Apronia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Apronia was a plebeian
family at Rome
throughout the history of the Republic
and into imperial times. The first member of the gens
to achieve prominence was Gaius Apronius, tribune of the plebs
in 449 BC. None of the Apronii obtained the consulship
until the 1st century AD.
Gaius
, Quintus
, and Lucius
.
associated with the Apronii is Caesianus, which is probably derived from the nomen
of the gens Caesia, and may indicate descent from the Caesii through the female line.
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...
family at Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
throughout the history of the Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and into imperial times. The first member of the gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
to achieve prominence was Gaius Apronius, tribune of the plebs
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
in 449 BC. None of the Apronii obtained the consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
until the 1st century AD.
Praenomina used by the gens
The Apronii are known to have used the praenominaPraenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
Gaius
Gaius (praenomen)
Gaius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Gaia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Gavia...
, Quintus
Quintus (praenomen)
Quintus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia. The feminine form is Quinta...
, and Lucius
Lucius (praenomen)
Lucius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Lucia . The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Lucia and Lucilia, as well as the cognomen Lucullus...
.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The only cognomenCognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
associated with the Apronii is Caesianus, which is probably derived from the nomen
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
of the gens Caesia, and may indicate descent from the Caesii through the female line.
Members of the gens
- Gaius Apronius, elected one of the tribunes of the plebsTribuneTribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
on the abolition of the decemvirateDecemviriDecemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...
in 449 BC. - Quintus Apronius, the chief of the decumani in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
during the government of VerresVerresGaius Verres was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. It is not known what gens he belonged to, though some give him the nomen Licinius.-As governor:...
(73-71 BC), was the target of Cicero's vituperation for his rapacity, sexual perversions, and varieties of wickedness. - Lucius AproniusLucius AproniusLucius Apronius was a Roman military commander and a father-in-law of praetor Plautius Silvanus. Apronius shared in the achievements of Vibius Postumus and earned the ornaments of a triumph for his distinguished valor in Dalmatian revolt and Germanic Wars, along with Aulus Caecina Severus and Gaius...
, consul suffectusRoman consulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in AD 8, and subsequently proconsulProconsulA proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
in Africa and propraetorPromagistrateA promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect...
in Germania InferiorGermania InferiorGermania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
, where he was killed in a revolt of the FrisiiFrisiiThe Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Zuiderzee and the River Ems. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period the Frisii and the related Chauci, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland...
. - Apronia L. f., murdered by her husband, Marcus Plautius SilvanusMarcus Plautius SilvanusMarcus Plautius Silvanus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 2 BC.-Biography:Silvanus was the son of Urgulania, a close friend of the empress Livia, and it was Livia's intercession that allowed Silvanus to climb the cursus honorum, leading to the consulate in 2 BC alongside Augustus...
, consul in 2 BC. - Apronia L. f., wife of Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus GaetulicusGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus GaetulicusGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus was a Roman general and politician. He was involved in a plot against the emperor Caligula and was executed after its discovery.-Biography:...
, consul in AD 26. - Lucius Apronius L. f. Caesianus, consul in AD 39.