Gegania (gens)
The gens Gegania was a very ancient patrician gens at Rome, which was prominent from the earliest period of the Republic to the decades before the First Samnite War. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Titus Geganius Macerinus in 492 BC. The gens drifted into obscurity in the first half of the 4th century BC, and does not appear again in history till the year 100 BC.[1]
Origin of the gens
The Geganii traced their origin to the mythical Gyas, one of the companions of Aeneas. According to both Livius and Dionysius, the Geganii were one of the most distinguished Alban houses, transplanted to Rome on the destruction of Alba Longa by Tullus Hostilius, and enthroned among the Roman patres. The name, however, occurs even in the reign of Numa Pompilius, who is said to have chosen Gegania as one of the Vestal Virgins. Another Gegania is mentioned as the wife of Servius Tullius, or of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus; and a third Gegania occurs in the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[2][3][4][5]
Praenomina used by the gens
The Geganii used the praenomina Titus, Lucius, Marcus, and Proculus.[6]
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The only family of the Geganii during the early Republic bore the cognomen Macerinus, a diminutive of Macer. This surname may be derived from the Latin adjective macer, meaning "lean" or "skinny".[7]
Members of the gens
- Gegania, one of the first Vestal Virgins, selected by Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome.[8]
- Gegania, the wife of Servius Tullius, the sixth King of Rome.[9][10]
- Gegania, the mother of Pinarius, lived during the time of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome; her quarrel with her daughter-in-law Thalaea was cited by Plutarchus as a rare example of domestic disharmony at early Rome.[11]
- Titus Geganius Macerinus, consul in 492 BC.
- Lucius Geganius Macerinus, brother of the consul of 492 BC, was sent into Sicilia during his brother's consulship to obtain corn.[12]
- Marcus Geganius M. f. Macerinus, consul in 447, 443, and 437 BC, and censor in 435 BC.
- Proculus Geganius (M. f.) Macerinus, consul in 440 BC.
- Lucius Geganius Macerinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 378 BC.[13][14]
- Marcus Geganius Macerinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 367 BC.[15]
- Lucius Geganius, killed along with Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 100 BC, in the troubles occasioned by Lucius Appuleius Saturninus.[16]
See also
List of Roman gentes
References
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
- ^ Servius, ad Virg. Aen. v. 117.
- ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita i. 30.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia iii. 29, iv. 7.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Numa 10, de Fort. Rom. p. 323, Comp. Lyc. c. Num. 3.
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Numa 10.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans de Fort. Rom. p. 323.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia iv. 7. Dionysius makes Gegania the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth King of Rome. However, according to most traditions, Tarquin's wife, Tanaquil, survived him and ensured the succession of Servius Tullius.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, "Comparison of Lycurgus and Numa", 3.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia vii. 1.
- ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita vi. 31.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica xv. 57.
- ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita vi. 42.
- ^ Paulus Orosius, Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII v. 17.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).