The gens Modia was a minor family at
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
, known from a small number of individuals.
Praenomina
The Modii are known to have used the
praenomina ''
Quintus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name a ...
,
Septimus,
Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...
,
Gaius
Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen).
People
*Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist
*Gaius Acilius
*Gaius Antonius
*Gaius Antonius Hybrida
*Gaius Asinius Gallus
*Gaius Asinius Pol ...
'', and ''
Lucius'', all of which were very common, except for ''Septimus'', which was quite unusual. The first Modius to appear in history was a
''duumvir'' of
Luceria in
Apulia at the end of the
Pyrrhic War
The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans.
A ski ...
; the gens might therefore come from this city.
Members
* Gaius Modius Cr. f., duumvir of Luceria ''circa'' 275 BC; he minted bronze coins during his magistracy.
*Septimus Modius, known from an inscription.
* Quintus Modius Equiculus, mentioned by
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
.
* Marcus Modius, mentioned by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
.
* Gaius Modius Justus,
propraetor
In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...
of Numidia in an uncertain year.
* Quintus Modius, described as the brother of Gaius Vibius Postumus, probably the same who was
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
during the reign of
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unt ...
.
[''PIR'', vol. II, p. 385.]
* Modia, a Roman matron mentioned by
Juvenal
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's lif ...
.
[Juvenal, iii. 130.]
* Modius Terventinus,
praefectus vehiculorum in AD 214.
*
Modius Julius Modius Julius was a governor of Britannia Inferior, a province of Roman Britain during AD 219 under Elagabalus. Inscriptions at Birdoswald
Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria (formerly i ...
, governor of
Britannia Inferior in AD 219.
* Gaius Modius Taurus, a Roman aristocrat, mentioned in an inscription of uncertain date.
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in earl ...
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
*
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, ''Rerum Rusticarum'' (Rural Matters).
*
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
, ''
In Verrem
"In Verrem" ("Against Verres") is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily. The speeches, which were concurrent with Cicero's election to the aedileship ...
''.
*
Decimus Junius Juvenalis, ''
Satirae'' (Satires).
* ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...
'',
William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
*
August Pauly
August Friedrich von Pauly (; ; 9 May 1796, in Benningen am Neckar – 2 May 1845, in Stuttgart) was a German educator and classical philologist.
From 1813 to 1818 he studied at the University of Tübingen, then furthered his education at Heidelb ...
,
Georg Wissowa
Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau.
Education and career
Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...
, ''et alii'', ''
Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).
*
Paul von Rohden,
Elimar Klebs, &
Hermann Dessau
Hermann Dessau (6 April 1856, Frankfurt am Main – 12 April 1931, Berlin) was a German ancient historian and epigrapher. He is noted for a key work of textual criticism published in 1889 on the '' Historia Augusta'', which uncovered reasons ...
, ''
Prosopographia Imperii Romani
The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final vol ...
'' (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898).
*Oliver D. Hoover, ''Handbook of Coins of Italy and Magna Graecia, Sixth to First Centuries BC
he Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, Volume 1', Lancaster/London, Classical Numismatic Group, 2018.
Roman gentes
{{Roman-gens-stub