Denarius of Gaius Naevius Balbus, 79 BC. The obverse depicts Venus, the patron goddess of Sulla, while Victoria drives a triga on the reverse, alluding to Sulla's victory games.

The gens Naevia, occasionally written Navia, was a plebeian or patrician family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Naevii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Naevius Surdinus, in AD 30.[1]

Origin

The nomen Naevius is generally regarded as a patronymic surname derived from the praenomen Gnaeus, indicating a birthmark.[2] Gnaeus and naevus, the usual form of the Latin word for a birthmark, were pronounced similarly, and a number of other Latin words could be spelled with either gn- or n-, such as gnatus and natus, "born".[3]

Branches and cognomina

In the time of the Republic, the principal cognomina of the Naevii were Balbus and Matho.[1] Balbus, a common surname, originally signified one who stammers.[4] Chase regarded Matho as a borrowing of the Greek Μαθων.[5] Cicero stated that it was pronounced Mato, and sometimes spelled without an 'h'.[6] Other Naevii bore the surnames Crista, Pollio, and Turpio, while Capella and Surdinus are found on coins.[7][1] Crista refers to a crest or plume;[8] Pollio is thought to mean "polisher", and to refer to the occupation of polishing arms.[9][10] Turpio describes someone ugly, deformed, or foul.[11] Capella refers to a she-goat, while Surdinus probably described someone who was deaf, hard of hearing, stubborn, or silent.[12]

Members

This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Navius in manuscripts of Livy.
  2. Other sources assign this accusation to Quintus Petillius, and his cousin, Quintus Petillius Spurinus, tribunes of the plebs in 187 BC.
  3. A committee of five men.
  4. Broughton (vol. II, p. 72) believes that the prefect, only named Balbus by Plutarch, belonged to the gens Octavia.
  5. Thus according to Columella; this description is not contained in any of Cicero's surviving works, but presumably was in the lost Admiranda.
  6. According to other sources, her name was Ennia Thrasylla.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 1135 ("Naevia Gens").
  2. Chase, pp. 131, 153.
  3. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. natus or gnatus.
  4. Chase, p. 110.
  5. Chase, p. 117.
  6. Cicero, De Oratore, 48.
  7. Eckhel, vol. v, p. 259.
  8. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. crista.
  9. Chase, p. 111.
  10. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. polio, politus.
  11. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. turpis.
  12. The New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. capella, surdus.
  13. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 1136, 1137 ("Gnaeus Naevius").
  14. Livy, xxiv. 40.
  15. Livy, xxvi. 4, 5.
  16. Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 7. § 29.
  17. Valerius Maximus, ii. 3. § 3.
  18. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 261, 262 (note 8).
  19. Livy, xxxix. 32, 38, 41.
  20. Livy, xxxiv. 53, xxxv. 40.
  21. Broughton, vol. I, pp. 345, 375.
  22. Livy, xxxviii. 56, xxxix. 52.
  23. Gellius, iv. 18.
  24. Aurelius Victor, De Viris Illustribus, 49.
  25. Cicero, De Oratore, ii. 61.
  26. Meyer, Fragmenta, p. 6 ff. (2nd edition).
  27. Broughton, vol. I, p., 376.
  28. Livy, xlv. 13.
  29. Broughton, vol. I, p. 432.
  30. Plutarch, Sulla, 29.
  31. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 457 ("Balbus", No. IX.).
  32. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, pp. 397, 398.
  33. Cicero, In Verrem, ii. 8, iii. 39, 40, v. 41.
  34. Columella, iii. 8. § 2.
  35. Pliny the Elder, vii. 16.
  36. Cicero, Pro Quinctio, 1 ff.
  37. Cicero, Brutus, 60.
  38. CIL VI, 1468, CIL VI, 37068.
  39. Sutherland, Roman Imperial Coinage, vol. I, p. 70.
  40. Sutherland, Roman Imperial Coinage, vol. I, p. 78.
  41. Degrassi, I fasti consolari, p. 10.
  42. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 887, 888 ("Naevius Sertorius Macro").
  43. Cassius Dio, lviii. 28, lix. 10.
  44. Tacitus, Annales, vi. 45.
  45. Suetonius, "The Life of Caligula", 12, 26.
  46. CIL XIII, 5473

Bibliography

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