Arria (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Arria was a plebeian
family at Rome
, which appears in the 1st century BC, and became quite large in imperial times. The first of the gens
to achieve prominence was Quintus Arrius, praetor
in 72 BC.
, the Arrii are known to have used the praenomina
Quintus
, Gaius
, and Marcus
.
. In imperial times, we find the surnames Gallus, Varus, and Aper.
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....
, which appears in the 1st century BC, and became quite large in imperial times. The first 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 Quintus Arrius, praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 72 BC.
Praenomina used by the gens
During the RepublicRoman 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...
, the Arrii are known to have used the praenomina
Praenomen
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...
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...
, 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...
, and Marcus
Marcus (praenomen)
Marcus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Marca or Marcia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Marcia, as well as the cognomen Marcellus...
.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
None of the Arrii during the Republic bore any 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...
. In imperial times, we find the surnames Gallus, Varus, and Aper.
Members of the gens
- Quintus Arrius, praetorPraetorPraetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 72 BC, during the Third Servile WarThird Servile WarThe Third Servile War , also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Roman Servile Wars...
, defeated CrixusCrixusCrixus was a leader of the slave rebellion in the Third Servile War, along with Spartacus and Oenomaus.He was a Gaul , and had been a slave for several years before the revolt. Crixus had fought for the Allobroges against the Romans and had been captured. Like his companions, Crixus had trained as...
, but was conquered by SpartacusSpartacusSpartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
. - Quintus Arrius Q. f., a friend of CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, and an unsuccessful candidate for the consulshipRoman 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 59 BC. - Gaius Arrius, a neighbor of Cicero at FormiaFormiaFormia is a city and comune in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio . It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way.-History:...
e, who honored Cicero with more of his company than was convenient to him in 59 BC. - Marcus Arrius Q. f. Secundus, triumvir monetalisMoneyerA moneyer is someone who physically creates money. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, continuing into the empire.-Roman Republican moneyers:...
in 41 BC. - ArriaArriaArria was a woman in ancient Rome. Her husband Caecina Paetus was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion but was not capable of forcing himself to do so. Arria wrenched the dagger from him and stabbed herself, then returned it to her husband, telling him that...
, the wife of Caecina PaetusCaecina PaetusCaecina Paetus was condemned to death on a charge of disloyalty by the emperor Claudius in 42 AD. He chose to commit suicide rather than face the emperor's wrath...
, whose example helped her husband to put an end to his life, as the emperor ClaudiusClaudiusClaudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
had ordered. - Arria, daughter of Caecina PaetusCaecina PaetusCaecina Paetus was condemned to death on a charge of disloyalty by the emperor Claudius in 42 AD. He chose to commit suicide rather than face the emperor's wrath...
and wife of Publius Clodius ThraseaPublius Clodius Thrasea PaetusPublius Clodius Thrasea Paetus, Roman senator, lived in the first century CE. Notable for his principled opposition to the emperor Nero and his interest in stoicism, he was the husband of Arria the daughter of A...
, who was put to death by NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
in AD 67. - Arria Galla, the wife of Domitius Silus, who quietly surrendered her to Gaius Calpurnius PisoGaius Calpurnius PisoGnaeus Calpurnius Piso was a Roman senator in the 1st century. He was the focal figure in the Pisonian Conspiracy of 65 AD, the most famous and wide-ranging plot against the throne of Emperor Nero.-Character and early life:...
, the conspirator against Nero. - Arrius Varus, praetorian prefectPraetorian GuardThe Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
in AD 69, following the death of VitelliusVitelliusVitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
. - Arria, a PlatonicPlatonismPlatonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism...
philosopher. - Arrius Aper, praetorian prefect, and son-in-law of the emperor NumerianNumerianNumerian , was a Roman Emperor from 282 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.-Reign:...
, whom Aper secretly murdered.