The gens Orcivia, also written Orcevia and Orchivia, was a minor
plebeian family at
Rome. Few of them achieved any prominence in the Roman state, but many are known from inscriptions.[1][2]
Origin
The
nomenOrcivius belongs to a class of gentilicia believed to be of
Sabine or
Oscan origin, formed from other names using less common suffixes, in this case -ivius, which never became regular elements of Roman nomina. The name may have been formed from the nomen Orchius or Orcius.[3] Most of the Orcivii found in inscriptions are concentrated at
Praeneste in
Latium, at Rome and
Ostia, and in the provinces of
Venetia and Histria,
Africa Proconsularis, and
Numidia. By far, the greatest number are from Praeneste, suggesting that it was the ancestral home of the Orcivii.
Praenomina
The main
praenomina of the Orcivii were Marcus,
Gaius, and Lucius, the three most common names throughout Roman history. Other praenomina occur infrequently among the known members of the family, including Quintus,
Publius,
Gnaeus, and Aulus, all of which were also very common names. The Orchivii also supply an example of the common feminine praenomen Maio.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gaius Orcivius,[i]praetor in 66 BC, the year in which
Cicero also held the praetorship. He presided over cases of peculatus.[ii] According to Cicero's brother,
Quintus, he was susceptible to flattery.[4][5][1][6]
Orcevia, wife of Numerius, dedicated a gift to
Fortuna at Praeneste.
Orchivia, perhaps the daughter of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription at Rome.[7]
Orchivia, buried at Bkira in Numidia, aged five.[8]
Gaius Orchivius, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[7]
Gaius Orcivius, the master of Licinus, a slave appointed to wait upon the magistrates of Praeneste.[16]
Gaius Orcivius, the master of Albinus, a slave appointed to serve the butchers' guild at Praeneste.[17]
Gaius Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste.[18]
Gaius Orcevius M. f., one of the
censors of Praeneste.[19]
Lucius Orchivius L. l., a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Lucius Orcevius, one of the praetors of Praeneste.[21]
Lucius Orcivius L. f., buried at Rome, aged six.[22]
Lucius Orcivius C. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[23]
Maio Orcevia M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[24]
Marcus Orcevius, named in two inscriptions from Praeneste.[25]
Marcus Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[26]
Marcus Orcivius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste.[28]
Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[29]
Marcus Orcivius, the master of Pilonicus, a slave mentioned in an inscription from Praeneste.[30]
Quintus Orcivius Q. l., a freedman mentioned in an inscription at Praeneste.[31]
Marcus Orcivius Abscantus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
(Orchivius) Alexander, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[7]
Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, the son of Amemptus, an imperial dispensator[iii] in the time of
Augustus, and his wife, Orchivia Phoebe, was buried at Rome, aged eighteen. According to his funerary inscription, he was a decurion, in this case probably a junior cavalry officer.[32]
Orchivia L. l. Apame, a freedwoman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Marcus Orcivius Aspasius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Gaius Orchivius Blandus, buried at Rome, aged thirty.[33]
Orcivia Casta, buried at
Thuburbo Maius in Africa Proconsularis, aged twenty.[34]
Orcivia Delphis, buried at Rome, aged eighteen years, five months, and four days.[36]
Marcus Orcivius Demetrius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Gnaeus Orchivius Dio, a freedman buried at
Ficana in Latium.[37]
Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, was probably the father of Gaius Orchivius, Alexander, Orchivia, and Saturnina, named in the same inscription.[7]
Lucius Orchivius L. l. Eros, a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Orchivia Phoebe, the wife of Amemptus, an imperial dispensator in the time of Augustus, and mother of Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, a decurion who died at the age of eighteen, and to whom she dedicated a monument at Rome.[32][53]
Orcivius Primus, buried at
Cuicul in Numidia, aged ten.[54]
Marcus Orchivius M. f. Priscus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome.[42]
Wilhelm Henzen, Ephemeris Epigraphica: Corporis Inscriptionum Latinarum Supplementum (Journal of Inscriptions: Supplement to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, abbreviated EE), Institute of Roman Archaeology, Rome (1872–1913).
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated NSA), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–present).
René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
Stéphane Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie (Latin Inscriptions from Algeria, abbreviated ILAlg), Edouard Champion, Paris (1922–present).
Inscriptiones Italiae (Inscriptions from Italy, abbreviated InscrIt), Rome (1931-present).
T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association (1952).
Attilio Degrassi, Inscriptiones Latinae Liberae Rei Publicae (Latin Inscriptions from the Roman Republic, abbreviated ILLRP), Florence (1965).
Annalisa Franchi de Bellis, I cippi prenestini (The Grave Markers of Praeneste, abbreviated Cippi), Urbino (1997).
The gens Orcivia, also written Orcevia and Orchivia, was a minor
plebeian family at
Rome. Few of them achieved any prominence in the Roman state, but many are known from inscriptions.[1][2]
Origin
The
nomenOrcivius belongs to a class of gentilicia believed to be of
Sabine or
Oscan origin, formed from other names using less common suffixes, in this case -ivius, which never became regular elements of Roman nomina. The name may have been formed from the nomen Orchius or Orcius.[3] Most of the Orcivii found in inscriptions are concentrated at
Praeneste in
Latium, at Rome and
Ostia, and in the provinces of
Venetia and Histria,
Africa Proconsularis, and
Numidia. By far, the greatest number are from Praeneste, suggesting that it was the ancestral home of the Orcivii.
Praenomina
The main
praenomina of the Orcivii were Marcus,
Gaius, and Lucius, the three most common names throughout Roman history. Other praenomina occur infrequently among the known members of the family, including Quintus,
Publius,
Gnaeus, and Aulus, all of which were also very common names. The Orchivii also supply an example of the common feminine praenomen Maio.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gaius Orcivius,[i]praetor in 66 BC, the year in which
Cicero also held the praetorship. He presided over cases of peculatus.[ii] According to Cicero's brother,
Quintus, he was susceptible to flattery.[4][5][1][6]
Orcevia, wife of Numerius, dedicated a gift to
Fortuna at Praeneste.
Orchivia, perhaps the daughter of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription at Rome.[7]
Orchivia, buried at Bkira in Numidia, aged five.[8]
Gaius Orchivius, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[7]
Gaius Orcivius, the master of Licinus, a slave appointed to wait upon the magistrates of Praeneste.[16]
Gaius Orcivius, the master of Albinus, a slave appointed to serve the butchers' guild at Praeneste.[17]
Gaius Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste.[18]
Gaius Orcevius M. f., one of the
censors of Praeneste.[19]
Lucius Orchivius L. l., a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Lucius Orcevius, one of the praetors of Praeneste.[21]
Lucius Orcivius L. f., buried at Rome, aged six.[22]
Lucius Orcivius C. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[23]
Maio Orcevia M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[24]
Marcus Orcevius, named in two inscriptions from Praeneste.[25]
Marcus Orcevius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[26]
Marcus Orcivius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription at Praeneste.[28]
Marcus Orcivius M. f., named in an inscription from Praeneste.[29]
Marcus Orcivius, the master of Pilonicus, a slave mentioned in an inscription from Praeneste.[30]
Quintus Orcivius Q. l., a freedman mentioned in an inscription at Praeneste.[31]
Marcus Orcivius Abscantus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
(Orchivius) Alexander, perhaps the son of Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[7]
Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, the son of Amemptus, an imperial dispensator[iii] in the time of
Augustus, and his wife, Orchivia Phoebe, was buried at Rome, aged eighteen. According to his funerary inscription, he was a decurion, in this case probably a junior cavalry officer.[32]
Orchivia L. l. Apame, a freedwoman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Marcus Orcivius Aspasius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Gaius Orchivius Blandus, buried at Rome, aged thirty.[33]
Orcivia Casta, buried at
Thuburbo Maius in Africa Proconsularis, aged twenty.[34]
Orcivia Delphis, buried at Rome, aged eighteen years, five months, and four days.[36]
Marcus Orcivius Demetrius, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia.[27]
Gnaeus Orchivius Dio, a freedman buried at
Ficana in Latium.[37]
Gaius Orchivius Eros, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, was probably the father of Gaius Orchivius, Alexander, Orchivia, and Saturnina, named in the same inscription.[7]
Lucius Orchivius L. l. Eros, a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome.[20]
Orchivia Phoebe, the wife of Amemptus, an imperial dispensator in the time of Augustus, and mother of Gaius Orchivius Amemptus, a decurion who died at the age of eighteen, and to whom she dedicated a monument at Rome.[32][53]
Orcivius Primus, buried at
Cuicul in Numidia, aged ten.[54]
Marcus Orchivius M. f. Priscus, named in a funerary inscription from Rome.[42]
Wilhelm Henzen, Ephemeris Epigraphica: Corporis Inscriptionum Latinarum Supplementum (Journal of Inscriptions: Supplement to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, abbreviated EE), Institute of Roman Archaeology, Rome (1872–1913).
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated NSA), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–present).
René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
Stéphane Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie (Latin Inscriptions from Algeria, abbreviated ILAlg), Edouard Champion, Paris (1922–present).
Inscriptiones Italiae (Inscriptions from Italy, abbreviated InscrIt), Rome (1931-present).
T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association (1952).
Attilio Degrassi, Inscriptiones Latinae Liberae Rei Publicae (Latin Inscriptions from the Roman Republic, abbreviated ILLRP), Florence (1965).
Annalisa Franchi de Bellis, I cippi prenestini (The Grave Markers of Praeneste, abbreviated Cippi), Urbino (1997).