The gens Orcivia, also written Orcevia and Orchivia, was a minor 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 ...

. Few of them achieved any prominence in the Roman state, but many are known from inscriptions.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III. p. 41 ("Gaius Orcivius").

Origin

The nomen ''Orcivius'' belongs to a class of gentilicia believed to be of

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including ...

origin, formed from other names using less common suffixes, in this case ''-ivius'', which never became regular elements of Roman nomina. The name may have been formed from the nomen '' Orchius'' or ''Orcius''. Most of the Orcivii found in inscriptions are concentrated at

Praeneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

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 ...

, at Rome and Ostia, and in the provinces of

Venetia and Histria Venetia et Histria (Latin: ''Regio X Venetia et Histria'') was an administrative subdivision in the northeast of Roman Italy. It was originally created by Augustus as the tenth ''regio'' in 7 AD alongside the nine other ''regiones''. The region h ...

Africa Proconsularis 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 ...

, and Numidia. By far, the greatest number are from Praeneste, suggesting that it was the ancestral home of the Orcivii.

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 Orcivii were '' 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 ...

'', and ''

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 ...

'', the three most common names throughout Roman history. Other praenomina occur infrequently among the known members of the family, including '' Quintus, Publius, Gnaeus'', and ''

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 ...

'', all of which were also very common names. The Orchivii also supply an example of the common feminine praenomen ''Maio''.

Members

* Gaius Orcivius,

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

in 66 BC, the year in which

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 ...

also held the praetorship. He presided over cases of ''peculatus''. According to Cicero's brother, Quintus, he was susceptible to flattery. * Orcevia, wife of Numerius, dedicated a gift to

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

at Praeneste. * Orchivia, perhaps the daughter of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription at Rome. * Orchivia, buried at Bkira in Numidia, aged five. * Orcivia, wife of Anthidius, buried at Rome. * Orcivia, a freedwoman, buried at Rome. * Orcivia, buried at

Carthago After the destruction of Punic Carthage in 146 BC, a new city of Carthage (Latin '' Carthāgō'') was built on the same land in the mid- 1st century BC. By the 3rd century, Carthage had developed into one of the largest cities of the Roman Empi ...

in Africa Proconsularis. * Orcevia, named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Orcevius, the master of Rodo, a slave appointed to serve as one of the cooks for the priests of the temple of Fortuna at Praeneste. * Orcivius, dedicated a sepulchre at

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People * House of Pola, an Italian noble family * Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress * Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer * Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter * Pola Gojawiczyńsk ...

in the province of Venetia and Histria to his brother, his father, and his mother, Flavia Hostilia. * Orcivius, a freedman buried at Pola. * Gaius Orchivius, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Gaius Orcivius, the master of Licinus, a slave appointed to wait upon the magistrates of Praeneste. * Gaius Orcivius, the master of Albinus, a slave appointed to serve the butchers' guild at Praeneste. * Gaius Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste. * Gaius Orcevius M. f., one of the

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of Praeneste. * Lucius Orchivius L. l., a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.. * Lucius Orcevius, one of the praetors of Praeneste. * Lucius Orcivius L. f., buried at Rome, aged six. * Lucius Orcivius C. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Maio Orcevia M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Marcus Orcevius, named in two inscriptions from Praeneste. * Marcus Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Marcus Orcivius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.''NSA'', 1953, 287. * Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste. * Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Marcus Orcivius, the master of Pilonicus, a slave mentioned in an inscription from Praeneste. * Quintus Orcivius Q. l., a freedman mentioned in an inscription at Praeneste. * Marcus Orcivius Abscantus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * (Orchivius) Alexander, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, the son of Amemptus, an imperial ''dispensator'' 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 Pr ...

, and his wife, Orchivia Phoebe, was buried at Rome, aged eighteen. According to his funerary inscription, he was a decurion, in this case probably a junior cavalry officer.. * Orchivia L. l. Apame, a freedwoman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Marcus Orcivius Aspasius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Gaius Orchivius Blandus, buried at Rome, aged thirty. * Orcivia Casta, buried at

Thuburbo Maius Thuburbo Majus (or Thuburbo Maius) is a large Roman site in northern Tunisia. It is located roughly 60 km southwest of Carthage on a major African thoroughfare. This thoroughfare connects Carthage to the Sahara. Other towns along the way in ...

in Africa Proconsularis, aged twenty. * Orchivia Damalis, buried at Rome. * Orcivia Delphis, buried at Rome, aged eighteen years, five months, and four days. * Marcus Orcivius Demetrius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Gnaeus Orchivius Dio, a freedman buried at

Ficana Ficana was an ancient city of Latium, which figures in Roman history only on the occasion of its conquest by Ancus Marcius, who is said to have moved the inhabitants to Rome, and destroyed the city itself. (Livy i. 33; Dionys. iii. 38, where the ed ...

in Latium. * Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, was probably the father of Gaius Orchivius, Alexander, Orchivia, and Saturnina, named in the same inscription. * Lucius Orchivius L. l. Eros, a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Gaius Orchivius Faustinus, buried at Gens Suburburum Colonorum in Numidia, aged fifty. * Marcus Orcivius Faustus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Marcus Orcivius Felix, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Orcivia Fortunata, buried at Rome, aged thirty-eight. * Marcus Orcivius Fortunatus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Publius Orcivius C. f. Fronto, husband of Vettidia Maxsuma, and father of Orcivia Quarta, buried at Pola.. * Aulus Orcivius A. f. Hermes, buried at Rome. * Orchivia L. l. Heta, a freedwoman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Marcus Orchivius M. l. Hilario, a freedman named in a funerary inscription from Rome.. * Orcivia M. l. Hospita, a freedwoman buried at Rome. * Marcus Orcivius Januarius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Orcivia Marcella, named in a funerary inscription from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

in Venetia and Histria. * Lucius Orcivius Maritalis, one of the municipal Decurions at Rome, named in an inscription dating to the reign of Maxentius, AD 306 to 312. * Orchivia Monnica, buried at Gens Suburburum Colonorum, aged fifty-six. * Orchivia Mustia, buried at Gens Suburburum Colonorum, aged thirty-five. * Gaius Orchivius Namphamus, husband of Varenia Marina, buried at Gens Suburburum Colonorum, aged sixty-six. * Orcevius M. f. Nasica, named in an inscription from Praeneste. * Orcivia Nigela, named in a libationary inscription from Verona. * Gaius Orcivius C. l. Optatus, a freedman named in an inscription from Pola. * Gaius Orchivius Paulinus, a

flamen A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...

Diana Veteranorum Diana Veteranorum, today a village called Ain Zana (Aïn Zana), was an ancient Roman- Berber city in Algeria. It was located around 40 km northwest of Lambaesis and 85 km southwest of Cirta. History Diana Veteranorum was founded in ...

in Numidia. * Orchivia Phoebe, the wife of Amemptus, an imperial ''dispensator'' in the time of Augustus, and mother of Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, a decurion who died at the age of eighteen, and to whom she dedicated a monument at Rome. * Orcivius Primus, buried at Cuicul in Numidia, aged ten. * Marcus Orchivius M. f. Priscus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Orchivia Procula, buried at Rome. * Orcivius Pultarius, buried at

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...

in Numidia, aged eleven. * Gaius Orcivius Pusincinus, buried at Cirta, aged seventy-one.. * Orcivia P. f. C. n. Quarta, daughter of Publius Orcivius Fronto and Vettidia Maxsuma, buried at Pola. * Gaius Orcivius Restitutus, buried at Pola. * Marcus Orcivius Restitutus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Quintus Orcivius Rex, named in an inscription from Praeneste. * (Orchivia) Saturnina, perhaps the daughter of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Gaius Orcivius Saufeius, a man of praetorian rank, named in a dedicatory inscription from Praeneste. * Marcus Orcivius Stephanio, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia. * Lucius Orchivius L. l. Stephanus, a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome. * Orchivia L. f. Teria, buried at Saldae, aged thirty. * Orchivia L. l. Thaïs, named in an inscription from Rome. * Orchivia Urbana, buried at Cirta. * Lucius Orcivius L. f. Vapidus, named in an inscription at Praeneste. * Gaius Orcivius Zmaragdus, husband of Annia Prisca, who dedicated a monument at Rome to him and to her mother, Annia. * Lucius Aulius Orcivius, named in an inscription from Praeneste..

Footnotes

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 ...

, '' Pro Cluentio''. *

Quintus Tullius Cicero Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some south-east ...

, '' De Petitione Consulatus'' (attributed). *

Johann Caspar von Orelli Johann Caspar von Orelli (Latin ''Iohannes Caspar Orellius''; 13 February 1787 – 6 January 1849), was a Swiss classical scholar. Life He was born at Zürich of a distinguished Italian family which had taken refuge in Switzerland at the tim ...

, ''Onomasticon Tullianum'', Orell Füssli, Zürich (1826–1838). * ''

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). * Wilhelm Henzen, ''Ephemeris Epigraphica: Corporis Inscriptionum Latinarum Supplementum'' (Journal of Inscriptions: Supplement to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, abbreviated ''EE''), Institute of Roman Archaeology, Rome (1872–1913). * ''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). * Stéphane Gsell, ''Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie'' (Latin Inscriptions from Algeria, abbreviated ''ILAlg''), Edouard Champion, Paris (1922–present). * ''Inscriptiones Italiae'' (Inscriptions from Italy, abbreviated ''InscrIt''), Rome (1931-present). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). *

Attilio Degrassi Attilio Degrassi (Trieste, 21 June 1887 – Rome, 1 June 1969) was an archeologist and pioneering Italian scholar of Latin epigraphy. Degrassi taught at the University of Padova where he trained, among others, the epigraphist Silvio Panciera, c ...