Sergia gens

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Arch of the Sergii in Pula, Croatia

The gens Sergia was a

the conspiracy of Catiline.[1]

Origin

The Sergii claimed descent from Sergestus, one of the Trojans who came to Italy with Aeneas, a tradition mentioned by Vergil in the Aeneid.[2][1] The etymology of the nomen Sergius is problematic. Chase hesitantly suggests a connection with the praenomen Servius, probably from an old Latin root meaning to preserve or keep safe. He classifies the nomen with other gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.[3] However, the cognomen Fidenas, borne by the first branch of this gens appearing in history, may indicate that they originally came from Fidenae, where Roman colonies had been planted for centuries.[4]

Praenomina

The main praenomen of the Sergia gens was Lucius, which was used by all branches of the family at all periods. Gaius was also used from the earliest times, while Marcus was favoured by the Sergii Sili. All of these were among the most common praenomina throughout Roman history. The only other name regularly used by the Sergii was Manius, a relatively distinctive praenomen favoured by a few gentes, which belonged to one of the most illustrious of the Sergii of the early Republic, and was still in use after the Second Punic War. Other praenomina appear infrequently.

Branches and cognomina

The cognomina of the Sergii during the Republic were Catilina, Esquilinus, Fidenas, Orata, Paulus, Plancus, and Silus. Some of the Sergii who appear in history had no surname.[1]

Fidenas, the surname of the oldest distinct family of the Sergii, is said to have been obtained by Lucius Sergius Fidenas, the consul of 437 BC. The year before his consulship, the Romans had put down a revolt at Fidenae, an ancient Latin city about five miles north of Rome; the implication perhaps being that Sergius had participated in the recovery of the city. However, it may be that Sergius, or one of his ancestors, was a native of that city, where a Roman colony was said to have existed since the early monarchial period.[5][4] One of the Fidenates bore the additional surname Coxo, applied to one with prominent hips.[6]

Esquilinus originally designated someone who lived on the

Seven Hills of Rome, may have been a personal cognomen, as only one of the Sergii is known to have borne it. This cognomen belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the place of a person's origin or residence.[7][8]

The most distinguished family of the Sergii during the latter part of the Republic bore the cognomen Silus, originally describing someone with an upturned nose. The first of this branch rose to fame during the Second Punic War, but by the time of Catiline, who was his great-grandson, they had fallen into poverty and obscurity.[9][10]

Of other surnames, Orata or Aurata, golden, was the surname of a wealthy merchant of the Sergian gens, who is said to have obtained it either because of his substantial gold rings, or because he kept goldfish.[11] Meanwhile, Plancus, referring to someone with flat or splayed feet, belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the physical characteristics of the bearer. This is amended by some scholars to Plautus, although the meaning is nearly identical.[6][12]

Members

This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

Sergii Fidenates

Sergii Sili

Sergii Paulli

Sergii Plauti

Others

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Livy gives his praenomen as Gaius, but a fragment of the Fasti Capitolini appears to give Gnaeus.
  2. ^ Esquilinus' praenomen is very uncertain. Livy first calls the decemvir Marcus, then later refers to him as Lucius. Dionysius gives Marcus, but Diodorus has Gaius. His praenomen has not been preserved in the Fasti Capitolini.

References

  1. ^ a b c Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 787 ("Sergia Gens").
  2. ^ Vergil, Aeneid, v. 121.
  3. ^ Chase, pp. 131, 154, 155.
  4. ^ a b Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 149 ("Fidenas")
  5. ^ Livy, i. 27.
  6. ^ a b Chase, p. 110.
  7. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 53 ("Esquilinus").
  8. ^ Chase, pp. 113, 114.
  9. ^ Chase, p. 109.
  10. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 827 ("Silus", "Sergius Silus").
  11. ^ Festus, s. v. Orata.
  12. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 226 (note 2).
  13. ^ Livy, iv. 17, 25, 30, 35, 45.
  14. ^ Diodorus Siculus, xii. 43, 58, 73, 82, xiii. 2.
  15. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 58, 62, 65, 68, 72.
  16. ^ Livy, iv. 61, v. 8, 9, 11, 12.
  17. ^ Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 19, 38.
  18. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 81, 83, 84.
  19. ^ Livy, v. 16.
  20. ^ Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 85.
  21. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 87.
  22. ^ Livy, vi. 5, 11, 27.
  23. ^ a b Fasti Capitolini, AE 1900, 83; 1904, 114; AE 1927, 101; 1940, 59, 60.
  24. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 99, 101, 105.
  25. ^ Pliny the Elder, vii. 28. s. 29.
  26. ^ Livy, xxxii. 27, 28, 31, xxxiii. 21.
  27. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 40.
  28. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 332.
  29. ^ Livy, xliv. 40.
  30. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 41.
  31. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 431.
  32. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 42.
  33. ^ Valerius Maximus, vi. 1. § 8.
  34. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 38.
  35. ^ Broughton, vol. II, pp. 41, 45 (note 5); vol. III, p. 37.
  36. ^ Quintus Tullius Cicero, De Petitione Consulatus, 2.
  37. ^ Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, 5.
  38. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 39.
  39. ^ Sallust, Bellum Catilinae.
  40. ^ Cassius Dio, xxxvi. 27, xxxvii. 10, 29–42.
  41. ^ Livy, Epitome, 101, 102.
  42. ^ Cicero, In Catilinam, passim, Pro Murena, 25, 26, In Pisonem, 2, Pro Flacco, 40, Pro Plancio, 37, Epistulae ad Atticum, i. 19, ii. 1, xii. 21, xvi. 14, Epistulae ad Familiares, i. 9.
  43. ^ Suetonius, "The Life of Caesar", 14.
  44. ^ Plutarch, "The Life of Cicero", 10–22, "The Life of Cato the Younger", 23.
  45. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 629–634 ("Catilina").
  46. ^ Winningham, Catiline.
  47. ^ Quintus Tullius Cicero, De Petitione Consulatus, 2.
  48. ^ Asconius Pedianus, In Ciceronis in Toga Candida, p. 84 (ed. Orelli).
  49. ^ PW, "Sergius", No. 50.
  50. ^ Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Sergius Paulus".
  51. ^ Acts of the Apostles, xiii. 7.
  52. ^ CIL VI, 31545.
  53. ^ Bekker-Nielsen, p. 160.
  54. ^ Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain, p. 234
  55. ^ Cheesman, "The Family of the Caristanii", p. 265.
  56. ^ Martial, v. 22, vii. 22, viii. 33, ix. 85, x. 10, xii. 69.
  57. ^ Jones, "Martial's Paullus", pp. 841–844.
  58. ^ Jones, "Martial's Paullus", p. 843
  59. ^ Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand, pp. 161, 185.
  60. ^ Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome, vol. 16, p. 140.
  61. ^ a b Syme, Roman Papers: Volume IV, p. 182.
  62. ^ Livy, iii. 35, 41.
  63. ^ Dionysius, xi. 23.
  64. ^ Diodorus Siculus, xii. 24.
  65. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 46, 47 (note 3).
  66. ^ Livy, viii. 18.
  67. ^ Livy, xxix. 6, 9.
  68. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 304.
  69. ^ Livy, xxx. 25.
  70. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 313, 315 (note 9).
  71. ^ Livy, xxxi. 4, 6, xxxii. 1.
  72. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 323, 326 (note 2).
  73. ^ SIG, 636.
  74. ^ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 439, 440.
  75. ^ Cicero, De Officiis, iii. 16, De Finibus, ii. 22, De Oratore, i. 39.
  76. ^ Valerius Maximus, ix. 1. § 1.
  77. ^ Pliny the Elder, ix. 54. § 79.
  78. ^ Varro, Rerum Rusticarum, ii. 3. § 10.
  79. ^ Columella, De Re Rustica, viii. 16. § 5.
  80. ^ Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii. 11.
  81. ^ Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 7.
  82. ^ Cicero, De Domo Sua, 5, 33.
  83. ^ Appian, Bellum Civile, iv. 45.
  84. ^ Suda.
  85. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 788 ("Sergius").

Bibliography

  • In Catilinam, In Pisonem, Pro Cluentio
    , Pro Flacco, Pro Murena, Pro Plancio.
  • Quintus Tullius Cicero, De Petitione Consulatus (attributed).
  • Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), Bellum Catilinae (The Conspiracy of Catiline).
  • Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica (Library of History).
  • Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum Rusticarum (Rural Matters).
  • Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil), Aeneid.
  • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia (Roman Antiquities).
  • Titus Livius (
    History of Rome
    .
  • Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium (Memorable Facts and Sayings).
  • Quintus Asconius Pedianus, Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis In Toga Candida (Commentary on Cicero's Oration In Toga Candida).
  • Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, De Re Rustica.
  • Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder), Historia Naturalis (Natural History).
  • Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Plutarch), Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans.
  • Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars).
  • Appianus Alexandrinus (Appian), Bellum Civile (The Civil War).
  • Marcus Verrius Flaccus
    ' On the Meaning of Words).
  • Suda.
  • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
  • Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
  • Wilhelm Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum (Collection of Greek Inscriptions, abbreviated SIG), Leipzig (1883).
  • René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
  • Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft
    (Scientific Encyclopedia of the Knowledge of Classical Antiquities, abbreviated RE or PW), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980).
  • George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897).
  • G. L. Cheesman, "The Family of the Caristanii at Antioch in Pisidia", in
    Journal of Roman Studies
    , No. 3 (1913).
  • Broughton, T. Robert S. (1952–1986). The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. American Philological Association.
  • Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome, vol. 16 (1955).
  • Géza Alföldy, Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antonien (The Consulate and Senatorial State under the Antonines), Rudolf Habelt, Bonn (1977).
  • Anthony Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1981).
  • Brian W. Jones, "Martial's Paullus", in Latomus, No. 41 (1982).
  • Ronald Syme, Roman Papers: Volume IV, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1988) .
  • Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen, in Classica et Mediaevalia, vol. 57 (2006).
  • Brandon Winningham, Catiline, iUniverse (2007).