Grania gens

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The gens Grania was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Although none of them ever obtained the consulship, the family was of "senatorial rank", [lower-roman 1] and was well known from the latter half of the second century BC. In Imperial times, a number of them became distinguished in military and provincial service. [1]

Contents

Origin

The Granii may have originated at Puteoli, where a Roman colony was established in 194 BC, although it is not known whether the ancestors of the gens were among the original colonists, or natives of the town who acquired Roman citizenship. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Praenomina

The Granii of the Republic used the praenomina Quintus, Gnaeus, Gaius, Publius , and Aulus , all of which were common names throughout Roman history.

Branches and cognomina

The only cognomen of the Granii under the Republic was Flaccus, in the time of Caesar. In imperial times, the surnames Licinianus, Marcellus, Marcianus, Serenus, and Silvanus are found. [1]

Members

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

See also

Footnotes

  1. Also called "senatorian", an unofficial elite within the equestrian order during the later Republic, consisting of the senators and their offspring who were not patricians.
  2. His existence is poorly attested. Appian mentions "Gnaeus and Quintus Granius" among the men whom Sulla outlawed in 88 BC, but elsewhere mentions only one (without specifying praenomen), and Plutarch is only aware of a single Granius. Münzer suggests that Appian mistook the former for Gnaeus Papirius Carbo, who, as a staunch enemy of Sulla later on, could be plausibly identified as one of the outlaws in 88. [8]
  3. "Gavius Silvanus" in some editions of Tacitus.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 299 ("Grania Gens").
  2. 1 2 Cicero, In Verrem, v. 59.
  3. Plutarch, "The Life of Marius", 35.
  4. 1 2 Caesar, De Bello Civili, iii. 71.
  5. Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, ix. 15; Pro Plancio, 14, p. 259 (ed. Orelli); Brutus, 43; Epistulae ad Atticum, vi. 3; De Oratore, ii. 60, 62.
  6. Plutarch, "The Life of Marius", 35, 37, 40.
  7. Appian, Bellum Civile, i. 60, 62.
  8. RE, vol. XVIII (3), cols. 1024, 1025 (Papirius 38).
  9. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 299 ("Granius", nos. 2, 3).
  10. Bothe, Poetae Scenici Latinorum, vol. v. (Fragmenta), p. 271.
  11. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 300 ("Granius", no. 4).
  12. Plutarch, "The Life of Sulla", 37.
  13. Valerius Maximus, ix. 3. § 8.
  14. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 155 ("Granius Flaccus").
  15. Macrobius, Saturnalia, i. 16.
  16. Festus, s. v. Ricae.
  17. Tacitus, Annales, i. 74.
  18. Tacitus, Annales, iv. 21.
  19. Tacitus, Annales, vi. 38.
  20. Tacitus, Annales, xv. 50, 60–64, 71.
  21. Orosius, vii. 13.
  22. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, iv. 8, 9.

Bibliography