Livia gens

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Livia Drusilla, wife of the emperor Augustus. Livia Drusila - Paestum (M.A.N. Madrid) 02.jpg
Livia Drusilla, wife of the emperor Augustus.

The gens Livia was an illustrious plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the Livii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Livius Denter in 302 BC, and from his time the Livii supplied the Republic with eight consuls, two censors, a dictator, and a master of the horse. Members of the gens were honoured with three triumphs. In the reign of Augustus, Livia Drusilla was Roman empress, and her son was the emperor Tiberius. [1] [2]

Contents

Origin

History preserves no traditions concerning the origin of the Livian gens. Although its members are not found in the first two centuries of the Republic, there is nothing in particular to suggest a foreign origin. The regular cognomina of the Livii are all Latin. The nomen Livius is generally supposed to be derived from the same root as liveo, lividus, and livor, all with the meaning of leaden or bluish-grey, but this connection is not absolutely certain. [3] [4] [5] Pokorny dismissed this derivation, arguing that the nomen either predated these words, or could not be linguistically connected with them. He hypothesized an Etruscan origin for the Livii. [6]

Branches and cognomina

The cognomina of the Livii during the Republic were Denter, Drusus, Libo, Macatus, and Salinator. [2] Of these, Denter was a common surname originally referring to someone with prominent teeth. [7] Macatus means "spotted", being derived from the same root as macula. [8]

Drusus probably means "stiff", although Suetonius records a tradition that the first of the name received it after slaying a Gallic chieftain named Drausus. If this is the true origin of the name, then it probably dates the story to the year 283 BC, when the Senones, the Gallic people of whom Drausus was said to be the leader, were defeated and scattered, for the most part vacating northern Italy. Libo, derived from libere, designated a libation pourer, and entered the family from the Scribonia gens, one of whom was adopted by the Livii Drusi. [9] [1]

The surname Salinator, meaning a salt-merchant, [lower-roman 1] is said to have been given in derision to Marcus Livius, who as censor in 204 BC, imposed an unpopular salt tax. A question arises from the fact that Marcus' father is also referred to as Salinator, although the historians may simply have applied the cognomen retroactively. [11] [12] [13]

Members

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

Early Livii

Livii Drusi

Livii Salinatores

Livii Ocellae

Others

Later uses

See also

Notes

  1. The word came to mean a money-dealer or banker, as salt was a valuable commodity, and a common medium of exchange. Salt-works were generally termed salinae, but the district of Salinae at the foot of the Aventine hill was probably the place where salt from Ostia was offloaded and sold. "Salinae... does not refer to the salt fields, since the coastline is located nearly thirty kilometres away, but rather to a site for unloading, stocking and supplying the precious product." [10]
  2. Which version of his name is correct is uncertain, as the Fasti Capitolini are broken in the place where his name appears. As for whether he was the natural or adopted son of Marcus Livius Drusus, an agnomen such as Aemilianus or Mamilianus typically indicates adoption, but it could also signify descent through the female line, particularly if his father were married more than once. [18] [19]
  3. Pighius confuses him with Livius Drusus Claudianus, the grandson of Marcus and grandfather of the emperor Tiberius; [23] Mai supposes that a certain graffitic barb aimed at the Drusi ("this law binds all the people but the two Drusi"), [24] recorded by Diodorus, refers to Marcus and his father, but it seems much more likely that it was aimed at two brothers. [25]
  4. Pighius, followed by Vaillant, makes him the son of Gaius Livius Drusus, consul in 147 BC, which cannot be justified on chronological grounds. [46] [47] [48]
  5. The ancient source gives his nomen as Julius , which Broughton amends to Livius.

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Bibliography