The gens Utilia was an obscure
plebeian family at
ancient Rome. Almost no members of this
gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions.
Origin
The
nomenUtilius belongs to a large class of gentilicia originally formed from
cognomina ending in the diminutive suffix -ulus and related suffixes.[1] The root, utilis, would have been bestowed on someone thought useful, helpful, capable, or suitable in some manner.[2]
Praenomina
The
praenomen found with the largest number of inscriptions of the Utilii is Gnaeus, which was common throughout Roman history, but only used by a minority of families. Other praenomina found in epigraphy include Lucius, Marcus, and Publius, each of which was common at all periods.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gnaeus Utilius, the master of Antiochus, a slave named in an inscription from
Cora in
Latium, dating from the middle portion of the first century BC.[3]
Gnaeus Utilius Cn. l. Eros, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first half of the first century.[4]
Utilia Alce, dedicated a tomb at Rome, dating from the latter half of the first century, for her grandson, Quintus Plotius Celer, aged one year, five months, and seven days.[5]
Gnaeus Utilius Januarius, dedicated a tomb at
Ulubrae in Latium, dating between the middle of the first century and the end of the second, for his foster son, Marcus Asidonius Atticus, aged seven years, eleven months, and fourteen days.[6]
Utilia M. l. Myrtale, a freedwoman, wife of the freedman Marcus Valerius Herma, and the mother of Valeria Septimina, for whom she and Herma built a second-century tomb at
Ariminum in
Cisalpine Gaul. The inscription naming this family may be a forgery.[7]
Utilius, reportedly the lover of
Faustina the Younger, whom
Marcus Aurelius nonetheless advanced, is probably to be identified with Marcus Tutilius Pontianus Gentianus.[8][9]
^Ferrua, "Nuove Iscrizioni della Via Ostiense", p. 106.
Bibliography
Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Lives of the Emperors).
The gens Utilia was an obscure
plebeian family at
ancient Rome. Almost no members of this
gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions.
Origin
The
nomenUtilius belongs to a large class of gentilicia originally formed from
cognomina ending in the diminutive suffix -ulus and related suffixes.[1] The root, utilis, would have been bestowed on someone thought useful, helpful, capable, or suitable in some manner.[2]
Praenomina
The
praenomen found with the largest number of inscriptions of the Utilii is Gnaeus, which was common throughout Roman history, but only used by a minority of families. Other praenomina found in epigraphy include Lucius, Marcus, and Publius, each of which was common at all periods.
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gnaeus Utilius, the master of Antiochus, a slave named in an inscription from
Cora in
Latium, dating from the middle portion of the first century BC.[3]
Gnaeus Utilius Cn. l. Eros, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first half of the first century.[4]
Utilia Alce, dedicated a tomb at Rome, dating from the latter half of the first century, for her grandson, Quintus Plotius Celer, aged one year, five months, and seven days.[5]
Gnaeus Utilius Januarius, dedicated a tomb at
Ulubrae in Latium, dating between the middle of the first century and the end of the second, for his foster son, Marcus Asidonius Atticus, aged seven years, eleven months, and fourteen days.[6]
Utilia M. l. Myrtale, a freedwoman, wife of the freedman Marcus Valerius Herma, and the mother of Valeria Septimina, for whom she and Herma built a second-century tomb at
Ariminum in
Cisalpine Gaul. The inscription naming this family may be a forgery.[7]
Utilius, reportedly the lover of
Faustina the Younger, whom
Marcus Aurelius nonetheless advanced, is probably to be identified with Marcus Tutilius Pontianus Gentianus.[8][9]
^Ferrua, "Nuove Iscrizioni della Via Ostiense", p. 106.
Bibliography
Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Lives of the Emperors).