The ''gens Atia'', sometimes written ''Attia'', was a plebeian family at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Lucius Atius, a

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

in 178 BC. Several of the Atii served in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between

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 ...

and Pompeius. The '' gens Attia'' may be identical with this family, although the individuals known by that name lived nearly a century after the more notable Atii, and are not known to have been related.

Origin

The gens does not appear to have been of any great antiquity, and none of its members ever attained 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 ...

; but, since

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 Pr ...

was connected with it on his mother's side, the flattery of the poets derived its origin from Atys, the friend of Ascanius, the son of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

Praenomina

The Atii are known to have used several of the most common

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 ...

at Rome, including ''

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 ...

, Marcus,

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 ...

, Publius'', and '' Quintus''.

Branches and cognomina

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 ...

of the Atii are ''Balbus, Rufus'', and ''Varus''. The Atii Balbi were from the city of Aricia. The Venetian scholar

Paulus Manutius Paulus Manutius ( it, Paolo Manuzio; 1512–1574) was a Venetian printer with a humanist education, the third son of the famous printer Aldus Manutius and his wife Maria Torresano. Life As a young man, Paulus Manutius moved to Venice to get an e ...

conjectured that the family of the ''Labieni'' belonged to the Atia ''gens'', which opinion has been followed by most modern writers. However,

Spanheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperi ...

pointed out that there was no authority for this. As ''Labienus'' is not found as the ''cognomen'' of any person named ''Atius'', nor in any other ''gens'', it is probably the nomen of a separate ''gens''.

Members

* Lucius Atius, the first

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

of the second legion in the war with the Istri, in 178 BC. *

Quintus Atius Varus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename ('' praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...

, commander of the cavalry under Gaius Fabius, one of

Caesar's Caesar's is a restaurant on Avenida Revolución in Tijuana, Mexico, famous as the home of the Caesar salad. Restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant, opened the restaurant in 1923, and it is now under chef Javier Plascencia, leading ...

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, and probably the same Quintus Varus who served under Caesar during the

. * Gaius Atius, a partisan of Gnaeus Pompeius, who had possession of

Sulmo Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared i ...

, but surrendered to Caesar when the populace opened the gates to forces under Marcus Antonius, in 49 BC. *

Publius Attius Varus Publius Attius Varus (died 17 March 45 BC) was the Roman governor of Africa during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. He declared war against Caesar, and initially fought Gaius Scribonius Curio, who was sent against him in 49 BC. ...

, a zealous partisan of Pompeius during the Civil War, fell at the

Battle of Munda The Battle of Munda (17 March 45 BC), in southern Hispania Ulterior, was the final battle of Caesar's civil war against the leaders of the Optimates. With the military victory at Munda and the deaths of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (elde ...

. * Atius Rufus, one of the officers in Pompeius' army in Greece, in 48 BC, accused Lucius Afranius of treachery on account of his defeat in

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: Hisp ...

in the preceding year.

Gaius Julius 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, and ...

, ''

Commentarii de Bello Civili ''Commentarii de Bello Civili'' ''(Commentaries on the Civil War)'', or ''Bellum Civile'', is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Roman Senate. It consists of three books covering the events of 49–4 ...

'' iii. 83.

Atii Balbi

Marcus Atius Balbus Marcus Atius Balbus (105 – 51 BC) was a 1st-century BC Roman who served as a praetor in 62 BC, he was a cousin of the general Pompey on his mother's side and a brother-in-law of the Dictator Julius Caesar through his marriage to Caesar's sister ...

, father of the praetor of 62 BC. * Marcus Atius M. f. Balbus, praetor in 62 BC, grandfather of

. * Atia M. f. M. n., possible elder aunt of emperor Augustus. * Atia M. f. M. n., the second wife of Gaius Octavius, and mother of Augustus. * Atia M. f. M. n., the aunt of Augustus, and wife of Lucius Marcius Philippus, consul in 38 BC. * Marcus Atius M. f. M. n. Balbus, proconsul of Sardinia in 38 BC. Probably maternal uncle of emperor Augustus. * Atia M. f. M. n., possible mother of the consuls

Gaius Junius Silanus Gaius Junius Silanus was a Roman Senator active during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He acceded to the rank of Roman consul in 10 AD as the colleague of Publius Cornelius Dolabella. For the term 20/21 the sortition selected him to be proco ...

and Marcus Junius Silanus. Possibly cousin of Augustus.

References