Licinia gens

The nomen Licinius is derived from the cognomen Licinus, or "upturned", found in a number of Roman gentes.[4] Licinus may have been an ancient praenomen, but few examples of its use as such are known. The name seems to be identical with the Etruscan Lecne, which frequently occurs on Etruscan sepulchral monuments.[5] Some scholars have seen evidence of an Etruscan origin for the Licinii in the tradition that Etruscan players were first brought to Rome to take part in the theatrical performances (ludi scaenici) in the consulship of Gaius Licinius Calvus, BC 364. This could, however, be coincidental, as Livy explains that the games were instituted this year in order to palliate the anger of the gods.[6] In fact, the name of Licinius appears to have been spread throughout both Latium and Etruria from a very early time, so the fact that it had an Etruscan equivalent does not definitely show that the gens was of Etruscan derivation.[3]

The chief praenomina used by the Licinii were Publius, Gaius, Lucius, and Marcus, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. The family occasionally used Sextus, and there is at least one instance of Gnaeus during the first century BC. Aulus was used by the Licinii Nervae. As in other Roman families, the women of the Licinii generally did not have formal praenomina, but were referred to simply as Licinia; if further distinction were needed, they would be described using various personal or family cognomina.

The family-names of the Licinii are Calvus (with the agnomina Esquilinus and Stolo), Crassus (with the agnomen Dives), Geta, Lucullus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, Sacerdos, and Varus. The other cognomina of the gens are personal surnames, rather than family-names; these include Archias, Caecina, Damasippus, Imbrex, Lartius, Lenticula, Nepos, Proculus, Regulus, Rufinus, Squillus, and Tegula. The only cognomina which occur on coins are Crassus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, and Stolo. A few Licinii are known without a surname; most of these in later times were freedmen.[3]

The surname Calvus was originally given to a person who was bald,[7] and it was the cognomen of the earliest family of the Licinii to distinguish itself under the Republic. The first of this family bore the agnomen Esquilinus, probably because he lived on the Esquiline Hill.[8] Stolo, a surname given to the most famous of the family, may be derived from the stola, a long outer garment or cloak, or might also refer to a branch, or sucker.[9][10] Although the family of the Licinii Calvi afterward vanished into obscurity, the surname Calvus was later borne by the celebrated orator and poet Gaius Licinius Macer, who lived in the first century BC. His cognomen Macer, designated someone who was lean.[7][11][12]

Another family of the Licinii bore the cognomen Varus, which means "crooked, bent," or "knock-kneed."[4] The Licinii Vari were already distinguished, when their surname was replaced by that of Crassus. This was a common surname, which could mean "dull, thick," or "solid," and may have been adopted because of the contrast between this meaning and that of Varus.[7][12]

The surname Dives, meaning "rich" or "wealthy," was borne by some of the Licinii Crassi.[13] It was most famous as the surname of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the triumvir, and has been ascribed to his father and brothers, but it is not altogether certain whether it originated with his father, or with the triumvir, in which case it was retroactively applied to the previous generation.[14][15][16]

Lucullus, the cognomen of a branch of the Licinii, which first occurs in history towards the end of the Second Punic War, is probably derived from lucus, a grove, or perhaps a diminutive of the praenomen Lucius. The surname does not appear on any coins of the gens.[17][18]

A family of the Licinii bore the surname Murena (sometimes, but erroneously, written Muraena), referring to the sea-fish known as the murry or lamprey, a prized delicacy since ancient times. This family came from the city of Lanuvium, to the southeast of Rome, and was said to have acquired its name because one of its members had a great liking for lampreys, and built tanks for them. The same surname occurring in other families might be said to be derived from the type of shellfish known as murex, from which a valuable dye was extracted.[17][19][20][21][22]

Of the other surnames of the Licinii might be mentioned Nerva, the surname of a family of the Licinii that flourished from the time of the Second Punic War until the early Empire, derived from nervus, "sinewy";[7] Geta, perhaps the name of a Thracian people, to whom one of the Licinii might have been compared;[23] and Sacerdos, a priest, one of a number of cognomina derived from occupations.[24][25]

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

Licinii Crassi

• Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Crassus Dives, censor in 208 BC and consul in 205, during the Second Punic War.
• Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Crassus Dives, son of the consul of 205 BC.
• Publius Licinius C. f. P. n. Crassus, consul in 171 BC, defeated by Perseus of Macedon.[45]
• Gaius Licinius C. f. P. n. Crassus, as praetor urbanus in 172 BC, was involved in the trial of Marcus Popillius Laenas. Consul in 168, he was assigned the province of Cisalpine Gaul, but brought his army to Macedonia instead.[46]
• Gaius Licinius (C. f. C. n.) Crassus, tribunus plebis in 145 BC, proposed a bill to fill vacant priesthoods by popular election; it was defeated following a speech by the praetor, Gaius Laelius Sapiens.[47][48]
• Gaius Licinius (C. f. C. n.) Crassus, probably son of the tribune of 145 BC.[49]
• Licinia C. f. C. n., a Vestal Virgin in 123 BC.
• Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Crassus Dives Mucianus, consul in 131 BC. He was the son of Publius Mucius Scaevola, the consul of 175 BC, but was adopted by his uncle, Publius Licinius Crassus, consul in 171.
• Marcus Licinius P. f. P. n. Crassus Agelastus, grandfather of the triumvir, he was said to have obtained his surname because he never laughed.[50][51]
• Licinia P. f. P. n., sister of Marcus Licinius Crassus Agelastus.
• Licinia P. f. P. n., daughter of Publius Licinius Crassus Mucianus, married Gaius Sulpicius Galba, son of the orator Servius Sulpicius Galba.
• Licinia P. f. P. n., daughter of Publius Licinius Crassus Mucianus, married Gaius Gracchus, the tribune.
• Publius Licinius M. f. P. n. Crassus, father of the triumvir, was consul in 97 BC, and triumphed over the Lusitani.
• Lucius Licinius L. f. Crassus, the greatest orator of his day, was consul in 95 BC, and censor in 92.
• Licinia L. f. L. n., daughter of the consul of 95 BC, married Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, praetor in 94 BC.
• Licinia L. f. L. n., daughter of the consul of 95 BC, married the younger Gaius Marius, consul in 82 BC.
• Lucius Licinius Crassus Scipio, grandson of the consul of 95 BC, was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica and Licinia, and was adopted by his grandfather, who had no sons of his own. His brother was Quintus Caecilius Metellus Scipio.[52][53]
• Publius Licinius P. f. M. n. Crassus, brother of the triumvir, he died shortly before or during the Social War.
• Lucius (?) Licinius P. f. M. n. Crassus, a brother of the triumvir who died in the massacre of 87 BC.[54] [55][56][57]
• Marcus Licinius P. f. M. n. Crassus, the "triumvir", was consul in 70 and 55 BC, and censor in 65.
• Publius Licinius Crassus Dives, as praetor in 57 BC, favoured Cicero's return from exile. He squandered his fortune, which turned his surname, Dives, into a source of mockery.[58][59][60][61]

Denarius minted in 47–46 BC at Utica. The reverse alludes to the propraetorian imperium of P. Crassus Junianus (P CRASSVS IV[N]).

• Publius Licinius P. f. Crassus Junianus Damasippus,[lower-roman 4] tribune of the plebs in 53 BC, and a friend of Cicero. During the Civil War he was a partisan of Pompeius, and died fighting under Metellus Scipio in Africa.[67][64][65][66]
• Licinius P. f. P. n. Crassus Damasippus, a contemporary of Cicero, who wrote of his intention to purchase a garden from him in 45 BC. He was a dealer in statuary, and went bankrupt, but was prevented from doing away with himself by the Stoic Stertinius. He was undoubtedly a son of the tribune in 53 BC.[68][69][70]
• Lucius Licinius (P. f. P. n.) Crassus Damasippus, mentioned in a late Republican inscription from Rome, was probably either the statuary, or his brother, since the elder Damasippus had at least two children, who were pardoned by Caesar after their father's death, and allowed to inherit his property.[71][72]
• Marcus Licinius M. f. P. n. Crassus, elder son of the triumvir, was Caesar's quaestor in Gaul, and prefect of Gallia Cisalpina at the beginning of the Civil War in 49 BC.[73][74][75]
• Publius Licinius M. f. P. n. Crassus, younger son of the triumvir, he was Caesar's legate in Gaul from 58 to 55 BC. He accompanied his father to Syria, and died at the Battle of Carrhae in 53.
• Marcus Licinius M. f. M. n. Crassus, consul in 30 BC with Octavian. In the following year, as proconsul of Macedonia, he fought successfully against the surrounding barbarians.[76]
• Marcus Licinius M. f. M. n. Crassus Frugi, consul in 14 BC.[77]
• Marcus Licinius M. f. M. n. Crassus Frugi, consul in AD 27.
• Marcus Licinius M. f. M. n. Crassus Frugi, consul in AD 64, was slain by the emperor Nero.
• Licinius Crassus Scribonianus, son of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, he was offered the empire by Marcus Antonius Primus, but refused.[78]
• Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus, son of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, he was adopted as the heir of Galba, but slain by the soldiers of Otho in AD 69.
• Licinius M. f. Crassus (Frugi?), son of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi with Scribonia, he changed his name after his mother's ancestor Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Husband of Claudius' daughter, Claudia Antonia, Pompeius was later murdered in 41.[79]

• List of Roman gentes