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 Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

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 The naval forces of the ancient Roman state () were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land-based peopl ...

'') 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 Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. As of 2022, the population was about 97,000. Kn ...

. 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 Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

Munatius Plancus Lucius Munatius Plancus () was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. He is one of the classic historical examples of men who have managed to survive very dangerous circumstances by constan ...

, 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.

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

Cispius Laevus

Marcus Cispius

Lucius Cispius (Laevus)

See also

References