The gens Maevia, occasionally written Mevia, was a minor

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 known from the later

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 ...

, although the family may possibly have been much older, and well into Imperial times. None of the Maevii ever obtained the higher offices of the Roman state. Their nomen is frequently confounded with the similar Maenius.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Maevii seem to have been ''

Quintus 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 ...

'' and '' Lucius'', both very common names, which occur several times in inscriptions of this gens. There are also examples of '' Gnaeus,

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 ...

Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

'', 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 ...

'', also common names throughout Roman history, but there are too few examples to know if these were regular praenomina of the Maevian gens, or used only in particular families.

Members

* Maevius, according to some manuscripts, proposed the addition of an event called ''instauratitius'' to the Circensian games, occurring in 489 BC. He would probably have been a

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, but in the better manuscripts, his name is given as ''Maenius'', and he might be the same person as Gaius Maenius, tribune of the plebs in 483. * Marcus Maevius, a military tribune, who fell in battle against Mago in 203 BC, 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 ...

; possibly should be ''Maenius''. * Maevius, a soldier during 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 ...

, who slew his own brother, an episode commemorated by two elegiac poems in the ''

Latin Anthology The ''Latin Anthology'' is a modern name given to a collection of Latin verse, from the age of Ennius to about 1000, formed by Pieter Burmann the Younger. Nothing corresponding to the Greek Anthology is known to have existed among the Romans, thou ...

''. * Maevius, an infamous

poetaster Poetaster , like rhymester or versifier, is a derogatory term applied to bad or inferior poets. Specifically, ''poetaster'' has implications of unwarranted pretensions to artistic value. The word was coined in Latin by Erasmus in 1521. It was fir ...

of the Augustan age, remembered chiefly from the barbs hurled at him by his contemporaries,

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. He is said to have written on the spendthrift son of the tragedian Clodius Aesopus. Either he or his cohort, Marcus Bavius, is thought to have written the ''Antibucolica'', two pastoral poems written as parodies of Vergil's ''

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offer ...

'', or ''Bucolica''. * Lucius Maevius Quintianus, one of several persons who dedicated an altar to Asclepius at Rome in AD 228. * Quintus Maevius Aglaus, the husband of Clodia, whose funerary inscription was found at Rome. * Clodius Maevius Q. f. Gallianus, the son of Quintus Maevius Aglaus and Clodia. * Gnaeus Maevius Soranus, the father of Gnaeus Maevius Euprepius, according to a funerary inscription found at Rome. * Gnaeus Maevius Cn. f. Euprepius, buried at Rome, according to his funerary inscription. * Aulus Maevius, the former master of Marcus Maevius Onesimus. * Marcus Maevius A. l. Onesimus, buried at Rome. * Quintus Maevius Julianus, buried at Muzuca in the province of Byzacena, aged twenty-seven. * Lucius Maevius Honoratus, buried at Uchi Maius in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, aged fifty. * Marcus Maevius, buried at what is now Djebel Djelloud in

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

, aged forty. * Quintus Maevius Felix, buried at

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

, aged fifty-five. * Gaius Maevius Victor, made an offering to Saturn at what is now Sidi Soltan in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. * Lucius Maevius Aeros, buried at Ammaedara, aged one hundred and fourteen, according to his monument.EDCS-65600277. * Quintus Maevius Heros, aged forty-five, buried at Ammaedara, with his wife, Antonia Fortunata, aged sixty. * Lucius Maevius Speratus, dedicated monuments at Ammaedara to his parents, Quintus Maevius Heros and Antonia Fortunata, and to Lucius Maevius Aeros, perhaps his grandfather. * Maevia Secunda, perhaps a daughter of Quintus Maevius Heros, buried at Ammaedara, aged thirty-three. * Maevius Maximinus, husband of Marcia Maximina, buried at Rome, aged sixty. * Lucius Maevius Valerianus, mentioned in an inscription at

Hadrumetum Hadrumetum, also known by #Names, many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician Phoenician colonies, colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal Kingdom, Vandal and Uma ...

. * Quintus Maevius Q. f. Paulinus, buried at Castellum Elefantum in

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

, aged twenty-five.''ILAlg-2-3, 9869''.

References

Bibliography

* 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). * Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, ''Saturnalia''. * Pieter Burmann, ''

'', Johann Christian Wernsdorf, ed. (1759–1778). *

Johann Christian Wernsdorf Johann Christian Wernsdorf I (6 November 1723 in Wittenberg – 25 August 1793 in Helmstedt) was a German writer, poet, and rhetorician. Life Born the son of Gottlieb Wernsdorf the Elder and his wife Magaretha Katharina (nee Nitsch), he lost his ...

, ''Poëtae Latini Minores'' (Minor Latin Poets), Altenburg, Helmstedt (1780–1799). * ''

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). *

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 cent ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). *

Giovanni Battista de Rossi Giovanni Battista (Carlo) de Rossi (23 February 1822 – 20 September 1894) was an Italian archaeologist, famous even outside his field for rediscovering early Christian catacombs. Life and works Born in Rome, he was the son of Commendatore Cam ...

, ''Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romanae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores'' (Christian Inscriptions from Rome of the First Seven Centuries, abbreviated ''ICUR''), Vatican Library, Rome (1857–1861, 1888). * Gustav Wilmanns, ''Inscriptiones Africae Latinae'' (Latin Inscriptions from Africa, abbreviated ''ILAfr''), Georg Reimer, Berlin (1881). * Ernst Diehl, ''Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres'' (Ancient Latin Christian Inscriptions, abbreviated ''ILCV''), Weidmann, Berlin (1925–1931). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952).
Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby
(EDCS). {{DEFAULTSORT:Maevia (gens) Roman gentes

Praenomina

Members

See also

References

Bibliography