Ancharia gens

The gens Ancharia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Quintus Ancharius, a senator early in the first century BC.

Origin

The origin of the Ancharii is uncertain, but the nomen Ancharius may be derived from Ancharia, a name of the goddess Angerona, by which she was known at Faesulae. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. As Faesulae was an Etruscan city, the family may have been of Etruscan origin.[1]

Praenomina

The praenomina associated with the Ancharii are Quintus and Publius.

Branches and cognomina

The cognomina used by the Ancharii included Priscus, a common surname meaning "elder" or "old-fashioned", and Soter, a "savior" or "protector." The latter surname was borne by a freedwoman, and was not necessarily used by other members of the gens.

Members

Quintus Ancharius, a senator of praetorian rank, killed by Marius in 87 B.C.[2]
Ancharia, the first wife of Gaius Octavius, father of Augustus.[3]
Quintus Ancharius, tribune of the plebs in 59 and praetor in 56 B.C., received the province of Macedonia the following year.[4]
Ancharius Priscus, prosecuted Caesius Cordus, proconsul of Crete, for treason and extortion in A.D. 21.[5][6]
Publia Ancharia Soteris, a freedwoman in Bithynia. Pliny the Younger asked the emperor Trajan to grant her the Ius Quiritium, thereby making her a Roman citizen.[7][8]

References

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
Appianus, Bellum Civile i. 73.
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Vita Caesarum Augustus 4.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Sestio 53, Epistulae ad Familiares xiii. 40.
Tacitus, The Annals 2.38
Tacitus, The Annals 2.70
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistulae 10, 11, 2.
Mika Kajava, Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women (1994).

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[1] Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

[2] Appianus, Bellum Civile i. 73.

[3] Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Vita Caesarum Augustus 4.

[4] Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Sestio 53, Epistulae ad Familiares xiii. 40.

[5] Tacitus, The Annals 2.38

[6] Tacitus, The Annals 2.70

[7] Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Epistulae 10, 11, 2.

[8] Mika Kajava, Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women (1994).