Cispius is the '' nomen'' of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

'' gens Cispia''.

Cispius Laevus

The '' Mons Cispius'', or Cispian Hill, is one of several summits of the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

in Rome. The grammarian Festus says that it was named for a Cispius Laevus of Anagnia, of the ''Publilia'' voting tribe (''tribus''). This Cispius may be legendary.

M. Cispius

Marcus Cispius was a tribune of the ''plebs'' in 57 BC, and was among those tribunes who actively supported

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 est ...

in his efforts to overturn the legislation that brought about his exile. Earlier, however, Cicero had brought a civil suit in which he spoke against Cispius, his brother, and their father. Sometime after Cispius's tribunate, most likely in early 56, he was defended by Cicero on a charge of electoral corruption (''

ambitus In Roman law, ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the ...

'') and convicted. Cicero calls him "a man of character and principle." The two men maintained their friendship in the 50s; in 55, Cicero wrote a

letter of recommendation A letter of recommendation or recommendation letter, also known as a letter of reference, reference letter or simply reference, is a document in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recommen ...

to the proconsul of

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 ...

, Q. Valerius Orca, on behalf of men associated with Cispius. Cispius may have been a

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 vario ...

sometime after 54.

L. Cispius (Laevus)

Lucius Cispius, probably with 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 her ...

'' Laevus, was a commander of the fleet (''

praefectus classis The naval forces of the ancient Roman state ( la, Classis, lit=fleet) were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a pri ...

'') in 46 BC, serving under Julius Caesar. He took part in the blockade of Thapsus. Cispius was not of senatorial rank, and has been tentatively linked to a pottery manufacturing family in Arretium. It is possible that he was the son of Marcus Cispius (above), though this filiation would place them on opposite sides in 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 polic ...

. In 43, a Cispius Laevus was a legate of Munatius Plancus, carrying dispatches to Rome for him; this man was most likely Caesar's naval commander.Cicero, ''Ad familiares'' 10.18.1–2 and 21.3; ''MRR''² pp. 351, 544, and ''MRR''³ p. 53; Ronald Syme, review of Broughton, ''Classical Philology'' 50 (1955), p. 135, and "Senators, Tribes and Towns," p. 115.

References

Unless otherwise noted, dates, offices and citations of ancient sources are from T.R.S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'' (American Philological Association, 1951, 1986), vol. 1; vol. 2 (1952); vol. 3 (1986); abbreviated ''MRR''. Ancient Roman prosopographical lists Ancient Roman families Cispii sv:Cispius {{Set index article, ancient Rome

Cispius Laevus

M. Cispius

L. Cispius (Laevus)

See also

References