Cispius is the ''
nomen'' of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
''
gens Cispia''.
Cispius Laevus
The ''
Mons Cispius
Mons commonly refers to:
* Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium
* Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone
* Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain
* Batt ...
'', or Cispian Hill, is one of several summits of the
Esquiline Hill
The Esquiline Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' ( Oppian Hill).
Etymology
The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is that the hill was named after the ...
in Rome. The grammarian
Festus says that it was named for a Cispius Laevus of
Anagnia, of the ''Publilia'' voting tribe (''tribus''). This Cispius may be legendary.
Marcus Cispius
Marcus Cispius was a
tribune of the ''plebs'' in 57 BC, and was among those tribunes who actively supported
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
in his efforts to overturn the legislation that brought about his exile. Earlier, however, Cicero had brought a civil suit in which he spoke against Cispius, his brother, and their father. Sometime after Cispius's tribunate, most likely in early 56, he was defended by Cicero on a charge of electoral corruption (''
ambitus
In ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the origin of ...
'') and convicted. Cicero calls him "a man of character and principle." The two men maintained their friendship in the 50s; in 55, Cicero wrote a
letter of recommendation
A letter of recommendation or recommendation letter, also known as a letter of reference, reference letter, or simply reference, is a document in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recomme ...
to the proconsul of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Q. Valerius Orca, on behalf of men associated with Cispius. Cispius may have been a
praetor
''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...
sometime after 54.
Lucius Cispius (Laevus)
Lucius Cispius, probably with the ''
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 ...
'' Laevus, was a commander of the fleet (''
praefectus classis'') in 46 BC, serving under
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
. He took part in the
blockade of Thapsus. Cispius was not of
senatorial rank, and has been tentatively linked to a
pottery manufacturing family in
Arretium. It is possible that he was the son of Marcus Cispius (above), though this filiation would place them on opposite sides in the
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. In 43, a Cispius Laevus was a
legate of
Munatius Plancus, carrying dispatches to Rome for him; this man was most likely Caesar's naval commander.
[Cicero, ''Ad familiares'' 10.18.1–2 and 21.3; ''MRR''2 pp. 351, 544, and ''MRR''3 p. 53; Ronald Syme, review of Broughton, ''Classical Philology'' 50 (1955), p. 135, and "Senators, Tribes and Towns," p. 115.]
See also
*
Cispia (gens)
References
Unless otherwise noted, dates, offices and citations of ancient sources are from
T.R.S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'' (American Philological Association, 1951, 1986), vol. 1; vol. 2 (1952); vol. 3 (1986); abbreviated ''MRR''.
Ancient Roman prosopographical lists
Ancient Roman families
Cispii
sv:Cispius
{{Set index article, ancient Rome