The gens Pacilia 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 ...

. Few members of this gens are mentioned by the ancient historians, of whom the most famous may be a certain Marcus Pacilius spoken of by

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 ...

in his second oration against

Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

. However, many Pacilii are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Pacilius'' belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from other names, using the suffix '. In this case, the nomen is derived from the

cognomen 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 ...

''Pacilus'', a name of

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, itself perhaps derived from the Oscan '' Paccius'', which was used both as praenomen and gentilicium. It would therefore be a cognate of ''Paccius'', and perhaps also of '' Pacidius''.

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 Pacilii were '' Publius,

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, Gnaeus, Quintus'', 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 P ...

''. There are individual examples of other names, including ''

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 ...

, Sextus'', and '' Spurius''. All but the last were common throughout Roman history; ''Spurius'' was used chiefly during the Republic. One of the Pacilii also bore the feminine praenomen ''Posilla'', meaning "little".

Members

* Marcus Pacilius, whom Cicero describes as a needy pauper, was induced by

to accuse Sthenius, a citizen of

Thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

, of wrongdoing, in order for Verres to punish Sthenius and the people of Thermae for resisting his plunder of the city's sculptures and ornaments. However, when the time came to present his accusation, Pacilius did not appear. * Pacilius, the owner of a house, the ''Paciliana domus'', which Cicero's brother, Quintus, wished to purchase. * Pacilia A. f., named in an inscription from

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 ...

. * Pacilia Cn. f., daughter of Gnaeus Pacilius Veteranus and Apolauste, buried at Rome, aged two months, two days.. * Pacilia Cn. f., buried at

Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

in Calabria. * Pacilia L. l., a freedwoman named in an inscription from Rome. * Pacilia P. l., a freedwoman named in an inscription from Brundisium. * Lucius Pacilius, named in an inscription from

Nomentum Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana's name in ...

. * Lucius Pacilius S. f., named in an inscription from Philippi. * Quintus Pacilius, named in an inscription from

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. * Gnaeus Pacilius Abinnaeus, buried at Ostia. * Publius Pacilius, a landowner at Castrimoenium. * Sextus Pacilius Sex. f., named in an inscription from Philippi. * Gaius Pacilius Agathonicus, dedicated a monument at Rome to his dear friend, Mustia Isias, aged thirty-two years, one month, ten days. * Publius Pacilius Agathopus, buried at Brundisium, aged fifty-five. * Publius Pacilius Ↄ. l. Agilis, a freedman buried at

Canusium Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa ( nap, label= Canosino, Canaus), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the ...

in Apulia.. * Publius Pacilius P. f. Alcaeus, son of Publius Pacilius Leo, was a soldier buried at

Perusia The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important par ...

, aged twenty-two, having served two years in the tenth urban cohort at Rome.. * Publius Pacilius Alexis, son of Pacilia Prisca and Marcus Antonius Phronimus, buried at Rome, aged eight years, two months. * Pacilia Ↄ. l. Antiochis, a freedwoman buried at Canusium. * Pacilia Ↄ. l. Arescusa, a freedwoman, buried at Brundisium. * Pacilius Attius, named in an inscription from Savaria in

Pannonia Superior Pannonia Superior, lit. Upper Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Carnuntum. It was one on the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pan ...

.. * Pacilius Bassus, named in an inscription from Savaria. * Gaius Pacilius C. f. Callistus, son of Gaius Pacilius Felix, named in an inscription from

Volsinii Volsinii or Vulsinii ( Etruscan: Velzna or Velusna; Greek: Ouolsinioi, ; ), is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis (modern Lago di Bolsena), and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium ...

.. * Pacilia Capria, a freedwoman who dedicated a monument at

Saepinum Saepinum (modern Altilia, near Sepino) was a Samnite town located c. south of the modern Campobasso in south central Italy. Saepinum was on the ancient road from Beneventum to Corfinium. History The position of the original town is on the m ...

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The ...

to Pacilius Severus and Pacilius Vitalis.. * Publius Pacilius Chrysomallus, named in an inscription from Canusium, dating to AD 223. * Marcus Pacilius M. f. Collinus, son of Marcus Pacilius Marcellus, and brother of Pacilia Marcella, according to an inscription from Tricesimum in the province 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 ...

.. * Gnaeus Pacilius Dapnicus, buried at Ostia. * Lucius Pacilius Rufionis l. Epaphra, freedman of Lucius Pacilius Rufio, and father of the younger Lucius Pacilius Epaphra.. * Lucius Pacilius Rufionis l. L. f. Epaphra, freedman of Lucius Pacilius Rufio, and son of the elder Lucius Pacilius Epaphra, buried at Brundisium, aged nineteen years, eight months. * Lucius Pacilius Eros, buried at Rome. * Pacilia Estricata, buried at

Sicca Veneria El Kef ( ar, الكاف '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate. El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has ...

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 ...

, aged ninety-one. * Pacilia Euphrosyne, wife of Gaius Valerius Onesimus, and mother of Valeria Valentina, who erected a monument to her at Rome. * Pacilia Euphrosyne, 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 cla ...

in Africa Proconsularis, * Pacilius Eutactis, buried at Rome. * Publius Pacilius P. l. Expectatus, a freedman buried at Canusium. * Pacilia Rufionis l. Fausta, a freedwoman, probably of Lucius Pacilius Rufio, buried at Brundisium. * Gaius Pacilius Felix, the father of Gaius Pacilius Callistus, named in an inscription from Volsinii. * Lucius Pacilius Felix, named in an inscription from Rome. * Quintus Pacilius Felix, dedicated a monument at

Lambaesis Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also a Lat ...

in Numidia to his brother, Quintus Pacilius Musianus.. * Marcus Pacilius M. f. Fortunatus, named in an inscription from Rome. * Pacilia Hellas, buried at Rome.. * Pacilia Helpis, buried at Brundisium, aged fifty-two. * Gnaeus Pacilius Cn. l. Hilarus, a freedman buried at Rome. * Marcus Pacilius Hilarus, named in an inscription from Rome. * Lucius Pacilius Labeo, named in an inscription from Allifae. * Pacilia Ↄ. l. Lais, buried at Rome. * Publius Pacilius Leo, dedicated a monument at Perusia to his son, Publius Pacilius Alcaeus. * Pacilia M. f. Marcella, daughter of Marcus Pacilius Marcellus, and sister of Marcus Pacilius Collinus, according to an inscription from Tricesimum. * Marcus Pacilius Marcellus, the father of Marcus Pacilius Collinus and Pacilia Marcella, according to an inscription from Tricesimum. * Gnaeus Pacilius Marna, 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 ...

, named in an inscription from Arcella, a village north of

Patavium Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

.. * Quintus Pacilius Musianus, brother of Quintus Pacilius Felix, buried at Lambaesis, aged seventy. * Quintus Pacilius Mustianus, father of Quintus Pacilius Vitalis, buried at Lambaesis, aged fifty-three.''BCTH'', 1941/43, 278. * Marcus Pacilius M. l. Nicephorus, a freedman buried at Rome. * Gaius Pacilius C. l. Onesimus, a freedman named in an inscription from Sebastopolis in

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

. * Lucius Pacilius Prepons, named in an inscription from Rome. * Pacilia Primitiva, named in an inscription from Arcella. * Gaius Pacilius Priscus, named in an inscription found at Geiselprechting, formerly in

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west ...

, dating from AD 64. * Publius Pacilius Pudens, named in an inscription from the present site of Bagnolo in Piano, formerly part of Cisalpine Gaul. * Marcus Pacilius M. Ↄ. l. Quinquatralis, a freedman named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Lucius Pacilius Rufio, former master of Lucius Pacilius Epaphra, father and son, and of Pacilia Fausta. * Marcus Pacilius Rufus, a centurion in the fourth legion, stationed at Gorsium in

Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Inferior, lit. Lower Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sirmium. It was one of the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannonia ...

. * Lucius Pacilius L. l. Septimus, a freedman, and the husband of Posilla Pacilia Vardaea, named in an inscription from Rome.. * Pacilia T. l. Severa, a freedwoman, was the wife of Quintus Titius, a veteran of the eighth legion, and mother of Quintus Titius Severus, buried at Aquileia in Venetia and Histria. * Pacilius Severus, buried at Saepinum; Pacilia Capria dedicated a monument to him. * Pacilius Silvanus, husband of Sossia Crescentina, named in an inscription from Rome. * Publius Pacilius P. l. Silvanus, a freedman buried at Brundisium, aged sixty. * Pacilia Sospita, buried at Rome. * Pacilia Ↄ. l. Stephania, a freedwoman buried at Rome, aged twenty. * Publius Pacilius P. l. Suavis, a freedman named in an inscription from

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 ...

. * Lucius Pacilius Taurus, a priest of the

Magna Mater Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible foreru ...

, buried at Brundisium, aged sixty-five. * Pacilia Cn. Techne, daughter of Gnaeus Pacilius Veteranus and Apolauste, buried at Thermae, aged two years, two months, and twenty-seven days.. * Pacilius Tychianus, a centurion in the second legion, stationed at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

''circa'' AD 222. * Pacilius Vitalis, buried at Saepinum, with a monument dedicated by Pacilia Capria. * Lucius Pacilius Vitalis, together with his mother, Asia Jucunda, dedicated a monument to his father at Rome. * Posilla Pacilia C. l. Vardaea, a freedwoman, and wife of Lucius Pacilius Septimus, named in an inscription from Rome. * Gnaeus Pacilius Veteranus, husband of Apolauste, and father of Pacilia and Pacilia Techne, named in funerary inscriptions from Rome and Thermae. * Quintus Pacilius Q. f. Vitalis, dedicated a monument at Lambaesis to his father, Quintus Pacilius Mustianus. * Publius Pacilius P. f. Zenon Laetus, an important magistrate at Nomentum., .

Footnotes

References

{{reflist

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 ...

, ''

Epistulae ad Atticum ''Epistulae ad Atticum'' (Latin for "Letters to Atticus") is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his close friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's ot ...

'', ''

In Verrem "In Verrem" ("Against Verres") is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily. The speeches, which were concurrent with Cicero's election to the aedileshi ...

''. * ''

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). *

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 C ...

, ''Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romanae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores'' (Christian Inscriptions from Rome of the First Seven Centuries, abbreviated ''ICUR''), Vatican Library, Rome (1857–1861, 1888). * ''Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità'' (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated ''NSA''), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–present). * ''Bulletin Archéologique du Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques'' (Archaeological Bulletin of the Committee on Historic and Scientific Works, abbreviated ''BCTH''), Imprimerie Nationale, Paris (1885–1973). * 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 ...