The gens Terentilia 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 ...
. Only one member of this
gens appears in history;
Gaius Terentilius Arsa was
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 state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
in 462 BC. A few others are known from inscriptions.
Origin
The
nomen ''Terentilius'' belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from other names, typically
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 ...
ending in diminutive suffixes such as ''-ulus'' and ''-illus''. Here the name may be formed from another nomen, ''
Terentius
The gens Terentia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Dionysius mentions a Gaius Terentius Arsa, tribune of the plebs in 462 BC, but Livy calls him ''Terentilius'', and from inscriptions this would seem to be a separate gens.Livy, iii. 9.Dio ...
'', for which the diminutive ''Terentillus'' is found. The antiquarian
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, himself a member of the Terentia gens, derived this name from ''terenus'', a
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 ...
word meaning "soft", although Chase proposes the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''terens'', one who grinds or threshes. One of the Terentilii known from inscriptions has an
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 ...
praenomen, ''Statius''.
[.]
Branches and cognomina
The only surname associated with the early Terentilii is ''Arsa'', also written ''Harsa''. The later Terentilii have common
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 ...
, such as ''Firmus'', strong, and ''Rufus'', red.
Members
*
Gaius Terentilius Arsa,
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 state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
in 462 BC, called for the establishment of a commission to codify the laws respecting the
imperium
In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...
of the
consuls
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
.
* Gaius Terentilius, a freedman 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 ...
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 ...
.
[.]
* Publius Terentilius, built a tomb at
Tarquinii
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage statu ...
in
Etruria.
[Torelli, ''Elogia Tarquiniensia'', 25.]
* Quintus Terentilius, the father of Quintus Terentilius Rufus.
[.]
* Statius Terentilius, the former master of Statius Terentilius Firmus.
* Titus Terentilius, the former master of Gaius Terentilius.
* Statius Terentilius St. l. Firmus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.
* Quintus Terentilius Q. f. Rufus, named in an inscription from Rome.
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 ...
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* Titus Livius (
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...
), ''
History of Rome
The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...
''.
*
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia''.
*
Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius
Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
, ''Saturnalia''.
* ''
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).
* 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).
* Mario Torelli, ''Elogia Tarquiniensia'', Sansoni, Florence (1975).
* John C. Traupman, ''The New College Latin & English Dictionary'', Bantam Books, New York (1995).
{{Refend
Roman gentes