The gens Orfidia 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
Rome. Only a few 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 ...
occur in history, but others are mentioned in inscriptions. The most illustrious of the Orfidii was probably Publius Orfidius Senecio,
consul ''suffectus'' in AD 148.
[''PIR'', vol. II, p. 437.][.]
Origin
The
nomen ''Orfidius'' appears to belong to a class of gentilicia formed from other names using the suffix ''-idius''. In this instance, the name was probably formed from the nomen ''
Orfius'', or perhaps the cognomen ''Orfitus'', both of which are probably derived from the
Oscan cognate of the
Latin ''Orbus'', a waif or orphan.
Members
* Gaius Orfidius Benignus,
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
of the
Legio I Adiutrix under the emperor
Otho in AD 69. His soldiers had never been in battle before, but inflicted heavy losses upon the
Legio XXI Rapax, fighting for
Vitellius near
Bedriacum
Calvatone ( lmo, Calvatòon) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona, Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-m ...
, before being driven back. Orfidius was slain in
the battle.
* Gaius Orfidius Benignus, overseer of a farm, buried at
Nursia in
Samnium.
[.]
* Gaius Orfidius C. f. Benignus Juventianus, ''theocolus'' of Jupiter Capitolinus at
Corinth.
* Publius (Orfidius) P. f. Anniolenus Epagathus, the son of Publius Orfidius Epagathus and Anniolena Primigenia, buried at
Peltuinum in Samnium, aged nineteen.
[.]
* Gaius Orfidius C. l. Castus, a freedman named in an inscription from
Pitinum Mergens
Pettino (Pitinum in Latin) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Campello sul Clitunno and former Latin Catholic bishopric in the Province of Perugia, in central Italy's Umbria region.
It stands at an elevation of 1074 metres above sea level. ...
in
Umbria.
* Orfidia Sex. C. l. Certa, a freedwoman named in an inscription from Aufinum.
* Publius Orfidius Epagathus, husband of Anniolena Primigenia, and father of Publius Anniolenus Epagathus, buried at Peltuinum.
* (Orfidius) Gemellus, dedicated a monument at Nursia to his brother, Gaius Orfidius Benignus.
* Orfidia Procula, named in an inscription from
Aufinum in Samnium, may be connected with the legate Gaius Orfidius Benignus.
* Orfidius C. f. Proculus, dedicated a monument to his father at the present site of
Karaağaç, Edirne
Karaağaç is a suburb of Edirne in northwestern Turkey at the border with Greece. Karaağaç is 4 km southwest from the center of Edirne, across the river Maritsa and opposite the Greek village Kastanies. In 1890, the large Karaağaç railw ...
, then in
Asia.
[.]
* Publius Orfidius Senecio, ''legatus pro praetore'' at
Ulpia Trajana in
Dacia; an inscription from
Germisara Castra indicates that he was in command of a detachment of soldiers from the
Legio XIII Gemina. He is probably the same man as the consul of AD 148.
[, ''ZPE'', 191-269.]
* Publius Orfidius Senecio, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 148.
* Gaius Orfidius Stratocles, the father of Proculus, buried at the present site of Karaağaç.
Footnotes
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
References
Bibliography
*
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, ''
Historiae''.
*
Plutarchus, ''
Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans''.
*
Theodor Mommsen ''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).
* René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''
L'Année épigraphique'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
*
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 Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).
* D.P. Simpson, ''Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary'', Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (1963).
* ''Corinth: The Inscriptions 1926–1950'', Princeton (1966).
* ''
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy, abbreviated ''ZPE''), (1987).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orfidia (gens)
Roman gentes