Marcus Aurius was a nobleman of ancient Rome, of the Auria gens of Larinum. He lived in the 1st century BCE, and was a fighter in the Social War, and was one of the notable characters in Cicero's speech Pro Cluentio . [1]
He was the son of the wealthy Dinaea, and brother to Numerius Aurius, Gnaeus Magius, and Magia. He was taken prisoner in the Battle of Asculum in 89 BCE, after which he fell into the hands of Quintus Sergius, who confined him in the ergastulum (slave prison) on his estate in Ager Gallicus. Virtually everyone believed him dead. [1]
During this time it transpired that all of Marcus's siblings died, and it became known that Marcus was a captive of Sergius, and Dinaea, on discovering that she still had one surviving child pleaded for his release and urged her relations to bring every power they had to bear in securing his freedom. Shortly thereafter, she fell ill, and designated the younger Oppianicus -- her grandson and late daughter's child by Statius Albius Oppianicus -- as her heir, but also left 400,000 sestertii to her son Marcus. An expedition of Marcus's kin set out for Ager Gallicus, led by the informant who had told Dinaea that Marcus still lived. [2] [1]
Meanwhile Statius Albius Oppianicus bribed the informant to lead the party astray and delay their arrival, and also paid a group of people to kidnap and murder Marcus, in order that his young son -- and by extension, himself -- might enjoy the full inheritance. This group succeeded in assassinating Marcus, though the elder Oppianicus's scheme was exposed. [2] [1]
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin, and developed by the 3rd century AD into Late Latin. In some later periods, the former was regarded as good or proper Latin; the latter as debased, degenerate, or corrupted. The word Latin is now understood by default to mean "Classical Latin"; for example, modern Latin textbooks almost exclusively teach Classical Latin.
Porcia, occasionally spelled Portia, especially in 18th-century English literature, was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis and his first wife Atilia. She is best known for being the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins, and appears primarily in the letters of Cicero.
The gens Junia or Iunia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, and on the expulsion of Tarquin in 509 BC, he became one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic.
Pro Cluentio is a speech by the Roman orator Cicero given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor, addressed to the judge Gaius Aquilius Gallus.
Aulus Cluentius Habitus, a wealthy citizen of Larinum in Samnium, and subject of a Roman cause célèbre.
The Porta Esquilina was a gate in the Servian Wall, of which the Arch of Gallienus is extant today. Tradition dates it back to the 6th century BC, when the Servian Wall was said to have been built by the Roman king Servius Tullius. However modern scholarship and evidence from archaeology indicate a date in the fourth century BC. The archway of the gate was rededicated in 262 as the Arch of Gallienus.
The gens Accia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome during the late Republic. The gens is known primarily from two individuals, Lucius Accius, a tragic poet of the second century BC, and Titus Accius, best known for his prosecution of Aulus Cluentius Habitus in Cicero's oration Pro Cluentio. Other Accii are known from inscriptions.
The gens Albia was a minor plebeian family at Rome. They were of senatorial rank during the latter part of the Republic, but the only of this gens who obtained the consulship was Lucius Albius Pullaienus Pollio, in AD 90. Other Albii are known from various parts of Italy.
The gens Annaea was a plebeian family at Rome during the first century BC, and the early centuries of the Empire. Members of this gens were distinguished for their love of literary pursuits. Several members of the family fell victim to the various plots and intrigues of the court of Nero, including the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso.
The gens Auria was a Roman family at Larinum in southern Italy, known chiefly from Cicero's oration, Pro Cluentio.
Attidius, possibly to be identified with Marcus Atilius Bulbus, was a senator of the Roman Republic. Sometime in the early 70s BC, he was convicted of a crime, probably maiestas, and exiled. Attidius found refuge in the court of Mithridates VI of Pontus, and the two men were friends for many years. The sole evidence for Attidius's life and career is a passage by the Greek historian Appian in his Mithridatic Wars.
The gens Septimia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens first appears in history towards the close of the Republic, and they did not achieve much importance until the latter half of the second century, when Lucius Septimius Severus obtained the imperial dignity.
The gens Cluentia was a Roman family of the late Republic. The gens first appears during the Social War, in which Lucius Cluentius was general of the Pompeiian forces. The most famous family of the name lived at Larinum, where they and their cousins, the Aurii, fell victim to the machinations of Oppianicus, exposed by Cicero in his oration, Pro Cluentio.
The gens Sergia was a patrician family at ancient Rome, which held the highest offices of the Roman state from the first century of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the Sergii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Sergius Fidenas in 437 BC. Despite long and distinguished service, toward the end of the Republic the reputation of this gens suffered as a result of the conspiracy of Catiline.
The gens Fidiculania was a plebeian family at Rome. It is known chiefly from a single individual, Gaius Fidiculanius Falcula, a Roman senator, and one of the judices at the trial of Statius Albius Oppianicus in 74 BC. The general indignation at the verdict convicting Oppianicus led to accusations of irregularities against Fidiculanius, but he was acquitted. On subsequent occasions Cicero presented Fidiculanius in different lights, according to the needs of his clients.
Gaius Fidiculanius Falcula was a senator of the late Roman Republic, of the gens Fidiculania. He is known only from the speeches of Cicero.
Arbuscula was a woman stage performer of ancient Rome. She was a celebrated actor in pantomimes during the 1st century BCE, when most of the female parts at the time were played by men at least in tragedy.
The gens Staia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned by ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions. The most illustrious of the Staii was Lucius Staius Murcus, governor of Syria in 44 BC, and a military commander of some ability who served under several leading figures of the period.
The gens Statia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the early decades of the Republic, but the name does not appear again in history until the time of Cicero. The Statii remained relatively undistinguished until the reign of Trajan, when Lucius Statius Aquila was raised to the consulship.
Aurelia Orestilla, daughter of the very wealthy Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes, was woman of ancient Rome chiefly remembered for her association with the politician Catiline, who in 65 BCE attempted to take control of the Roman Senate in what came to be called the Catilinarian conspiracy.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Smith, William (1870). "M. Aurius". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . Vol. 1. p. 444.