Catia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Catia was a plebeian
family at Rome
from the time of the Second Punic War
to the 3rd century The gens
achieved little importance during the Republic
, but held several consulships
in imperial times
.
an origin; Gaius Catius, who served under Marcus Antonius
, is said to have belonged to this ancient race. However, members of the family were already at Rome by the time of the Second Punic War
, when Quintus Catius was plebeian aedile
. The philosopher Catius
was an Insuber
, a native of Gallia Transpadana
, and may have been a freedman of the gens, or perhaps his name arose by coincidence.
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....
from the time of the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
to the 3rd century 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...
achieved little importance during 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...
, but held several consulships
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...
in imperial times
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
Origin of the gens
The Catii may have been of VestiniVestini
Vestini is the Roman exonym for an ancient Italic tribe that occupied the area of the modern Abruzzo included between the Gran Sasso and the northern bank of the Aterno river...
an origin; Gaius Catius, who served under Marcus Antonius
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, is said to have belonged to this ancient race. However, members of the family were already at Rome by the time of the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
, when Quintus Catius was plebeian aedile
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
. The philosopher Catius
Catius
Catius was an Epicurean philosopher, identified ethnically as an Insubrian Celt from Gallia Transpadana. Epicurean works by Amafinius, Rabirius, and Catius were the earliest philosophical treatises written in Latin. Catius composed a treatise in four books on the physical world and on the highest...
was an Insuber
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
, a native of Gallia Transpadana
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
, and may have been a freedman of the gens, or perhaps his name arose by coincidence.
Members of the gens
- Quintus CatiusQuintus CatiusQuintus Catius was an officer of the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.Catius was plebeian aedile with Lucius Porcius Licinius in 210 BC...
, plebeian aedileAedileAedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 210 BC, he served in the Second Punic WarSecond Punic WarThe Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
. - Gaius Catius, tribunus militumMilitary tribuneA military tribune was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion...
in the army of Marcus AntoniusMark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, in 43 BC. - CatiusCatiusCatius was an Epicurean philosopher, identified ethnically as an Insubrian Celt from Gallia Transpadana. Epicurean works by Amafinius, Rabirius, and Catius were the earliest philosophical treatises written in Latin. Catius composed a treatise in four books on the physical world and on the highest...
, an EpicureanEpicureanismEpicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus—about whom...
philosopher, thought to have been an Insubrian GaulInsubresThe Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
; he may have been a freedman of the gens. - Catia, mentioned by the poet HoratiusHoraceQuintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
. - Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius ItalicusSilius ItalicusSilius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus , was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century CE,...
, an epic poet, and consulRoman 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 68, at the end of Nero'sNeroNero , 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....
reign. - Catius Crispus, mentioned by the elder SenecaSeneca the ElderLucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania...
. - Tiberius Catius Caesius Fronto, the son or adopted son of Silius Italicus, he was consul suffectus ex Kal. Sept. in AD 96, shortly before the assassination of the emperor DomitianDomitianDomitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
; he is supposed to be the same as the orator Catius Fronto, a contemporary of VespasianVespasianVespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
, who defended Marius Priscus, Gaius Julius BassusGaius Julius BassusGaius Julius Bassus was a Consul Suffect in 99 and a Proconsul of Bithynia and Pontus in 98 or between 100 and 101, before Pliny the Younger who either prosecuted or defended him afterwards. He was the younger son of Gaius Julius Severus Gaius Julius Bassus (ca 45 - aft. 101) was a Consul Suffect...
, and Varenus Rufus. - Catius Lepidus, a friend of the younger PliniusPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
. - Publius Catius Sabinus, consul in AD 216, during the reign of CaracallaCaracallaCaracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
; this was his second consulship, but the year of his first is not known. - Sextus Catius Clementinus Priscillianus, consul in AD 230.
- Catia Clementina, according to an inscription, the wife of Iallius Bassus, and mother of Iallia Clementina.