Licinia gens

The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.[2][3]

Denarius of Publius Licinius Crassus[1]

Origin

The nomen Licinius is derived from the cognomen Licinus, or "upturned", found in a number of Roman gentes.[4] Licinus may have been an ancient praenomen, but few examples of its use as such are known. The name seems to be identical with the Etruscan Lecne, which frequently occurs on Etruscan sepulchral monuments.[5] Some scholars have seen evidence of an Etruscan origin for the Licinii in the tradition that Etruscan players were first brought to Rome to take part in the theatrical performances (ludi scaenici) in the consulship of Gaius Licinius Calvus, BC 364. This could, however, be coincidental, as Livy explains that the games were instituted this year in order to palliate the anger of the gods.[6] In fact, the name of Licinius appears to have been spread throughout both Latium and Etruria from a very early time, so the fact that it had an Etruscan equivalent does not definitely show that the gens was of Etruscan derivation.[3]

Praenomina

The chief praenomina used by the Licinii were Publius, Gaius, Lucius, and Marcus, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. The family occasionally used Sextus, and there is at least one instance of Gnaeus during the first century BC. Aulus was used by the Licinii Nervae. As in other Roman families, the women of the Licinii generally did not have formal praenomina, but were referred to simply as Licinia; if further distinction were needed, they would be described using various personal or family cognomina.

Branches and cognomina

The family-names of the Licinii are Calvus (with the agnomina Esquilinus and Stolo), Crassus (with the agnomen Dives), Geta, Lucullus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, Sacerdos, and Varus. The other cognomina of the gens are personal surnames, rather than family-names; these include Archias, Caecina, Damasippus, Imbrex, Lartius, Lenticula, Nepos, Proculus, Regulus, Rufinus, Squillus, and Tegula. The only cognomina which occur on coins are Crassus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, and Stolo. A few Licinii are known without a surname; most of these in later times were freedmen.[3]

The surname Calvus was originally given to a person who was bald,[7] and it was the cognomen of the earliest family of the Licinii to distinguish itself under the Republic. The first of this family bore the agnomen Esquilinus, probably because he lived on the Esquiline Hill.[8] Stolo, a surname given to the most famous of the family, may be derived from the stola, a long outer garment or cloak, or might also refer to a branch, or sucker.[9][10] Although the family of the Licinii Calvi afterward vanished into obscurity, the surname Calvus was later borne by the celebrated orator and poet Gaius Licinius Macer, who lived in the first century BC. His cognomen Macer, designated someone who was lean.[7][11][12]

Another family of the Licinii bore the cognomen Varus, which means "crooked, bent," or "knock-kneed."[4] The Licinii Vari were already distinguished, when their surname was replaced by that of Crassus. This was a common surname, which could mean "dull, thick," or "solid," and may have been adopted because of the contrast between this meaning and that of Varus.[7][12]

The surname Dives, meaning "rich" or "wealthy," was borne by some of the Licinii Crassi.[13] It was most famous as the surname of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the triumvir, and has been ascribed to his father and brothers, but it is not altogether certain whether it originated with his father, or with the triumvir, in which case it was retroactively applied to the previous generation.[14][15][16]

Lucullus, the cognomen of a branch of the Licinii, which first occurs in history towards the end of the Second Punic War, is probably derived from lucus, a grove, or perhaps a diminutive of the praenomen Lucius. The surname does not appear on any coins of the gens.[17][18]

A family of the Licinii bore the surname Murena (sometimes, but erroneously, written Muraena), referring to the sea-fish known as the murry or lamprey, a prized delicacy since ancient times. This family came from the city of Lanuvium, to the southeast of Rome, and was said to have acquired its name because one of its members had a great liking for lampreys, and built tanks for them. The same surname occurring in other families might be said to be derived from the type of shellfish known as murex, from which a valuable dye was extracted.[17][19][20][21][22]

Of the other surnames of the Licinii might be mentioned Nerva, the surname of a family of the Licinii that flourished from the time of the Second Punic War until the early Empire, derived from nervus, "sinewy";[7] Geta, perhaps the name of a Thracian people, to whom one of the Licinii might have been compared;[23] and Sacerdos, a priest, one of a number of cognomina derived from occupations.[24][25]

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

Early Licinii
  • Gaius Licinius, one of the first tribunes of the plebs elected, in 493 BC. He and his colleague, Lucius Albinius Paterculus, are said to have elected three others, although according to Dionysius, all five were elected by the people.[26][27]
  • Publius Licinius, one of the first tribuni plebis in 493 BC. According to Dionysius he was elected by the people, although according to Livy he was one of three chosen by his colleagues.[26][27]
  • Spurius Licinius, according to Livius tribunus plebis in 481 BC, although Dionysius gives his nomen as Icilius. Dionysius may be correct, as the praenomen Spurius was not used by any other members of the gens Licinia.[28][29]

Licinii Calvi
  • Publius Licinius P. f. Calvus, father of the elder Esquilinus.
  • Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus Esquilinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 400 BC; according to Livius, one of the first plebeians elected to this office, although some of the consular tribunes in 444 and 422 may also have been plebeians.[30][31][32]
  • Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus Esquilinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 396 BC, substituted for his father, who had been elected for the second time, but declined the office on account of his advanced age.[33][34][35][36]
  • Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus, the father of Stolo, was probably a brother of the younger Esquilinus.
  • Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus, the first plebeian appointed magister equitum in 368 BC; he had previously served as consular tribune, but the year is uncertain. He was probably consul in either 364 or 361, but he has been confused with his contemporary, Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo.[37][38][39][lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2]
  • Gaius Licinius C. f. P. n. Calvus, surnamed Stolo, one of the two tribuni plebis who brought forward the lex Licinia Sextia, and who accordingly was elected consul in either 364 or 361 BC, or perhaps in both years.[lower-roman 3][40]

Licinii Vari
  • Publius Licinius, grandfather of the consul of 236 BC.
  • Publius Licinius P. f., father of the consul.
  • Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Varus, consul in 236 BC, carried on the war against the Corsicans and the transalpine Gauls.[41][42]
  • Publius Licinius (C. f. P. n.) Varus, praetor urbanus in 208 BC; he was instructed to refit thirty old ships and find crews for twenty others, in order to protect the coast near Rome.[43]
  • Gaius Licinius P. f. (C. n.) Varus, father of Publius and Gaius Licinius Crassus, consuls in 171 and 168 BC.

Licinii Crassi
See also: Licinii Crassi family tree
Denarius minted in 47–46 BC at Utica. The reverse alludes to the propraetorian imperium of P. Crassus Junianus (P CRASSVS IV[N]).

Licinii Luculli
  • Lucius Licinius Lucullus, curule aedile in 202 BC, he and his colleague distinguished themselves by the magnificence with which they exhibited the Ludi Romani, but were suspected of having allowed their subordinates to defraud the public treasury.[79]
  • Gaius Licinius Lucullus, tribune of the plebs in 196 BC, he proposed the establishment of the tresviri epulones, and was one of the first three persons appointed to the new office.[80]
  • Marcus Licinius Lucullus, praetor peregrinus in 186 BC, he and his colleagues were compelled to suspend all judicial proceedings for thirty days, in consequence of the alarm caused by the discovery of the cult of Bacchus at Rome.[81]
  • Lucius Licinius (L. f.) Lucullus, consul in 151 BC, he was assigned to Hispania, where he instigated a war against the Vaccaei, and as proconsul the following year, carried on war against the Lusitani with acts of great perfidy and cruelty.
  • Publius Licinius Lucullus, tribune of the plebs in 110 BC, attempted, together with his colleague, Lucius Annius, to procure their joint re-election, but this was opposed by the other tribunes, and the election of all of the annual magistrates was postponed.[82]
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. (L. n.) Lucullus, praetor in 104 BC, appointed by the senate to the command in Sicily during the Second Servile War; victorious in the field, he was unable to capture the stronghold of the slaves, and surrendered his command, but not before destroying his camp and supplies out of spite.
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. L. n. Lucullus, consul in 74 BC, the conqueror of Mithridates, over whom he triumphed in 63. He was famous for his wealth and his luxurious lifestyle, gardens, and villa.
  • Marcus Licinius L. f. L. n. Lucullus, he was adopted into the gens Terentia as Marcus Terentius M. f. Varro Lucullus, consul in 73 BC, and triumphed in 71.
  • Lucius Licinius Lucullus, praetor in 67 BC, a man famous for his moderation and mildness of disposition; Dionysius records a colorful anecdote about his restraint in the face of insult.[83]
  • Gnaeus Licinius Lucullus, a friend of Cicero, who attended the funeral of Lucullus' mother.[84]
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. L. n. Lucullus, son of the consul of 74 BC, he was raised by his uncle, Cato, and Cicero. He espoused the cause of Brutus and Cassius, and was killed in the retreat from the Battle of Philippi, in 42 BC.[85][86][87]

Licinii Nervae

Licinii Sacerdotes
  • Gaius Licinius Sacerdos, an eques, who appeared before Scipio Aemilianus, during his censorship in 142 BC. Scipio accused him of perjury, but as no witnesses came forward, Licinius was dismissed.[97][98]
  • Gaius Licinius C. f. Sacerdos, praetor urbanus in 75 BC; in the following year he had the government of Sicily, in which he was succeeded by Verres. Cicero contrasts his upright administration with the corruption of his successor.[99][100][101]

Licinii Murenae
  • Lucius Licinius Murena, triumvir monetalis between 169 and 158 BC, praetor in 147, and legate of Lucius Mummius Achaicus in Greece from 146 to 145.[102][103]
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. Murena, praetor before 101 BC. He was a contemporary of the orator Lucius Licinius Crassus, who was consul in 95 BC.[102][22][104]
  • Publius Licinius L. f. L. n. Murena, described by Cicero as a man of moderate talent, and some literary knowledge, who devoted much attention to the study of antiquity. He died in the civil war between Sulla and the younger Marius, about 82 BC.[105]
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. L. n. Murena, one of Sulla's lieutenants in Greece, he later fought against Mithridates without authorization, and was recalled by Sulla in 81 BC. He had probably been praetor about 88. He was awarded a triumph in 81.[106][107][108][109]
  • Lucius Licinius L. f. L. n. Murena, elected consul in 62 BC; before entering office he was accused of bribery, and defended by Quintus Hortensius, Cicero, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. During his consulship he worked to preserve the peace in the aftermath of Catiline's conspiracy.[110]
  • Gaius Licinius L. f. L. n. Murena, legate of his brother, the consul of 62, in Gallia Cisalpina; he captured some of Catiline's allies. He was also aedile circa 59.[111][112]
  • Licinius (L. f. L. n.) Murena, probably the son of the consul of 62, he was adopted by Aulus Terentius Varro, and assumed the name Aulus Terentius Varro Murena. He was consul suffectus in 23 BC, but the following year conspired with Fannius Caepio and was put to death.[113][114][115]
  • Lucius Licinius Varro Murena, one of the conspirators against Augustus, was the adopted brother of Aulus, consul in 23 BC.[116]

Licinii Macri
  • Gaius Licinius Macer, praetor in 68 BC, he was impeached for extortion by Cicero in 66, he took his own life to avoid the disgrace of a public condemnation. He was probably the annalist Licinius Macer, frequently mentioned by Livius and other historians.
  • Gaius Licinius C. f. Macer Calvus, a renowned orator and poet, favorably compared with Cicero and Catullus.

Others

Footnotes
  1. The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology lists this Licinius as consular tribune in 377 or 378 B.C. based on Livy, vi. 31. 377 appears to be an error in the text, as 378 appears in the chronology in the appendix. This identification may have been based on Livius' identification of Licinius Menenius as the tribune of that year. Menenius, whose name is given variously as Licinus or Lucius, is elsewhere accepted as by the same source as consular tribune in 378; thus the year that Licinius Calvus was consular tribune remains uncertain.[10]
  2. Both the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology and Broughton, following Livy, agree that Plutarch and Cassius Dio are mistaken in identifying this Gaius Licinius Calvus with Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, tribune of the plebs in the same year.[10][37]
  3. The Fasti Capitolini state that Calvus was consul in 364, and Stolo in 361; but Livy, Valerius Maximus, and Plutarch all state that Stolo was consul in 364, and Calvus in 361. The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology supposes that Stolo was consul in both years. Both Calvus and Stolo had good claims to the consulship, the first having served as magister equitum in 368, the other having brought forward the law permitting the election of plebeian consuls.[10][40]
  4. The "Publius Crassus Junianus", "Licinius Damasippus" and "Crassus" who are described by different sources in similar roles in Africa during the Civil War are held to be the same person.[61][62][63][64] He was a son of Lucius Junius Brutus Damasippus, whose praenomen he probably shared, until his adoption by Publius Licinius Crassus Dives, the praetor of 57 BC.[65]

See also

References
  1. This Publius Licinius Crassus is probably the father of the triumvir, but has also been conjectured to be his son. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
  2. Drumann, Geschichte Roms.
  3. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 782 ("Licinia Gens").
  4. Chase, p. 109.
  5. Lanzi, vol. II, p. 342.
  6. Livy, vii. 2.
  7. Chase, p. 110
  8. Chase, pp. 113, 114.
  9. Chase, pp. 112 (Stola), 113 (Stolo).
  10. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 586 ("Calvus").
  11. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 586 ("Calvus", "Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus").
  12. Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary.
  13. Chase, p. 111.
  14. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 872, 873 ("Crassus").
  15. Marshall, "Crassus and the Cognomen Dives."
  16. Drumann, vol. IV, pp. 71–115.
  17. Chase, p. 113.
  18. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 830, 831 ("Lucullus").
  19. Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, ix. 54.
  20. Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii. 11.
  21. Drumann, vol. IV, p. 183 ff.
  22. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 1121 ("Murena").
  23. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, "Geta".
  24. Chase, pp. 111, 112.
  25. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, "sacerdos".
  26. Livy, ii. 33.
  27. Dionysius, vi. 89.
  28. Livy, ii. 43.
  29. Dionysius, ix. 1.
  30. Livy, v. 12.
  31. Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, "Licinius" no. 43.
  32. Mommsen, Römische Forschungen, vol. I, p. 95.
  33. Livy, v. 18.
  34. Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 90.
  35. The Fasti Capitolini mention only the father, elected for the second time.
  36. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 87, 88.
  37. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 112, 113.
  38. Livy, vi. 39.
  39. Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 57.
  40. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 116, 118, 119.
  41. Zonaras, viii. 18, p. 400.
  42. Livy, xxi. 18, Epitome, 50.
  43. Livy, xxvii. 22, 23, 51.
  44. Livy, xli, xlii, xliii.
  45. Livy, xli. 22, xlv. 17.
  46. Cicero, Laelius de Amicitia, 25; Brutus, 21.
  47. Varro, Rerum Rusticarum, i. 2.
  48. Cassius Dio, fragmentum xcii.
  49. Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, vii. 18.
  50. Cicero, De Finibus, v. 30.
  51. Cicero, Brutus, 58.
  52. Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, xxxiv. 3. s. 8.
  53. Plutarch, "The Life of Crassus", 1, 4.
  54. Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, xii. 24.
  55. Florus, iii. 21. § 14.
  56. Appian, Bellum Civile, i. p. 394.
  57. Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, ii. 24. § 2.
  58. Cicero, Post Reditum in Senatu, 9.
  59. Valerius Maximus, vi. 9. § 12.
  60. Marshall, "Crassus and the Cognomen Dives", pp. 463–464.
  61. Crawford, p. 472, no. 460.
  62. Verboven, "Damasippus", p. 198.
  63. Caesar, De Bello Civili, ii. 44; De Bello Africo, 96.
  64. Plutarch, "The Life of Cato the Younger" 70.
  65. Verboven, "Damasippus", pp. 197, 198.
  66. Cicero, Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem, iii. 8. § 3.
  67. Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, vii. 23; Epistulae ad Atticum, xii. 29, 33.
  68. Horace Satirae, ii. 3, 16, 64.
  69. Verboven, "Damasippus", pp. 195, 198, 199
  70. CIL VI, 22930.
  71. Verboven, "Damasippus", p. 198 (and note 7).
  72. Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, v. 8.
  73. Caesar, De Bello Gallico, v. 24.
  74. Justin, xlii. 4.
  75. Livy, Epitome, cxxxiv, cxxxv.
  76. Cassius Dio, liv. 24.
  77. Tacitus, Historiae, i. 47, iv. 39.
  78. Suetonius, "The Life of Caligula"; "The Life of Claudius."
  79. Livy, xxx. 39.
  80. Livy, xxxiii. 42, xxxvi. 36.
  81. Livy, xxxix. 6, 8, 18.
  82. Sallust Bellum Jugurthinum, 37.
  83. Dionysius, xxxvi. 24.
  84. Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, xv. 1.
  85. Cicero, De Finibus, iii. 2; Epistulae ad Atticum, xiii. 6; Philippicae, x. 4.
  86. Velleius Paterculus, ii. 71.
  87. Valerius Maximus, iv. 7. § 4.
  88. Livy, xlv. 16.
  89. Livy, xlv. 3, 42.
  90. Livy, Epitome, 53.
  91. Eutropius, iv. 15.
  92. Diodorus Siculus, xxxvi.
  93. Cicero, Brutus, 34.
  94. Drumann, vol. IV. p. 19 (no. 85).
  95. Velleius Paterculus ii. 116.
  96. Cassius Dio, lv. 30.
  97. Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 48.
  98. Valerius Maximus, iv. 1. § 10.
  99. SIG, 747.
  100. Cicero, In Verrem, i. 10, 46, 50, ii. 28, iii. 50, 92, Pro Plancio, 11.
  101. Asconius, in Toga Candida, p. 83 (ed. Orelli).
  102. Cicero, Pro Murena, 15
  103. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 463, 467, 468.
  104. Broughton, vol. I, p. 571.
  105. Cicero, Brutus, 54, 90.
  106. Memnon, Heracleia, 26.
  107. Appian, Mithridatic War, 32, 64-66, 93.
  108. SIG, 745.
  109. Broughton, vol. II, pp. 40, 50, 61, 62, 77, 129.
  110. Broughton, vol. II, pp. 103, 109 (note 5), 134, 163, 169, 172, 173, 484.
  111. Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, 42.
  112. Broughton, vol. II, p. 170, 189, 193 (note 4).
  113. Vitruvius, de Architectura, II, 8 § 9.
  114. Horace, Carmen Saeculare, ii. 2, 10.
  115. Cassius Dio, liii. 25, liv. 3.
  116. Ando, p. 140.
  117. Livy, xxxi. 12.
  118. Sherk, "Senatus Consultum De Agro Pergameno", p. 367.
  119. Plutarch, "The Life of Tiberius Gracchus", 2.
  120. Cicero, De Oratore, iii. 60.
  121. Aulus Gellius, i. 11.
  122. Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 42.
  123. Valerius Maximus, ii. 9. § 9.
  124. Broughton, vol. I, p. 530.
  125. Livy, Epitome, 80.
  126. Plutarch, "The Life of Marius", 45.
  127. Cassius Dio, fragmentum 120.
  128. Broughton, vol. 2, p. 579.
  129. Cicero, Philippicae, ii. 23.
  130. Cassius Dio, xlv. 47.
  131. Cassius Dio, liv. 14.
  132. Festus, s. vv. Imbrex, Obstitum.
  133. Aulus Gellius, xiii. 22, xv. 24.
  134. Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, xix. 2. s. 11, xxxi. 2. s. 18.
  135. Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, ii. 14, iii. 5.
  136. Gruter, p. 180.
  137. Tacitus, Historiae, ii. 53.
  138. Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, xx. 18. s. 76.
  139. Tacitus, Historiae, i. 46, 82, 87, ii. 33, 39, 44, 60.
  140. Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, iv. 29, v. 4, 21, vi. 5.
  141. Eck and Pangerl, "Zwei Konstitutionen für die Truppen Niedermösiens".
  142. Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (Amsterdam: Verlag Gieben, 1989), pp. 149f
  143. Digesta seu Pandectae, 40. tit. 13. s. 4.
  144. Zimmern, vol. I.
  145. Fergus Millar, "The Greek East and Roman Law: The Dossier of M. Cn. Licinius Rufinus", Journal of Roman Studies, 89 (1999), pp. 90-108

Bibliography
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