The gens Silia was a

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 ...

are mentioned as early as the fifth century BC, but first to hold the consulship was

Publius Silius Nerva Publius Silius Nerva was a Roman senator and general, who flourished under the reign of Augustus. He was consul in 20 BC as the colleague of Marcus Appuleius. Biography Nerva was the son of a senator who had achieved the rank of propraetor. A par ...

, in the time of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 823 ("Silia Gens"). The Silii remained prominent until the time of the Severan dynasty, in the early third century.

Origin

The nomen ''Silius'' is derived from the cognomen ''Silus'', originally designating someone with an upturned nose. It was one of a large class of cognomina derived from the physical characteristics of an individual. Chase classifies ''Silius'' among those gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Silii were ''

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 ...

'', '' Publius'', 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 Pol ...

'', all of which were common throughout Roman history. Other common praenomina were used occasionally.

Branches and cognomina

''Nerva'', originally applied to someone described as "sinewy", was the cognomen of the most prominent family of the Silii, and the only surname of this gens that occurs on coins.Chase, p. 110. This family was prominent from the age 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 estab ...

to the time of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. One branch of this family was descended from a member who was adopted by Aulus Licinius Nerva; but as the two families shared a surname prior to this adoption, they may perhaps have been related. Other surnames of the Silii that did not become hereditary included ''Bassus'', "stout" or "sturdy"; ''Italicus'', referring to someone from "Italy", originally describing the region of

Bruttium 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawano ...

, before it came to describe the rest of the peninsula; and ''Messala'' or ''Messalla'', a surname usually associated with the ancient Valeria gens. This name was derived from the city of Messana in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, which was rescued from a

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage. It can also refer to: * Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921 * Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...

naval blockade by Manius Valerius Maximus during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

; the name was passed down to his descendants, perhaps including

Marcus Silius Messala Marcus Silius Messala (born ca. AD 160, fl.193) was a Roman senator and suffect consul towards the end of the 2nd century. In 193, Messala was the suffect consul from May until June. He was in command of the location where the murder of Pertinax to ...

Members

* Quintus Silius was one of the first plebeians elected

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

, in 409 BC, a century after the founding 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 ...

. * Titus Silius, one of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, 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 Caes ...

's officers 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 homela ...

, was sent as an emissary to buy grain from the Veneti in 56 BC, but taken captive by them. * Aulus Silius, a friend of

, who mentions him in several of his letters to Atticus. * Publius Silius, propraetor of Bithynia and Pontus in 51 BC, and a friend of both Atticus and Cicero. He was probably the father of Publius Silius Nerva, consul in 20 BC. * Publius Silius P. f. Nerva, consul in 20 BC, subsequently sent against the Camunni and the

Vennones The Vennones or Vennonetes were a Rhaetian tribe dwelling in the northern Alps, between Chur and Lake Constance, during the Iron Age and the Roman era. Name They are mentioned as ''Ouénnōnes'' (Οὐέννωνες) by Strabo (early 1st c. ...

, whom he defeated. * Publius Silius P. f. P. n. Nerva, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 3, had been a moneyer, and commanded several legions prior to his consulship. * Aulus Silius P. f. P. n. Nerva, consul in AD 7, was adopted by Aulus Licinius Nerva, becoming ''Aulus Licinius Nerva Silianus''. He had been a moneyer, and fought with distinction in the Illyrian War in the year before he was named consul. He was a personal friend of Augustus, who highly praised his various qualities, but died without realizing his full potential. * Gaius Silius P. f. P. n. Nerva, consul in AD 13, and subsequently

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...

. He and his friend,

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...

, fought with great success against the

Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...

and

Treveri The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringe ...

. After Germanicus' death, Silius put down a revolt of the Aedui. In AD 24, he was falsely accused of ''repetundae'' and ''

maiestas ''Maiestas'' is a genus of insects in the family Cicadellidae, the vast majority of which were formerly placed in the genus '' Recilia''.Webb, M.D.; Viraktamath, C.A. 2009: Annotated check-list, generic key and new species of Old World Deltocep ...

'', and took his own life rather than face condemnation. * Publius Silius P. f. P. n. Nerva, consul in AD 28. * Silius Bassus, an orator mentioned by

Seneca the Elder Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder (; c. 54 BC – c. 39 AD), also known as Seneca the Rhetorician, was a Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania. He wrote a collection of reminiscences about the Roman schools of rheto ...

. * Gaius Silius C. f. P. n. Nerva, a Roman senator, was induced by the

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

, who was infatuated by his beauty, to divorce his wife, Junia Silana, and enter into a bigamous marriage with her in AD 48. Informed of his wife's treachery,

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

ordered them both put to death. Silius had been designated to hold the consulship in the following year. * Aulus Licinius Nerva Silianus, grandson of Aulus Licinius Nerva Silianus, the consul of AD 7, was consul in AD 65. * Silia, the wife of a senator, was party to the debauchery of

; but unable to avoid repeating what she had seen, she was sent into exile. *

Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and the l ...

, consul in AD 68, had acquired some fame as an orator, and a member of the centumviri, and was the last surviving member of Nero's inner circle. He was a prolific writer of heroic verse, and the composer of the '' Punica'', an account of the

in seventeen books, and the longest surviving poem from antiquity written in

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 ...

. * Silius, a writer of satires in the time of

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

. * Silius Proculus, a friend of

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 ...

, might be the same as the satirist mentioned by Juvenal. * Lucius Silius Decianus, consul ''suffectus'' from the Kalends of September in AD 94. * Silius Tertullus, a senator who served as ''curator'' of the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. *

, consul ''suffectus'' for the months of May and June in AD 193, announced the deposition of

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dal ...

, and the accession of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

. He was subsequently governor of Bithynia and Pontus. Either he or another senator of this name, perhaps his son, was put to death by Elagabalus in 218.''PIR'', S. 510, 511.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Gaius Julius Caesar, ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'' (Commentaries on the Gallic War). *

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 estab ...

, ''

De Natura Deorum ''De Natura Deorum'' (''On the Nature of the Gods'') is a philosophical dialogue by Roman Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three books that discuss the theological views of the Hellenistic philosophies of ...

'', ''

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 othe ...

''. * 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 ...

), ''

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 ...

''. * '' Fasti Capitolini'', ; 1940, 59, 60. *

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

''. * Marcus Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History''. * Lucius Annaeus Seneca (

), ''Controversiae''. * 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). * Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

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

Sextus Julius Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

, '' De Aquaeductu'' (On Aqueducts). *

Decimus Junius Juvenalis Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

, '' Satirae'' (Satires). * Publius Cornelius Tacitus, '' Annales''. *

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

, ''

De Vita Caesarum ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The g ...

'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars). * '' Fasti Ostienses'', . * Sextus Pompeius Festus, ''Epitome de M. Verrio Flacco de Verborum Significatu'' (Epitome of Marcus Verrius Flaccus' ''On the Meaning of Words''). * Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

), ''Roman History''. * Philipp Eduard Huschke, ''De Causa Siliana'', Rostock (1824); ''Studien des Römischen Rechts'', Breslau (1830). * ''

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). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', '' L'Année épigraphique'' (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). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). * Marjeta Šašel Kos, ''Inscriptiones Latinae in Graecia Repertae: Additamenta ad'' CIL ''III'' (Latin Inscriptions Discovered in Greece: Additions to ''CIL'' III), Fratelli Lega, Faenza (1979). * Ronald Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1989). {{Refend Roman gentes

Origin

Praenomina

Branches and cognomina

Members

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography