The gens Menenia was a very ancient and illustrious

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 ...

house 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 ...

from the earliest days of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

to the first half of the fourth century BC. The first of the family to obtain 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

Agrippa Menenius Lanatus Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April, 503 BC. According to Livy, he als ...

in 503 BC. 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 ...

eventually drifted into obscurity, although its members were still living in the first century BC.

Origin

During the first secession of the plebs in 493 BC, Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, the former consul, was despatched by the

Senate 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 ...

as an emissary to the

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 ...

, who were gathered on the ''Mons Sacer''. He said that he was sprung from the plebs, although he and several generations of his descendants held the consulship at a time when it was open only to the patricians. This suggests that the Menenii must have been made patricians, probably during the reign of one of the later

Roman kings The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 716 (" Lanatus").

Praenomina

The Menenii are known to have used the

praenomina 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 birt ...

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Pol ...

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 ''

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 ...

''. Together with the '' gens Furia'', they were amongst the only patrician families to make regular use of the praenomen ''Agrippa'', which was later revived as a

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 here ...

in many families. For this reason, later sources erroneously refer to members of this gens as ''Menenius Agrippa''. ''Licinus'', the praenomen of one of the Menenii, was likewise a rare name, meaning ''upturned''. Like ''Agrippa, Licinus'' was later known primarily as a surname, but it is most frequently confused with the '' nomen

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

'', which was probably derived from it, although perhaps connected to the

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 ...

''lecne'', which seems to have been its equivalent. Livy preserves the praenomen as ''Licinius'', but later historians appear to have amended it to the more common praenomen ''Lucius''.

Branches and cognomina

The only ''cognomen'' associated with the Menenii is ''Lanatus''. This surname is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

adjective, meaning "wooly", and perhaps originally referred to a person with particularly fine, curly, or abundant hair.

Members

* Gaius Menenius Lanatus, father of the consul of 503 BC. * Agrippa Menenius C. f. Lanatus,

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 503 BC, and emissary to the

during the first secession in 493. * Titus Menenius Agripp. f. C. n. Lanatus, consul in 477 BC, failed to intervene on behalf of the Fabii at the

Battle of the Cremera A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. * Agrippa Menenius Agripp. f. C. n. Lanatus, father of the consul of 452 BC. * Titus Menenius Agripp. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus, consul in 452 BC. * Lucius Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus, possibly consul in 440 BC. * Agrippa Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus, consul in 439 BC, and

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

in 419 and 417 BC. * Titus Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus, father of the consular tribune of 387 BC. * Licinus Menenius T. f. T. n. Lanatus, consular tribune in 387, 380, 378, and 376 BC. * Menenius, proscribed by the

triumvirs A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

in 43 BC, but rescued from death by the self-devotion of one of his slaves.Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', iv. 44.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''

Bibliotheca Historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...

'' (Library of History). * Titus Livius (

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 ...

), ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'' (History of Rome). *

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''. * Appianus Alexandrinus (

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War). *

Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...

, ''Noctes Atticae'' (Attic Nights). *

Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Epitome of History). *

Luigi Lanzi Luigi Lanzi (14 June 1732 – 30 March 1810) was an Italian art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelangelo. Biography Born in Treia, Lanzi was educated as ...

, ''Saggio di Lingua Etrusca e di Altre Antiche d'Italia'' (The Study of Etruscan and other Ancient Italian Languages), Stamperia Pagliarini, Rome (1789). * ''

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). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). * {{Refend Roman gentes