lecania was a minor

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 ...

family at

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. Members of this

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...

first appear in history during the reign of

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 ...

. The first to attain the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

was

Gaius Laecanius Bassus Gaius Laecanius Bassus was a Roman senator, who was active during the Principate. He was consul ''ordinarius'' for the year 64 AD with Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi as his colleague. Originally from Pola in Istria, where his family owned importa ...

in AD 40.

Origin

The nomen ''Laecanius'' seems to belong to a class of gentilicia formed using the sufix ''-anius'', typically derived from

cognomina 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 here ...

ending in ''-anus'', or derived from other "a-stem" words. The name might be derived from the surname ''Laeca'', which was used by a family of the

Porcia gens The gens Porcia, rarely written Portia, was a plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Its members first appear in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to achieve the consulship was Marcus Porcius Cato in 195 BC, and from then ...

, or from the same root.

Branches and cognomina

The only important family of the Laecanii bore the cognomen ''Bassus'', originally indicating someone stout.

Members

Laecanii Bassi

* Gaius Laecanius Bassus,

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

''urbanus'' in AD 32, and consul in 40.''PIR'', vol. II, pp. 259, 260. * Gaius Laecanius (C. f.) Bassus, consul in AD 64. *

Gaius Laecanius Bassus Caecina Paetus Gaius Laecanius Bassus Caecina Paetus was a Roman senator of the early Roman Empire, whose known career flourished under the reign of Vespasian. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of November to December AD 70 as the colleague of Lucius ...

, probably one of the Caecinae adopted into the Lecania gens, was consul ''suffectus'' for the months of November and December in AD 70. He was governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

from 80 to 81. * Gaius Laecanius C. f. Bassus Caecina Flaccus, probably the son of Gaius Laecanius Bassus Caecina Paetus, the consul of AD 70, was buried at

Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, aged eighteen. * Gaius Lecanius C. f. Bassus Paccius Paelignus, named in an inscription from Rome. * Quintus Laecanius Bassus, mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

as a contemporary who died after puncturing a carbuncle on his left hand. Possibly the same person as ''Gaius'' Laecanius Bassus, the consul of AD 64. * Laecania, a woman whom

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

contrasted with Thaïs in one of his

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

s. Thaïs is said to have had black teeth, Laecania white; the reason being that Laecania wore false teeth, while Thaïs still had her own.

Others

* Lecanius or Laecanius, a soldier in the

year of the four emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...

, AD 69, and one of several persons said to have given

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

his death-blow. * Lecanius Areius, a Greek physician, who probably lived in or before the first century AD. Few details of his life are known, but he was quoted in at least one passage by

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...

, and perhaps on several subsequent occasions, although his identification is uncertain. He may have written on the life of

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...

. * Laecanius Vitalianus, husband of Faminia Novatilla, and father of Gaius Laecanius Novatillianus. * Gaius Laecanius Novatillianus, subprefect of the

vigiles The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of th ...

in the early third century AD, was the son of Laecanius Vitalianus and Faminia Novatilla, and father of Laecanius Novatillianus and Laecanius Volusianus., , , , . * Laecanius C. f. Novatillianus, son of Gaius Laecanius Novatillianus, and brother of Laecanius Volusianus.. * Laecanius C. f. Volusianus, son of Gaius Laecanius Novatillianus, and brother of the younger Laecanius Novatillianus.

References

Bibliography

* Gaius Plinius Secundus (

), ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'' (Natural History). *

Marcus Valerius Martialis Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

(

), ''Epigrammata'' (Epigrams). *

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

, Historiae''. *

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

us, ''

Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

''. *

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of ''De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vol ...

, ''

De Materia Medica (Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a ...

'' (On Medical Subjects). *

Soranus of Ephesus Soranus of Ephesus ( grc-gre, Σωρανός ὁ Ἑφέσιος; 1st/2nd century AD) was a Greek physician. He was born in Ephesus but practiced in Alexandria and subsequently in Rome, and was one of the chief representatives of the Methodic s ...

, ''The Life of Hippocrates''. * Aelius Galenus, ''De Compositione Medicamentorum per Genera'' (On the Composition of Medications According to their Kind), ''De Compositione Medicamentorum Secundum Locos Conscriptorum'' (On the Composition of Medications According to the Place Prescribed). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''

L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy an ...

'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). *

Paul von Rohden Paul von Rohden (12 December 1862, Barmen – 28 February 1939, Pieterlen) was a German-Swiss schoolteacher and historian known for his research in the field of prosopography. He was the son of theologian Ludwig von Rohden (1815–1889) and the bro ...

Elimar Klebs Elimar Klebs (15 October 1852 – 16 May 1918) was a German historian of ancient history. He was the brother of botanist Georg Klebs. Biography Klebs was born in Braunsberg (Braniewo), Prussia. He studied in Berlin under Theodor Mommsen a ...

, &

Hermann Dessau Hermann Dessau (6 April 1856, Frankfurt am Main – 12 April 1931, Berlin) was a German ancient historian and epigrapher. He is noted for a key work of textual criticism published in 1889 on the ''Historia Augusta'', which uncovered reasons to ...

, ''

Prosopographia Imperii Romani The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final volum ...

'' (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898). * Paul A. Gallivan, "Some Comments on the ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Nero", in ''

Classical Quarterly The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education. Constitution The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are de ...

'', vol. 24, pp. 290–311 (1974). *

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. His ...

, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139" (Annual and Provincial Fasti of the Senatorial Governors from AD 69/70 to 138/139), in ''Chiron'', vol. 12 (1982). * Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', Societas Scientiarum Fenica, Helsinki (1992). {{Refend Roman gentes

Origin

Branches and cognomina

Members

Laecanii Bassi

Others

See also

References

Bibliography