Gegania (gens)

The gens Gegania was a very ancient patrician family at Rome, which was prominent from the earliest period of the Republic to the decades before the First Samnite War. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Titus Geganius Macerinus in 492 BC. The gens drifted into obscurity in the first half of the fourth century BC, and does not appear again in history till the year 100 BC.^[1]

Origin

The Geganii traced their origin to the mythical Gyas, one of the companions of Aeneas. According to both Livius and Dionysius, the Geganii were one of the most distinguished Alban houses, transplanted to Rome on the destruction of Alba Longa by Tullus Hostilius, and enthroned among the Roman patres. The name, however, occurs even in the reign of Numa Pompilius, who is said to have chosen Gegania as one of the Vestal Virgins. During the reigns of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder) and his successor Servius Tullius, the name is attributed to one or both of their wives. It also appears later in the accounts of King Tarquin the Younger.^[2][3][4][5]

Praenomina

The Geganii used the praenomina Titus, Lucius, Marcus, and Proculus.^[6]

Branches and cognomina

The only family of the Geganii during the early Republic bore the cognomen Macerinus, a diminutive of Macer. This surname is probably derived from the Latin adjective macer, meaning "lean" or "skinny".^[7]

Members

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

• Gegania, one of the first Vestal Virgins, selected by Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome.^[8]
• Gegania, the wife of Servius Tullius, the sixth King of Rome.^[9][10]
• Gegania, the mother of Pinarius, lived during the time of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome; her quarrel with her daughter-in-law Thalaea was cited by Plutarchus as a rare example of domestic disharmony at early Rome.^[11]
• Titus Geganius Macerinus, consul in 492 BC.
• Lucius Geganius Macerinus, brother of the consul of 492 BC, was sent into Sicilia during his brother's consulship to obtain corn.^[12]
• Marcus Geganius M. f. Macerinus, consul in 447, 443, and 437 BC, and censor in 435 BC.
• Proculus Geganius (M. f.) Macerinus, consul in 440 BC.
• Lucius Geganius Macerinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 378 BC.^[13][14]
• Marcus Geganius Macerinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 367 BC.^[15]
• Lucius Geganius, killed along with Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 100 BC, in the troubles occasioned by Lucius Appuleius Saturninus.^[16]

See also

• List of Roman gentes

References

1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
2. Servius, ad Virg. Aen. v. 117.
3. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita i. 30.
4. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia iii. 29, iv. 7.
5. Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Numa 10, de Fort. Rom. p. 323, Comp. Lyc. c. Num. 3.
6. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
7. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
8. Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Numa 10.
9. Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans de Fort. Rom. p. 323.
10. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia iv. 7. Dionysius makes Gegania the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth King of Rome. However, according to most traditions, Tarquin's wife, Tanaquil, survived him and ensured the succession of Servius Tullius.
11. Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, "Comparison of Lycurgus and Numa", 3.
12. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia vii. 1.
13. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita vi. 31.
14. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica xv. 57.
15. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita vi. 42.
16. Paulus Orosius, Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII v. 17.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.