The gens Pollia () was a minor

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

family at

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. The

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

must have been very old, as one of the original Servian tribes was named after it, suggesting that the Pollii were important landowners during the Roman monarchy. However, few Pollii are mentioned in history, and none of them attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state. A number of Pollii are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Pollius'' seems to be a patronymic surname derived from the old

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 ...

'' Paullus'', "little", which was little used in historical times, except in its feminine form, ''Paulla'', or as a

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 ...

, particularly by the great patrician house of the

Aemilii The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the greatest patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens was of great antiquity, and claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. Its members held the highest offices ...

. An alternative derivation would be from the surname ''Pollio'', originally referring to one who polished arms. Chase classifies ''Pollius'' among those gentilicia which either originated at Rome, or are not known to have come from anywhere else.

Praenomina

The Pollii used a variety of praenomina, especially '' Publius'', ''

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...

'', '' Marcus'', '' Gnaeus'', and '' Lucius'', all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Other names appear occasionally, including ''

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...

'' and '' Numerius'', of which the latter was widespread, but uncommon.

Members

* Pollia, named in a funerary inscription found at Pombal, formerly part of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

.. * Pollius, buried at Turris Libisonis in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, aged seven years, three months, and five days.. * Gaius Pollius, named in a funerary inscription found at Pombal. * Gnaeus Pollius, named in an inscription found in the church of Santa Maria in Casalpiano, in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

. * Publius Pollius P. l., a freedman named in an inscription from Baeterrae in

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

.. * Quintus Pollius Q. l., a freedman named in an inscription from

Tarracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

, dating to the late first century BC or early first century AD.. * Gaius Pollius St. l. Acastus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome. * Quintus Pollius C. f. Africanus, son of Gaius Pollius Felix and Silvana Prima, named in an inscription from

Amiternum Amiternum was an ancient Sabine city, then Roman city and later bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in the central Abruzzo region of modern Italy, located from L'Aquila. Amiternum was the birthplace of the historian Sallust (86 BC). Histo ...

in Sabinum.. * Gaius Pollius Albanus, named in a dedicatory inscription from Narona in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. * Lucius Pollius Albanus, named in inscriptions from Rome and

Veii Veii (also Veius; ) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the city-st ...

. * Aulus Pollius P. l. Alexander, a freedman named in an inscription from

Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. * Publius Pollius Anoptes, named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Lucius Pollius L. Ɔ. l. Anteros, named in an inscription from Rome. * Marcus Pollius Apollonius, named in an inscription from

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

in Gallia Transpadana. * Gnaeus Pollius Besa, named in a funerary inscription at Rome.. * Marcus Pollius Ɔ. l. Eros, a freedman buried at Rome.. * Gaius Pollius Felix, husband of Silvana Prima, and father of Quintus Pollius Africanus and Pollia Politta, named in an inscription from Amiternum. * Gaius Pollius Felix, dedicated a tomb at

Lambaesis Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also ...

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

for his wife, Octavia Clara, aged twenty-five. * Pollia Ɔ. l. Glucinna, a freedwoman buried at Rome. * Marcus Pollius Ɔ. l. Hibricio, a freedman buried at Rome. * Lucius Pollius L. l. Hilario, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome. * Pollius L. l. Hilarus, a freedman named in an inscription from Cora in Latium. * Publius Pollius Hilarus, buried at Rome.. * Pollius Hypatus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome, dating to the second century AD, or the latter part of the first.''NSA'', 1922-140. * Quintus Pollius Ɔ. l. Kandaules, named in an inscription from Tarracina, dating to the later first century BC, or the earlier part of the first century AD. * Marcus Pollius M. f. Hispanus, a

centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

in the fifth legion, buried at

Potaissa Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

. * Marcus Pollius Lic .. a freedman named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Gnaeus Pollius Lucrio, named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Pollius Marinus L. l., buried at

Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Adriatic Veneti, Veneti 15 km southeast of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers D ...

in Venetia and Histria. * Publius Pollius Murranus, freedman of Pancarpus, and husband of Pollia Urbana, buried at Narbo in Gallia Narbonensis.. * Gnaeus Pollius Parthenopaeus, buried at Rome. * Pollius Paternus, son of Sabinus, named in an inscription from Vicus Dolensis in

Gallia Aquitania Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a list of Roman provinces, province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, wher ...

. * Publius Pollius Peplus, buried at Narbo. * Lucius Pollius Philetus, named in a list of soldiers stationed at Rome in AD 70. * Pollia C. f. Politta, daughter of Gaius Pollius Felix and Silvana Prima, named in an inscription from Amiternum. * Numerius Pollius Primus Senior, named in a dedicatory inscription from

Cumae Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...

in Campania, dating to AD 251.. * Numerius Pollius Primus Junior, named in a dedicatory inscription from Cumae. * Publius Pollius Primus, freedman of Silo, buried at Baeterrae. * Pollia Privata, buried at Narbo. * Gnaeus Pollius Protus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Marcus Pollius Pudens, named in a graffito from

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

. * Lucius Pollius Restitutus, buried at Rome, aged eleven years, two months, and thirty days, in a tomb dating to the second century AD, or the latter part of the first. * Gaius Pollius Rogatus, buried at Cuicul in Numidia, aged eighty. * Publius Pollius Romanus, buried at Rome, aged five. * Pollius Saturninus, buried at Ucubi in Numidia, aged eighty. * Pollius Savinus, named in a funerary inscription from Turris Libisonis. * Titus Pollius Severus, named in an inscription from

Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman Empire, Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia (state), Carinthia. In Late Antiquity, late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mention ...

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

. * Lucius Pollius Siccensis, buried at

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

Africa Proconsularis 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 ...

, aged seventy. * Marcus Pollius M. f. Silenus, one of the Seviri Augustales, named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Publius Pollius S. f. Speratus, buried at Rome, aged twenty-one. * Publius Pollius Spinther, named in an inscription from Rome. * Pollius N. l. Stabilio, a freedman buried at Rome. * Gaius Pollius Truentino Restitutus Picens, a soldier in the

praetorian guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

, buried at Rome, aged thirty three, having served thirteen years. * Pollia Urbana, wife of Publius Pollius Murranus, buried at Narbo. * Pollius Victor, buried at Thabraca in Africa Proconsularis, aged eight. * Gnaeus Pollius Cn. l. Victor, a freedman named among the Seviri Augustales at

Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Antiquity Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...

in Campania, in AD 56. * Naevius Pollius Priscus, named in a dedicatory inscription from Cumae. * Titus Volusinus Pollius, son of Rufimus, named in an inscription from Vicus Haterianus in Africa Proconsularis.''ILAfr'', 78, 3. *Publius Pollius Felix, a wealthy Roman from

who was mentioned in the Silvae by

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

. Pollius Felix is said by Statius to have owned a massive villa in Surrentum, which is now used as the Regina Giovanna bath. Pollius Felix is best known as a character in Caroline Lawrence's novel series The Roman Mysteries. It is said that he had a daughter named Polla who married a man named Julius Menecrates. He also had a wife named Polla.

Footnotes

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * ''Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità'' (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated ''NSA''), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–present). * Gustav Wilmanns, ''Inscriptiones Africae Latinae'' (Latin Inscriptions from Africa, abbreviated ''ILAfr''), Georg Reimer, Berlin (1881). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''

L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy a ...