The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC. [1]
In the latter part of the Republic, it was common for various gentes to claim descent from the founding figures of Rome; the companions of Aeneas, Romulus, or those who came to Rome in the time of the kings. The Pomponii claimed to be descended from Pompo, one of the sons of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, whose image appears on some of their coins. Several other gentes also claimed Numa as their ancestor. [lower-roman 1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Pompo, asserted as the name of the ancestor of the Pompilii, does indeed appear to have been an ancient praenomen of Sabine origin. It was the Oscan equivalent of Quintus , a very common name. Numa's father is said to have been named Pompo Pompilius, and it is evident that the nomen Pompilius was itself a patronymic surname derived from Pompo. Pomponius appears to be derived from an adjectival form of that name, and the equivalent of the Latin nomen Quinctilius . Thus, it is reasonably certain that some ancestor of the Pomponii was indeed named Pompo, although the claim that he was the son of Numa may well be a later addition. [6]
An alternative explanation suggested during the early nineteenth century, was that the name might be derived from an Etruscan root, Pumpu or Pumpili. [7] In her History of Etruria, Mrs. Hamilton Gray supposed Pumpu to have been the name of Numa's mother, adopted as a surname according to a tradition common to the Etruscan and Sabine cultures. [8]
The Pomponii used a wide variety of praenomina. The principal names were Marcus, Lucius , and Titus . A few of the Pomponii bore the praenomina Quintus, Publius , and Sextus . The illustrious family of the Pomponii Mathones favored Manius , and there are individual instances of Gaius and Gnaeus .
In the earliest times, the Pomponii were not distinguished by any surname, and the only family that rose to importance in the time of the Republic bore the surname Matho. On coins we also find the cognomina Molo, Musa, and Rufus, but none of these occur in ancient writers. The other surnames found during the Republic, such as Atticus, were personal cognomina. Numerous surnames appear in imperial times. [1]
The gens Acilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, that flourished from the middle of the third century BC until at least the fifth century AD, a period of seven hundred years. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Acilius, who was quaestor in 203 and tribune of the plebs in 197 BC.
The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the Tarquins, and the members of his family were among the most celebrated statesmen and generals at the beginning of the Republic. Over the next ten centuries, few gentes produced as many distinguished men, and at every period the name of Valerius was constantly to be found in the lists of annual magistrates, and held in the highest honour. Several of the emperors claimed descent from the Valerii, whose name they bore as part of their official nomenclature.
The gens Lucilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The most famous member of this gens was the poet Gaius Lucilius, who flourished during the latter part of the second century BC. Although many Lucilii appear in Roman history, the only one known to have obtained any of the higher offices of the Roman state was Lucilius Longus, consul suffectus in AD 7.
The gens Manlia was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for nearly five centuries its members frequently held the most important magistracies. Many of them were distinguished statesmen and generals, and a number of prominent individuals under the Empire claimed the illustrious Manlii among their ancestors.
Pomponia is the female name for the Pomponia gens of Ancient Rome. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The oldest known Pomponia was mother of a famous Roman general; the second and third were related to each other. The relationship between these women, if any, is not known. They descended from Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome.
The gens Aquillia or Aquilia was a plebeian family of great antiquity at ancient Rome. Two of the Aquillii are mentioned among the Roman nobles who conspired to bring back the Tarquins, and a member of the house, Gaius Aquillius Tuscus, was consul in 487 BC.
The gens Marcia, occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would seem to have been patrician; but all of the families of the Marcii known in the later Republic were plebeian. The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.
The gens Sempronia was one of the most ancient and noble houses of ancient Rome. Although the oldest branch of this gens was patrician, with Aulus Sempronius Atratinus obtaining the consulship in 497 BC, the thirteenth year of the Republic, but from the time of the Samnite Wars onward, most if not all of the Sempronii appearing in history were plebeians. Although the Sempronii were illustrious under the Republic, few of them attained any importance or notice in imperial times.
The gens Pinaria was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome. According to tradition, the gens originated long before the founding of the city. The Pinarii are mentioned under the kings, and members of this gens attained the highest offices of the Roman state soon after the establishment of the Republic, beginning with Publius Pinarius Mamercinus Rufus, consul in 489 BC.
The gens Annia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Livy mentions a Lucius Annius, praetor of the Roman colony of Setia, in 340 BC, and other Annii are mentioned at Rome during this period. Members of this gens held various positions of authority from the time of the Second Punic War, and Titus Annius Luscus attained the consulship in 153 BC. In the second century AD, the Annii gained the Empire itself; Marcus Aurelius was descended from this family.
The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most powerful families of the late Republic, from the decades before the First Punic War down to the time of Augustus.
The gens Lucretia was a prominent family of the Roman Republic. Originally patrician, the gens later included a number of plebeian families. The Lucretii were one of the most ancient gentes, and the second wife of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, was named Lucretia. The first of the Lucretii to obtain the consulship was Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus in 509 BC, the first year of the Republic.
The gens Cluvia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, known from the later Republic, and early imperial times. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Cluvius Saxula, praetor in 175 and 173 BC.
The gens Herennia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned among the Italian nobility during the Samnite Wars, and they appear in the Roman consular list beginning in 93 BC. In Imperial times they held a number of provincial offices and military commands. The empress Herennia Etruscilla was a descendant of this gens.
The gens Juventia, occasionally written Jubentia, was an ancient plebeian family at Rome. After centuries of obscurity, the gens emerges into history with the appearance of Titus Juventius, a military tribune, in the beginning of the second century BC. The first of the Juventii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Juventius Thalna in 163 BC. But the family is renowned less for its statesmen than for its jurists, who flourished during the second century AD.
The gens Manilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are frequently confused with the Manlii, Mallii, and Mamilii. Several of the Manilii were distinguished in the service of the Republic, with Manius Manilius obtaining the consulship in 149 BC; but the family itself remained small and relatively unimportant.
The gens Mummia was a plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned after the Second Punic War, and within a generation, Lucius Mummius Achaicus became the first of the family to obtain the consulship. Although they were never numerous, Mummii continued to fill the highest offices of the state through the third century AD.
The gens Oppia was an ancient Roman family, known from the first century of the Republic down to imperial times. The gens may originally have been patrician, as they supplied priestesses to the College of Vestals at a very early date, but all of the Oppii known to history were plebeians. None of them obtained the consulship until imperial times.