The gens Orchia or Orcia was a minor
plebeian family at
Rome. Few members of this
gens held
Roman magistracies, of whom the most notable was probably Gaius Orchius,
tribune of the plebs in 181 BC, and the author of a
sumptuary law, the repeal of which was strongly opposed by
Cato the Elder. Other Orchii are known from inscriptions.[1]
Origin
The
nomenOrchius belongs to a class of gentilicia that are probably not
Latin, but
Sabine or
Oscan. It seems to be the source of the nomen Orcivius or Orchivius, formed using an irregular suffix, -ivius, to create a new name out of an existing nomen.[2]
Praenomina
All of the Orchii known from ancient writers and inscriptions bore the praenomina Aulus,
Gaius, or Lucius, all of which were common names throughout Roman history.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gaius Orchius, tribune of the plebs in 181 BC, passed a sumptuary law concerning the number of guests that were permitted at entertainments. Cato the Elder strongly opposed any repeal of the law, and gave an oration upon which the Roman grammarians remarked.[3][4][5][6][1][7]
Aulus Orcius, named in an inscription from Rome.[8]
Aulus Orchius A. l., a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.[8]
Scholia Bobiensa (
Bobbio Scholiast), In Ciceronis Pro Sestio (Commentary on Cicero’s Oration Pro Sestio).
Henricus Meyerus (Heinrich Meyer), Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta ab Appio inde Caeco usque ad Q. Aurelium Symmachum (Fragments of Roman Orators from Appius Claudius Caecus to Quintus Aurelius Symmachus), L. Bourgeois-Mazé, Paris (1837).
The gens Orchia or Orcia was a minor
plebeian family at
Rome. Few members of this
gens held
Roman magistracies, of whom the most notable was probably Gaius Orchius,
tribune of the plebs in 181 BC, and the author of a
sumptuary law, the repeal of which was strongly opposed by
Cato the Elder. Other Orchii are known from inscriptions.[1]
Origin
The
nomenOrchius belongs to a class of gentilicia that are probably not
Latin, but
Sabine or
Oscan. It seems to be the source of the nomen Orcivius or Orchivius, formed using an irregular suffix, -ivius, to create a new name out of an existing nomen.[2]
Praenomina
All of the Orchii known from ancient writers and inscriptions bore the praenomina Aulus,
Gaius, or Lucius, all of which were common names throughout Roman history.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gaius Orchius, tribune of the plebs in 181 BC, passed a sumptuary law concerning the number of guests that were permitted at entertainments. Cato the Elder strongly opposed any repeal of the law, and gave an oration upon which the Roman grammarians remarked.[3][4][5][6][1][7]
Aulus Orcius, named in an inscription from Rome.[8]
Aulus Orchius A. l., a freedman named in an inscription from Rome.[8]
Scholia Bobiensa (
Bobbio Scholiast), In Ciceronis Pro Sestio (Commentary on Cicero’s Oration Pro Sestio).
Henricus Meyerus (Heinrich Meyer), Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta ab Appio inde Caeco usque ad Q. Aurelium Symmachum (Fragments of Roman Orators from Appius Claudius Caecus to Quintus Aurelius Symmachus), L. Bourgeois-Mazé, Paris (1837).