Cincius, whose ''

praenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

'' was likely Lucius and whose ''

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

'' goes unrecorded, was an

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

writer probably during the time of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. He is frequently confused with the annalist Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who fought in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, and some scholars still maintain that Cincius Alimentus was also the antiquarian. None of the works of Cincius is extant, but he is cited by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, Festus, and others. The several works attributed to Cincius have been assigned to one or the other of these two writers by scholars whose criteria for distinguishing them produce varying results. The authorship of the book ''De fastis'' ("On the

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...

"), for instance, has been attributed to either one. T.P. Wiseman finds it likely that Cincius wrote "a Pausanias-like guide to the antiquities of the Capitol (if not the whole city)," including a collection of old inscriptions, and makes a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

of him as well with a work ''De officio iurisconsulti''.Wiseman, ''Clio's Cosmetics'', pp. 45–46.

References

Ancient Roman antiquarians Golden Age Latin writers Latin writers known only from secondary sources {{AncientRome-bio-stub