The gens Aviena, occasionally written Avienia, 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 ...
. Hardly any members of this
gens are mentioned in history, but a number of Avieni are known from inscriptions.
Origin
The nomen ''Avienus'' belongs to a class of names formed using the suffix ''-enus'', typically derived from other . There was a gens ''
Avia'', also known primarily from inscriptions, derived from , grandfather.
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 ...
of the Avieni were ''
Sextus'' and ''
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 ...
'', with a few other names receiving occasional use, including ''
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''. All of these were very common throughout Roman history. One family of the Avieni at
Ostia used ''Sextus'' alone, and were differentiated by their
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 ...
, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "fossilization" of a praenomen, which became common in
imperial times.
Branches and cognomina
The Avieni do not appear to have been divided into distinct stirpes, or branches, identified by hereditary surnames. There was a family of this name at Ostia, where at least some of them were part of the shipwrights' guild, but the members of this family used distinctive personal cognomina.
Members
* Gaius Avienus, 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 ...
with the
tenth legion, under the command of
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 ...
, who dismissed him due to his conduct in the
African war, in 46 BC.
* Avienia, named in an inscription from Rome.
[.]
* Avienus, the husband of Clodia, named in an inscription from
Ameria in
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
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, ...
, dating to the late first century BC.
* Avienus, named in an inscription from
Haedui
The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; grc, Aἴδουοι) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the Roman Republic a ...
in
Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Lugdunensis (French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon) ...
.
* Avienus, named in an inscription from
Bituriges Cubi in
Gallia Aquitania.
* Avienus, named in a series of inscriptions from the present site of
Stanton Low, formerly part of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
.
* Gaius Avienus, named in an inscription from
Florentia in
Etruria.
* Sextus Avienus, named in an inscription from
Hispalis
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. ...
in
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...
.
* Sextus Avienus, named in an inscription from Ameria, dating from the reign 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 Pr ...
.
* Titus Avienius, a ''cornicularius'', or hornblower, buried at Rome.
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Sex. n.
.. the son of Sextus Avienius Livianus and Annia, buried in the family sepulchre at
Ostia.
[.]
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Agathyrsus, the brother of Sextus Avienius Livianus, buried in the family sepulchre at Ostia.
* Sextus Avienus Calliclus, named in an inscription from
Sulci
Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Steph. B., Ptol.; , Strabo; , Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, how ...
in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, along with Aviena Philomena.
[.]
* Aviena Calliope, named in an inscription from
Tucci in
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...
.
* Gaius Avienus C. l. Ciratus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.
* Sextus Avienus Dioscurides, buried at
Tibur
Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna.
History
Gaius Julius Solinu ...
in
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...
.
* Titus Avienus Eros, buried at Rome.
* Aviena Eucumene, buried at Rome, aged thirty, together with her brother, Avienius Georgus.
[.]
* Sextus Avienus Eudoxus, named in an inscription from Rome, dating to 2 BC.
* Sextus Avienius Felicior, the son of Avienia Flora, buried at Rome, aged sixteen years and eight days.
[.]
* Avienia Flora, the mother of Sextus Avienius Felicior, a young man buried at Rome.
* Avienia Sex. f. Sex. n. Flora, daughter of Sextus Avienius Livianus and Annia, buried in the family sepulchre at Ostia.
* Aviena P. l. Fausta, probably the freedwoman of Publius Avienus Primus, named in an inscription from Rome.
[.]
* Avienius Georgus, buried at Rome, aged eighteen, together with his sister, Avienia Eucumene.
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Her
.. the brother of Sextus Avienius Livianus, buried in the family sepulchre at Ostia.
* Sextus Avienus Heraclida, named in a list of members of the shipwrights' guild at Ostia, dating to the beginning of the third century.
[.]
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Livianus, one of the municipal
Decurions at Ostia, built a family sepulchre for himself and his wife, Annia, children, Avienia Flora, Sextus Avienius Livianus Junior, Sextus Avienius
.. and brothers, Sextus Avienius Agathyrsus, Sextus Avienius Nico, and Sextus Avienius Her
..
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Sex. n. Livianus Junior, son of Sextus Avienius Livianus and Annia, buried in the family sepulchre at Ostia.
* Sextus Avienius Sex. f. Nico, the brother of Sextus Avienius Livianus, buried in the family sepulchre at Ostia.
* Sextus Avienius Nico
.. named in a list of donors at Ostia, dating to AD 198.
* Avienius Ɔ. l. Nicomedes, a freedman, built a tomb at Rome for his
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
.
[.]
* Sextus Avienius Onesiphorus, a member of the shipwrights' guild at Ostia in the beginning of the third century.
* Aviena Philista, named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century.
* Aviena Philomena, named in an inscription from Sulci, together with Sextus Avienus Calliclus.
* Publius Avienus Primus, probably the former master of Aviena Fausta, named in an inscription from Rome.
* Aviena Procula, dedicated a tomb at Rome to her husband, Felix, master of the imperial household.
* Quintus Avienus Pudens, dedicated a tomb at Ameria, dating to the latter half of the first century, to his wife, Nonia Saturnina.
* Avienus Quarte
.. named in a late second or third century inscription from
Cumae
Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
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, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
.
* Sextus Avienus Sex. l. Secundus, a freedman, and the husband of Titia Aucta, with whom he was buried at Rome, aged thirty-five.
* Titus Avienus Tarentinus, buried at Rome.
* Avienia Sex. l. Thaïs, a freedwoman, built a family sepulchre at Rome.
* Titus Avenius Tiro, buried at Rome.
* Avienia Viontilla, together with her brother, Hyginus, dedicated a tomb at Rome to their father, Julius Atticus.
[.]
* Titus Avenius T. l. Zetus Eros, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.
* Avienia Sex. f. Zosime, the daughter of Sextus Avienius Zosimus, for whom she built a tomb at Ostia.
[.]
* Sextus Avienius Zosimus, one of the
Seviri Augustales
The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...
at Ostia, buried in a tomb dedicated by his daughter, Avienia Zosime, dating to the late second or early third century.
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
{{reflist
Bibliography
*
Aulus Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina.
Biography
He was a legate of Julius Caesar's s ...
(attributed), ''
De Bello Africo
''De Bello Africo'' (also ''Bellum Africum''; ''On the African War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's accounts of his campaigns, ''De Bello Gallico'' and '' De Bello Civili'', and its sequel by an unknown author '' De Bello Alexandri ...
'' (On the African War).
*
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).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897).
*
T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986).
* ''The Roman Inscriptions of Britain'' (abbreviated ''RIB''), Oxford (1990–present).
* Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', Societas Scientiarum Fenica, Helsinki (1992).
Roman gentes