Postumia (gens)

The gens Postumia was one of the most ancient patrician gentes at Rome. Its members frequently held the highest office of the state, from the banishment of the kings to the downfall of the Republic. The first of the Postumii who obtained the consulship was Publius Postumius Tubertus in 505 BC, four years after the expulsion of the kings.[1]

Origin of the gens

The nomen Postumius is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen Postumus, which presumably belonged to the ancestor of the gens. That name was derived from the same source as the Latin adjective, postremus, meaning "last" or "hindmost," and was originally given to a last-born or youngest child. It was not related to the modern word posthumous, although coïncidentally the meaning of the name would also be appropriate for a child born after the death of his father.[2]

Praenomina used by the gens

The most prominent families of the Postumii during the early Republic favored the praenomina Aulus, Spurius, and Lucius. Marcus, Publius, and Quintus were also used. Toward the end of the Republic, the names Gaius, Gnaeus, and Titus are found.[3]

Branches and cognomina of the gens

The most distinguished family in the gens bore the cognomen of Albus or Albinus; but distinguished families are also found at the commencement of the Republic with the names Megellus and Tubertus. Regillensis was an agnomen of the Albini. In the Punic Wars and subsequently, the surnames Pyrgensis, Tempsanus and Tympanus were used. A few Postumii appear in various sources without any surname.[4]

Prominent members of the gens

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

Postumii Tuberti

Postumii Albi et Albini

Postumii Megelli

Later Postumii

See also

List of Roman gentes

Footnotes

  1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor
  2. George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII (1897)
  3. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor
  4. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor
  5. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, xl. 41.
  6. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, xlv. 6.
  7. Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, Sulla 9.
  8. Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Divinatione, i. 33.
  9. Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX, i. 6. § 4.
  10. Marcus Tullius Cicero, In Verrem, ii. 18.
  11. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Murena, 26, 27, 33
  12. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Brutus, i. 33.
  13. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, vii. 15. § 2, xv. 2. § 3, Epistulae ad Familiares, vi. 12. § 2, xiii. 69.
  14. Appianus, B. C. ii. 58.
  15. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, iv. 12. § 2.
  16. Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus, Roman History, l. 13.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.