Caecina (gens)
Encyclopedia
Caecina was the name of an Etruscan family of Volaterrae
, one of the ancient cities of Etruria
. Persons of this gens
are first mentioned in the 1st century BC. Under the Empire
the name is of frequent occurrence. As late as the reign of Honorius
, we read of the poet Decius Albinus Caecina, residing at his villa in the neighborhood of Volaterrae; and until modern times there has been a family of this name at the modern Volterra. The family tomb of the Caecinae has been discovered in the neighborhood of Volterra; in this tomb there was found a beautiful sarcophagus, now in the Museum of Paris.
Volterra
Volterra, known to the ancient Etruscans as Velathri, to the Romans as Volaterrae, is a town and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy.-History:...
, one of the ancient cities of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
. Persons of this gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
are first mentioned in the 1st century BC. Under the Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
the name is of frequent occurrence. As late as the reign of Honorius
Honorius (emperor)
Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
, we read of the poet Decius Albinus Caecina, residing at his villa in the neighborhood of Volaterrae; and until modern times there has been a family of this name at the modern Volterra. The family tomb of the Caecinae has been discovered in the neighborhood of Volterra; in this tomb there was found a beautiful sarcophagus, now in the Museum of Paris.
Origin of the gens
The family seems either to have derived its name from, or given it to, the river Caecina, which flows by the town of Volterra. From the tomb of the Caecinae, we learn that Ceicna was the Etruscan form of the name.Branches and cognomina of the gens
The family was divided into several branches, and we accordingly find on the funeral urns the cognomina Caspu and Tlapuni; in Latin inscriptions we also meet with the surnames Quadratus and Placidus, and various others occur.Members of the gens
- Aulus Caecina, a native of VolaterraeVolterraVolterra, known to the ancient Etruscans as Velathri, to the Romans as Volaterrae, is a town and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy.-History:...
, whom CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
defended in a lawsuit, in 69 BC. - Aulus Caecina (A. f.)Aulus Caecina SeverusAulus Caecina, son of Aulus Caecina who was defended by Cicero in a speech still extant, took the side of Pompey in the civil wars, and published a violent tirade against Caesar, for which he was banished....
, an orator and scholar of Etruscan culture. - Caecina, a native of Volaterrae, and friend of OctavianusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
. - Aulus Caecina SeverusAulus Caecina Severus (suffect consul 1 BC)Aulus Caecina Severus was a Roman politician and general who was suffect consul in 1 BC.-Biography:Descended from a distinguished Volaterran family, Severus made his name as a military man and was awarded the post of suffect consul in 1 BC....
, legateLegatusA legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
of GermanicusGermanicusGermanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
, triumphed over the CherusciCherusciThe Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
in AD 14. - Caecina Paetus, put to death by the emperor ClaudiusClaudiusClaudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
in AD 42. - Gaius Caecina Largus, consul in AD 42, inhabited the magnificent house which formerly belonged to ScaurusMarcus Aemilius Scaurus (praetor 56 BC)Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC and son of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Caecilia Metella Dalmatica.Scaurus lost his father when he was very young, but his education was insured by several other family friends...
, the contemporary of CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
. - Publius Caecina Largus, a close friend of ClaudiusClaudiusClaudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
; perhaps the brother of Gaius Caecina Largus. - Caecina Tuscus, governor of Egypt, banished by the emperor NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. - Aulus Caecina AlienusAulus Caecina AlienusAulus Caecina Alienus, Roman general, was born in Vicetia .He was quaestor of Hispania Baetica in AD 68. On the death of Nero, he attached himself to Galba, who appointed him to the command of Legio IV Macedonica at Mogontiacum in Germania Superior...
, general of Aulus VitelliusVitelliusVitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
in AD 69. - Licinius Caecina, a senatorRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
attached to Otho'sOthoOtho , was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the four emperors.- Birth and lineage :...
party, in AD 69. - Decius Albinus Caecina, a Roman satirist of the 5th century