The gens Lartia, also spelled Larcia, or rarely Largia, was a

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 ...

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 ...

, whose members earned great distinction at the beginning of the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

Spurius Larcius Spurius Larcius (surnamed Flavus or Rufus; 509–482 BC) was one of the leading men of the early Roman Republic, of which he was twice consul. However, his greatest fame was won as one of the defenders of the Sublician bridge against the army ...

was one of the two companions of Horatius, who defended the

Pons Sublicius The Pons Sublicius is the earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, spanning the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium ("cattle forum") downstream from the Tiber Island, near the foot of the Aventine Hill. According to tradition, its construction was ...

against

Lars Porsena Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan civilization, Etruscan king (lar) known for his Roman-Etruscan Wars#War with Clusium in 508 BC, war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ; ...

in 508 BC. A few years later,

Titus Larcius Titus Larcius (surnamed Flavus or Rufus; 501–493 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the early Republic, who served twice as consul and became the first Roman dictator.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. ...

became the first

Roman dictator A Roman dictator was an extraordinary Roman magistrate, magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other ...

. However, the

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 ...

all but vanishes from history after this period. A family of the same name existed in the late Republic and under the early

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, but their relationship to the earlier Lartii is unknown.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 723 ("

Lartia Gens The gens Lartia, also spelled Larcia, or rarely Largia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome, whose members earned great distinction at the beginning of the Republic. Spurius Larcius was one of the two companions of Horatius, who defended the ...

").

Origin

The Lartii were one of several noble families of

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

origin during the early Republic. The nomen ''Lartius'' is a patronymic surname, based on the Etruscan

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...

. This name, meaning "lord", is usually spelled ''Larth'' in Etruscan inscriptions, but Latin writers also used ''Lars'' in place of the Etruscan praenomina ''Laris'' and ''Larce'', apparently distinct names in Etruscan. The nomen is always spelled ''Lartius'' in

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

, while

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

alternates between ''Larcius'' () and ''Largius'' (). All three forms appear on Latin inscriptions.

Praenomina

The only praenomina associated with the Lartii of the early Republic are ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

'' and '' Spurius''. The Larcii of the late Republic and early Empire used ''

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

'' and ''

Aulus Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...

''.

Branches and cognomina

According to Dionysius, the Lartii at the outset of the Republic bore the surname ''Flavus''. However, ''Rufus'' is found in place of ''Flavus'' in some inscriptions. As the consuls of the early Republic are known to have been brothers, it seems possible that one of them, having fair hair, was called ''Flavus'', while the other, having red hair, was called ''Rufus''. The

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 ...

are now so confused that it is impossible to determine which was which.

Members

, surnamed ''Flavus'' or ''Rufus'', consul in 506 and 490 BC. *

, surnamed ''Flavus'' or ''Rufus'',

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in 501 and 498 BC, and the first

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

in 501. * Lucius Lartius, father of the senator Lucius Lartius. * Lucius Lartius L. f., a senator in 73 BC, had probably been

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

in an uncertain year. * Lartius Licinius, a contemporary of the elder Pliny, was

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 ...

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

, and subsequently governor of one of the imperial provinces. He died before Pliny. * Gnaeus Lartius, father-in-law of Marcus Plautius Silvanus * Lartia, wife of Marcus Plautius Silvanus, consul in 2 BC. * Aulus Larcius Gallus, the father of Lepidius Sulpicianus. * Lucius Larcius Laches,

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

from AD 36 to 38. * Aulus Larcius A. f. Lepidius Sulpicianus, commanded a legion in

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...

. * Aulus Larcius Lydus, a freedman, and the father of Larcius Macedo.Pliny the Younger, ''Epistulae'', iii. 14. * (Aulus) Larcius A. f. Macedo, was murdered by his own slaves. * Aulus A. f. A. n. Larcius Priscus, the son of Sulpicianus, was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 110. * Aulus Larcius (A. f.) A. n. Macedo, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 124. * Larcius Memor, governor of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

around AD 192.

Guido Bastianini Guido Bastianini (born September 10, 1945 in Florence), Italian papyrologist and palaeographer. Bastianini finished his papyrological studies in Florence 1970. He had participated in various archaeological missions in Egypt organized by the Istit ...

a al 299^p"">"Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30^a al 299^p"
''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "th ...

'', 17 (1975), p. 303

Footnotes

Bibliography

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. * Gaius Plinius Secundus (

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 '' ...

), '' Historia Naturalis'' (Natural History). * Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...

), ''

Institutio Oratoria ''Institutio Oratoria'' (English: Institutes of Oratory) is a twelve-volume textbook on the theory and practice of rhetoric by Roman rhetorician Quintilian. It was published around year 95 AD. The work deals also with the foundational education ...

''. * Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

), '' Epistulae'' (Letters). * ''

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). *

Wilhelm Dittenberger Wilhelm (William) Dittenberger (August 31, 1840 in Heidelberg – December 29, 1906 in Halle (Saale)) was a German philologist in classical epigraphy. Life Wilhelm Dittenberger was the son of the Protestant theologian Wilhelm Theophor Dittenberg ...

, ''Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum'' (Collection of Greek Inscriptions, abbreviated ''SIG''), Leipzig (1883). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). * Anthony Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1981). * Werner Eck
"Miscellanea Prosopographica"
in ''