The gens Pilia was an obscure
plebeian 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 BC ...
. None of the Pilii attained any of the higher magistracies of the Roman state, and members of this
gens are known primarily through the writings of
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, who was acquainted with a family of this name; but many others are known from inscriptions.
Origin
Chase classifies the
nomen ''Pilius'' among the non-
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 ...
gentilicia originating from various parts of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, although he was unable to be more specific.
Praenomina
The main
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 ...
used by the Pilii were ''
Marcus'', ''
Publius'', ''
Quintus'', and ''
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 P ...
'', four of the most common names throughout Roman history. ''
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 ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', and ''
Manius'' are found in filiations.
Members
* Marcus Pilius, possibly the father-in-law of Atticus, sold an estate to Gaius Albanius, ''circa'' 45 BC.
* Pilia (M. f.), the wife of Cicero's close friend,
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus (November 110 BC – 31 March 32 BC; later named Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus) was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman s ...
, whom she married in 56 BC.
* Quintus Pilius (M. f.) Celer, probably the brother-in-law of Atticus, served under
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
during the
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
. In 51 BC, he accused Marcus Servilius of ''repetundae'', maladministration or extortion in the governance of his province. Cicero asked Atticus to send him a copy of Celer's speech.
* Publius Pilius P. l. Anops, a freedman buried at
Luceria
Luceria is an ancient city in the northern Apennines, located in the comune of Canossa in the Province of Reggio Emilia, on the right bank of the river Enza.
Toponym
The name might derive from ''lucus'', which means "sacred grove".
It is not ...
in
Apulia, together with Pilia Apicula and her son, Publius Pilius Felix, in a tomb dating to the early first century AD.
[.]
* Pilia Ɔ. l. Apicula, a freedwoman, was buried at Luceria, with her son, Publius Pilius Felix, and Publius Pilius Anops.
* Publius Pilius P. l. Felix, a freedman, was buried at Luceria with his mother, Pila Apicula, and Publius Pilius Anops.
* Pilia P. l. Selenis, buried at Luceria during the early first century AD.
* Marcus Pilius S. f. Priscus, named in a dedicatory inscription from
Trebula Mutusca
Trebula Mutusca (also spelled Trebula Mutuesca or simply Mutuscae) was an ancient city of the Sabines. It is located at Monteleone Sabino, a village about 3 km to the east of the Via Salaria.
Pliny mentions both Sabine cities named Trebula: ' ...
in
Samnium
Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The ...
, dating to AD 60.
* Pilia Psaechas, the widow of Lucius Mummius Restitutus, who was buried at
Albintimilium in Liguria during the second century AD. They were married for forty years.
Undated Pilii
* Pilia A. f., buried at
Tarquinii
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage statu ...
in
Etruria, aged sixty-five.
* Pilia L. f., buried at
Amiternum
Amiternum was an ancient Sabine city, then Roman city and later bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in the central Abruzzo region of modern Italy, located from L'Aquila. Amiternum was the birthplace of the historian Sallust (86 BC).
Histo ...
in Samnium.
* Marcus Pilius, mentioned in an inscription from
Pompeii.
* Pilia M. l. Andromaca, a freedwoman buried at
Narbo
Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
in
Gallia Narbonensis.
[.]
* Marcus Pilius M. l. Antiochus, a freedman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
[.]
* Pilia C. l. Callistenis, a freedwoman named in an inscription from Rome.
* Pilia C. l Cleopatra, named in an inscription from Rome.
[.]
* Marcus Pilius Dius, mentioned in an inscription from Rome.
* Pilia C. l. Chreste, named in an inscription from Rome.
* Marcus Pilius P. l. Chrestus, a freedman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Marcus Pilius M. l. Diophantus, a freedman named in an inscription from Narbo.
* Marcus Pilius Eros, named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Marcus Pilius Eucarpus, a freedman who dedicated a monument at Rome to his wife, Pilia Philtatae.
[.]
* Pilia Euterpe, buried at
Ostia, aged eighteen years, five months, and twenty-two days.
* Pilia M. l. Flora, a freedwoman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Pilia Ɔ. l. Hilara, a freedwoman buried at
Teanum Apulum Teanum Apulum is an ancient town of Apulia, southeastern Italy, near the modern town of San Paolo di Civitate.
It was located on the road between Larinum and Sipontum, at a crossing of the Fortore river, and was east of Larinum.
History
The tow ...
in Apulia.
* Marcus Pilius M. l. Hilarus, a freedman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Pilia Philtatae, buried at Rome, with a monument dedicated by her husband, Marcus Pilius Eucarpus.
* Pilia M. l. Prima, a freedwoman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Pilia Primitiva, buried at Ostia.
* Pilia L. f. Quarta, wife of Marcus Calpetanus, buried at Rome.
* Pilia M'. l. Quarta, a freedwoman, and the wife of Musaeus, was buried at Rome, aged twenty-three.
* Gaius Pilius C. f. Rufus, a
quattuorvir buried at Tarquinii, aged fifty-seven.
* Pilia Simne, wife of Aemilius Secundus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome.
* Gaius Pilius C. l. Surus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.
* Marcus Pilius M. l. Timoplastes, named in an inscription from Rome.
* Quintus Pilius Ɔ. l. Tyrrsus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.
[''NSA'', 1914-391, 9.]
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early ...
References
Bibliography
*
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, ''
Epistulae ad Atticum
''Epistulae ad Atticum'' (Latin for "Letters to Atticus") is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his close friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's ot ...
'', ''
Epistulae ad Familiares
''Epistulae ad Familiares'' (''Letters to Friends'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and various public and private figures. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's other letter ...
'', ''
Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem
''Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem'' (''Letters to brother Quintus'') is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his younger brother Quintus.
The letters in this collection, when combined with Cicero's other ...
''.
*
Wilhelm Drumann
Wilhelm Karl August Drumann (11 June 1786, in Danstedt – 29 July 1861, in Königsberg) was a German classical historian.
From 1805 he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Halle, receiving his doctorate at Helmstedt in 1810. Fol ...
, ''Geschichte Roms in seinem Übergang von der republikanischen zur monarchischen Verfassung, oder: Pompeius, Caesar, Cicero und ihre Zeitgenossen'', Königsberg (1834–1844).
* ''
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 ...
'',
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 centu ...
''et alii'', ''
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
* ''Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità'' (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated ''NSA''), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–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).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilia (gens)
Roman gentes