Lucretia (gens)
Encyclopedia
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...
. Originally patrician, 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...
later included a number of plebeian
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...
families. The Lucretii were one of the most ancient gentes, and the wife of Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
, the second King of Rome
King of Rome
The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
, was named Lucretia. The first of the Lucretii to obtain 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...
was Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus
Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus
Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus is a semi-legendary figure in early Roman history. He was the first Suffect Consul of Rome and was also the father of Lucretia, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius, followed by her suicide, resulted in the dethronement of King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, therefore...
in 509 BC, the first year of the Republic.
Praenomina used by the gens
The patrician Lucretii favored 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...
Titus
Titus (praenomen)
Titus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, and was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Titia. The feminine form is Tita or Titia...
, Spurius
Spurius (praenomen)
Spurius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used primarily during the period of the Roman Republic, and which fell into disuse in imperial times. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Spurilia. The feminine form is Spuria...
, 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...
, and Publius
Publius (praenomen)
Publius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and was very common at all periods of Roman history. It gave rise to the patronymic gens Publilia, and perhaps also gens Publicia. The feminine form is Publia...
. They were one of the only gentes known to have used the name Hostus
Hostus (praenomen)
Hostus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used in pre-Roman times and during the early centuries of the Roman Republic, but become obsolete by the 1st century BC. The feminine form was probably Hosta or Hostia. The patronymic gentes Hostia and Hostilia were derived from Hostus...
, and may also have used Opiter
Opiter (praenomen)
Opiter is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used primarily during the early centuries of the Roman Republic. It is not usually abbreviated, but is sometimes found with the abbreviation Opet., apparently based on an archaic spelling of the name. No examples of the feminine form are...
, which was favored by the Verginii
Verginia (gens)
The gens Verginia or Virginia was a prominent family at Rome, which from an early period was divided into patrician and plebeian branches. The gens was of great antiquity, and frequently filled the highest honors of the state during the early years of the Republic...
.
The main praenomina used by the plebeian Lucretii were Lucius, 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...
, Spurius, and 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...
. There are also examles of 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...
, Gnaeus
Gnaeus (praenomen)
Gnaeus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is Gnaea. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Naevia...
, and Titus.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The only patrician family of the Lucretii bore the 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...
Tricipitinus. The plebeian families are known by the surnames Gallus, Ofella, and Vespillo. Carus was a surname belonging to the poet Lucretius
Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
. On coins, the cognomen Trio is found, but it is not mentioned in any ancient writer. A few of the Lucretii are mentioned without any surname.
Members of the gens
- This list includes abbreviated praenominaPraenomenThe 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...
. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.- Lucretia, the wife of Numa PompiliusNuma PompiliusNuma Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
, the second King of RomeKing of RomeThe King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
, whom, according to some accounts, she married after his accession to the throne. - Lucius Lucretius, quaestorQuaestorA Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
in 218 BC, at the commencement of 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...
; he was taken prisoner by the LiguresLiguresThe Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
, along with some other Roman officers, and delivered up to Hannibal. - Marcus Lucretius, tribunus plebisTribuneTribune 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 210 BC, took a leading part in the dispute over the appointment of a dictatorRoman dictatorIn the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
in that year. - Spurius Lucretius, 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 205 BC, during the Second Punic War, received Ariminum, subsequently called Gallia Cisalpina, as his province. In 203 he rebuilt the city of GenuaGenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, which had been destroyed by Mago. - Gaius Lucretius Gallus, praetor in 171 BC, received the command of the fleet in the war against PerseusPerseus of MacedonPerseus was the last king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great...
. In the following year he was accused of great cruelty, and condemned to pay a heavy fine. - Marcus Lucretius, tribunus plebis in 172 BC, brought forward a bill ut agrum Campanum censores fruendum locarent. In the following year, he served as legateLegatusA legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
to his brother, Gaius, the praetor, in Greece. - Spurius Lucretius, praetor in 172 BC, obtained the province of Hispania UlteriorHispania UlteriorDuring the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
. In 169 he served with distinction under the consul Quintus Marcius PhilippusQuintus Marcius PhilippusQuintus Marcius Philippus was a Roman consul in 186 BC and 169 BC.He held praetura in Sicily in 189 BC. In 164 BC he was elected censor with Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus....
in the war against Perseus. He was one of three ambassadors sent into SyriaSyria (Roman province)Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...
in 162. - Gnaeus Lucretius TrioGnaeus LucretiusGnaeus Lucretius Trio was a Roman moneyer, who minted denarii in Rome c. 136 BCE. He may be an ancestor of Lucius Lucretius Trio.One of his denarii shows a head of Roma facing right with "TRIO" behind and an "X" below the chin. The reverse shows the Dioscuri galloping right with "CN. LVCR" below...
, 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:...
circa 136 BC. - Quintus Lucretius OfellaQuintus Lucretius OfellaQuintus Lucretius Ofella was a Roman general who served under the command of Lucius Cornelius Sulla during Sulla's second march on Rome. A loyal legate who expected to be awarded a consulship for his part in Sulla's campaign, he was executed when he tried to defy his master's dictate.-Career:Ofella...
, a partisan of SullaLucius Cornelius SullaLucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
, he commanded the army that accepted the surrender of PraenestePalestrinaPalestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 18,000, in Lazio, c. 35 km east of Rome...
in 82 BC. The following year, he made himself a candidate for consul, in violation of Sulla's law de magistratibus, and was slain by one of Sulla's soldiers. - Lucius Lucretius TrioLucius LucretiusLucius Lucretius Trio was a Roman moneyer, who minted two denarii in c. 76 BCE.His coin showing the laureate head of Neptune is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston....
, triumvir monetalis circa 76 BC. - Marcus Lucretius, a senatorRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, and one of the judices retained by 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:...
, in consequence of which he was suspected of having been bribed. - Titus Lucretius CarusLucretiusTitus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
, a celebrated poet of the 1st century BC - Quintus Lucretius, an intimate friend of Gaius Cassius LonginusGaius Cassius LonginusGaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
, and a supporter of the aristocratic party. During the Civil WarCaesar's civil warThe Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
he was obliged to flee the town of SulmoSulmonathumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...
, when his own troops opened the gates to 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...
.
- Lucretia, the wife of Numa Pompilius
Lucretii Tricipitini
- Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus, father of the consuls of 509 and 508 BC.
- Spurius Lucretius T. f. TricipitinusSpurius Lucretius TricipitinusSpurius Lucretius Tricipitinus is a semi-legendary figure in early Roman history. He was the first Suffect Consul of Rome and was also the father of Lucretia, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius, followed by her suicide, resulted in the dethronement of King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, therefore...
, a member of the Roman SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, and possibly praefectus urbiPraefectus urbiThe praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and held high importance in late Antiquity...
under Lucius Tarquinius SuperbusLucius Tarquinius SuperbusLucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...
, the seventh and last King of RomeKing of RomeThe King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
; following the expulsion of the Tarquins, he was elected consul suffectus in the place of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, who had resigned, but he died shortly after taking office. - Lucretia S. f. T. n.LucretiaLucretia is a legendary figure in the history of the Roman Republic. According to the story, told mainly by the Roman historian Livy and the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus , her rape by the king's son and consequent suicide were the immediate cause of the revolution that overthrew the...
, married Lucius Tarquinius CollatinusLucius Tarquinius CollatinusLucius Tarquinius Collatinus was one of the four leaders of the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy, and became one of the first two consuls of Rome in 509 BC, together with Lucius Junius Brutus...
, one of the first consuls in 509 BC; her rape by Sextus TarquiniusSextus TarquiniusSextus Tarquinius was a Roman prince, the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . He is primarily known for his rape of Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus, wife of Collatinus....
set in motion the events that culminated in the downfall of the Roman monarchyRoman KingdomThe Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
and the establishment of the Republic. - Titus Lucretius T. n. TricipitinusTitus Lucretius TricipitinusTitus Lucretius Tricipitinus is a figure of the Roman Republic. Twice, in the years 508 and 504 BC, he was Roman Consul, both times with Publius Valerius Poplicola...
, consul in 508 and 504 BC; in the former year, he fought against Lars PorsenaLars PorsenaLars Porsena, in Etruscan Pursenas, was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium...
, the king of ClusiumClusiumClusium was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a prehistoric culture, possibly also Etruscan or proto-Etruscan...
, and was wounded in the battle. In 504 he and his colleague successfully carried on the war against the Sabines. - Lucius Lucretius T. f. T. n. Tricipitinus, consul in 462 BC, triumphed over the VolsciVolsciThe Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. They then inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from...
; the following year he defended Caeso Quinctius CincinnatusCaeso QuinctiusCaeso Quinctius was the son of the Roman patrician Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.Caeso was renowned for his eloquence in the forum. Just as his father, he opposed the plebeians' push for greater legal recognition and often drove the tribunes of the plebes from the forum, preventing them from...
, son of the dictator CincinnatusCincinnatusLucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was an aristocrat and political figure of the Roman Republic, serving as consul in 460 BC and Roman dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC....
, who was condemned and exiled. In 449 he was one of the senators who spoke in favor of abolishing the decemvirateDecemviriDecemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...
. - Hostus Lucretius L. f. T. n. Tricipitinus, consul in 429 BC; according to DiodorusDiodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
, his praenomen was Opiter. - Publius Lucretius Hosti f. L. n. Tricipitinus, tribunus militum consulari potestateTribuni militum consulari potestateThe tribuni militum consulari potestate , in English commonly also Consular Tribunes, were tribunes elected with consular power during the "Conflict of the Orders" in the Roman Republic, starting in 444 BC and then continuously from 408 BC to 394 BC and again from 391 BC to 367 BC.According to the...
in 419 and 417 BC. - Lucius Lucretius Flavus Tricipitinus, consul in 393 BC, and tribunus militum consulari potestate in 391, 388, 383, and 381; as consul he conquered the AequiAequithumb|300px|Location of the Aequi in central Italy.The Aequi were an ancient people of northeast Latium and the central Appennines of Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long struggle for independence from Rome they were defeated and substantial Roman colonies were...
. According to PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
us, he was usually the first senator allowed to speak, which in later times was the privilege of the princeps senatusPrinceps senatusThe princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
, although the appointment of that name probably did not exist in the time of Lucretius.
Lucretii Vespillones
- Lucretius Vespillo, 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 133 BC, he threw the corpse of Tiberius Sempronius GracchusTiberius GracchusTiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
into the Tiber, thereby obtaining his cognomen, which refers to a corpse-bearer for the poor. - Quintus Lucretius Vespillo, an orator and jurist, who was proscribed by Sulla and put to death.
- Quintus Lucretius Q. f. Vespillo, served in the fleet of Gnaeus Pompeius in 48 BC, during the Civil War; he was proscribed by the triumvirsSecond TriumvirateThe Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
in 43 BC, but concealed in his own house by his wife, Thuria, until he was pardoned. He was appointed consul suffectus in 19 BC.