The gens Annaea was a plebeian family at Rome during the first century BC, and the early centuries of the Empire. Members of this gens were distinguished for their love of literary pursuits. Several members of the family fell victim to the various plots and intrigues of the court of Nero, including the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso.[1]
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the first of the gens of whom we have definite knowledge, was a native of Corduba in the province of Hispania Ulterior. However, his name and those of his descendants are clearly of Roman character, arguing that the family was descended from Roman colonists, and not native to Spain. Chase classifies the nomen among those originally derived from names ending in -aes, chiefly of Umbrian or Paelignian origin.[2] The Paeligni were an Oscan people of central Italy. The Umbrians spoke a separate, but closely related language. Statius Annaeus, a friend of the family at Rome, may well have been a kinsman, and his praenomen supports the theory that the Annaei were of Oscan or Umbrian origin.[3]
Praenominaedit
The only praenomina associated with the Annaei are Lucius, Marcus, Gaius, and Statius. The three former were the most common Latin praenomina, while Statius was generally associated with foreigners, slaves, and freedmen at Rome. Since nothing is known of the physician Statius Annaeus' origin, it is possible that he was a freedman, and that Statius was not regularly used by the family. However, if the Annaei were of Oscan or Umbrian origin, Statius may have been a family name.[3]
Branches and cognominaedit
The Annaei do not appear to have had any distinct branches, but, following a trend which occurred throughout imperial times, each child of the elder Seneca bore a different cognomen, including the surnames Novatus, Seneca, and Mela or Mella. Annaeus Mela's son received the cognomen Lucanus, in honor of his grandfather, Anicius Lucanus, a prominent lawyer at Corduba. This surname originally referred to a native of Lucania.[4] A freedman of the Annaei bore the cognomen Cornutus. The surname Florus, "shining", was used by a second-century poet, and perhaps also a historian of the same period, although whether he was actually a member of this gens is uncertain.[5]
Membersedit
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Gaius Annaeus C. f. Brocchus, a senator in 73 BC, had probably been aedile. He was a victim of Symmachus, one of the Venerii, a new class of publicani instituted by Verres.[6][7][8]
annaea, gens, gens, annaea, plebeian, family, rome, during, first, century, early, centuries, empire, members, this, gens, were, distinguished, their, love, literary, pursuits, several, members, family, fell, victim, various, plots, intrigues, court, nero, inc. The gens Annaea was a plebeian family at Rome during the first century BC and the early centuries of the Empire Members of this gens were distinguished for their love of literary pursuits Several members of the family fell victim to the various plots and intrigues of the court of Nero including the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso 1 Contents 1 Origin 2 Praenomina 3 Branches and cognomina 4 Members 5 See also 6 References 7 BibliographyOrigin editLucius Annaeus Seneca the first of the gens of whom we have definite knowledge was a native of Corduba in the province of Hispania Ulterior However his name and those of his descendants are clearly of Roman character arguing that the family was descended from Roman colonists and not native to Spain Chase classifies the nomen among those originally derived from names ending in aes chiefly of Umbrian or Paelignian origin 2 The Paeligni were an Oscan people of central Italy The Umbrians spoke a separate but closely related language Statius Annaeus a friend of the family at Rome may well have been a kinsman and his praenomen supports the theory that the Annaei were of Oscan or Umbrian origin 3 Praenomina editThe only praenomina associated with the Annaei are Lucius Marcus Gaius and Statius The three former were the most common Latin praenomina while Statius was generally associated with foreigners slaves and freedmen at Rome Since nothing is known of the physician Statius Annaeus origin it is possible that he was a freedman and that Statius was not regularly used by the family However if the Annaei were of Oscan or Umbrian origin Statius may have been a family name 3 Branches and cognomina editThe Annaei do not appear to have had any distinct branches but following a trend which occurred throughout imperial times each child of the elder Seneca bore a different cognomen including the surnames Novatus Seneca and Mela or Mella Annaeus Mela s son received the cognomen Lucanus in honor of his grandfather Anicius Lucanus a prominent lawyer at Corduba This surname originally referred to a native of Lucania 4 A freedman of the Annaei bore the cognomen Cornutus The surname Florus shining was used by a second century poet and perhaps also a historian of the same period although whether he was actually a member of this gens is uncertain 5 Members editThis list includes abbreviated praenomina For an explanation of this practice see filiation Gaius Annaeus C f Brocchus a senator in 73 BC had probably been aedile He was a victim of Symmachus one of the Venerii a new class of publicani instituted by Verres 6 7 8 Lucius Annaeus Seneca a rhetorician and native of Corduba in Hispania Ulterior known as Seneca the Elder Marcus Annaeus L f Novatus afterward called Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus the eldest son of Lucius Annaeus Seneca and a rhetorician Lucius Annaeus L f Seneca the second son of Lucius Annaeus Seneca and a philosopher known as Seneca the Younger Statius Annaeus a friend of the younger Seneca and a physician who assisted Seneca in two attempts to commit suicide 9 Marcus Annaeus L f Mela the youngest son of the elder Lucius Annaeus Seneca and father of the poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus Marcus Annaeus M f L n Lucanus son of Marcus Annaeus Mela and a celebrated poet in the time of Nero Lucius Annaeus Cornutus a freedman and notable commentator on Aristotle exiled by the emperor Nero in AD 68 Lucius Annaeus Florus one of several names assigned to the author of a history of Rome from the founding of the city to the time of Augustus Annaeus Florus a poet who flourished during the time of the emperor Hadrian Marcus Annaeus Syriacus governor of Egypt from AD 161 to 164 10 See also editList of Roman gentesReferences edit Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology William Smith Editor Chase p 120 a b Chase pp 136 138 Chase pp 113 114 Chase pp 109 110 SIG 747 Cicero In Verrem iii 40 Broughton vol II p 115 Tacitus Annales xv 64 Bastianini Lista dei prefetti d Egitto pp 295 ff Bibliography editMarcus Tullius Cicero In Verrem Publius Cornelius Tacitus Annales Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology William Smith ed Little Brown and Company Boston 1849 Wilhelm Dittenberger Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum Collection of Greek Inscriptions abbreviated SIG Leipzig 1883 George Davis Chase The Origin of Roman Praenomina in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology vol VIII 1897 Guido Bastianini Lista dei prefetti d Egitto dal 30a al 299p List of the Prefects of Egypt from 30 BC to AD 299 in Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik vol 17 1975 nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Smith William ed 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a Missing or empty title help Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Annaea gens amp oldid 1215163138 Members, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
