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Oppia gens

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Thegens Oppiawas an ancientRomanfamily, known from the first century of theRepublicdown toimperial times.Thegensmay originally have beenpatrician,as they supplied priestesses to theCollege of Vestalsat a very early date, but all of the Oppii known to history were plebeians. None of them obtained theconsulshipuntil imperial times.[1]

Origin

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The Oppii were probablySabines,one of the peoples who made up a significant portion of the early Roman populace. ThenomenOppiusis classed by Chase among a number of gentilicia that were not Latin, but came from among the various neighboring regions, in this case that of the Sabines.[2]

Praenomina

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The earliest Oppii to appear in history used thepraenominaSpurius,Marcus,andGaius.To these, later generations addedLucius,Quintus,andPublius.All of these were quite common throughout Roman history, except forSpurius,which was reasonably common in the early Republic, but became quite distinctive by imperial times.

Branches and cognomina

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The chief surnames of the Oppii wereCapito, CornicenorCornicinus,andSalinator,of whichCapitoandSalinatoroccur on coins.[1]Capitowas a commoncognomenderived fromcaput,the head, and was typically applied to someone with a large or prominent head.[3]Cornicen,of whichCornicinusis a diminutive, is an occupational surname, referring to a horn-blower.[4][5]Salinator,also derived from an occupation, referred to a salt merchant.[6]

Members

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This list includes abbreviatedpraenomina.For an explanation of this practice, seefiliation.
  • Oppia,one of theVestal Virginsin 483 BC, a year in which the Roman populace was uneasy after a series of events dividing the patrician and plebeian orders. Following a series of ill omens during the year, Oppia was charged with violating her vow of chastity, condemned, and put to death.[7][8][9]
  • Spurius Oppius Cornicen,one of the plebeian members of the secondDecemviratein 450 BC. After the fall of the decemvirs, he was to be tried on a charge of unjustly causing an old soldier to be scourged, but rather than await the results of a trial, he took his own life.[10][11][12]
  • Marcus Oppius, was chosen one of the leaders of the soldiers following the secondsecessionof the plebs in 449 BC.[13][14]
  • Gaius Oppius, electedtribune of the plebsfollowing the abolition of the Decemvirs in 449 BC.[15][16]
  • Gaius Oppius, tribune of the plebs in 215 BC, during theSecond Punic War,brought forward a sumptuary law restricting the expenses of Roman women. This law, thelex Oppia,was repealed in 195, over the vehement objections ofCato the Elder.[17][18][19][20]
  • Vestia Oppia, a native ofAtella,lived atCapuaduring the period when that city was occupied by theCarthaginiansduring the Second Punic War. She offered daily sacrifices for the success of the Romans, and was rewarded when Capua was captured by the Romans in 210 BC.[21]
  • Gaius Oppius,praefectus sociorumin 201 BC, was sent to attack the lands held by theBoii,but was blocked by enemy forces, and prevented from reaching his destination.[22]
  • Lucius Oppius Salinator,plebeian aedilein 193 BC, was sent toSicilythe following year with a fleet of twenty ships. In 191 he waspraetor,withSardiniaas his province.[23][24]
  • Oppius, probably one of the praetors in 146 BC, defeated the Gauls.[25][26]
  • Quintus Oppius,proconsulofAsiaduring theFirst Mithridatic War,was surrounded atLaodiceia,where the inhabitants surrendered him toMithridates.Mithridates displayed Oppius as a trophy of his victory over the Romans, but later released him toSulla.[27][28][29][30]
  • Oppius, praetor inAchaeacirca80 BC, and subsequently accused byVerres.[31][32]
  • Publius Oppius,quaestorinBithyniaunder the consulMarcus Aurelius Cottain 74 BC, diverted supplies for his own benefit, and threatened Cotta when confronted. He was defended eloquently byCiceroin BC 69, but the oration has been lost.[33][34][35][36][37][38]
  • Oppia, the widow of Lucius Minidius, a merchant or banker atElis,with whose heirs Cicero had some financial dealings.[39]
  • Gaius Oppius, one ofCaesar'sclosest friends, whom the dictator entrusted with the government of Rome during his absence, in 45 BC. He attempted to reconcile Cicero to Caesar, and then toOctavian,and wrote a number of lost historical and biographical works. He may be the author ofDe Bello Africo,otherwise attributed toAulus Hirtius.[40][41][42][43]
  • Lucius Oppius M. f., a friend of Cicero, whom he recommended to Quintus Gallius, and Quintus Marcius Philippus, the proconsul of Asia, in 54 BC. He is probably the sameequeswho testified on behalf of Flaccus, whom Cicero defended in 59 BC.[44]
  • Oppius Cornicinus, asenator,and the son-in-law ofSextus Atilius Serranus Gavianus,tribune of the plebs in 57 BC.[45]
  • Spurius Oppius, praetor in 44 BC.[46][47]
  • Marcus Oppius, proscribed along with his father by thetriumvirsin 43 BC, he carried his feeble father on his shoulders to safety. When the proscription had been lifted, he was electedaedile.[48]
  • Marcus Oppius Capito,propraetorcirca40 BC, is named on coins issued byMarcus Antonius.[49][50]
  • Oppius Chares, aLatingrammarian who taught into extreme old age.[51][50]
  • Oppius Gallus, ill-treated by Marcus Popillius.[52]
  • Oppius Statianus,legateof Marcus Antonius during his campaign against the Parthians in 36 BC. When Antonius went ahead to besiegePhraata,Oppius made to follow with the army's supplies, but was ambushed and killed by the enemy.[53][54]
  • Spurius Oppius,[i]consulsuffectusin AD 43, serving from October to the end of the year.[55][56]
  • Gaius Oppius Sabinus,consul in AD 84, together with the emperorDomitian.After his consulship, he became governor ofMoesia,where he was slain in an invasion by theDacianscircaAD 85.[57][58][59][60]
  • Gaius Oppius C. f. Sabinus Julius Nepos Manius Vibius Sollemnis Severus,consulsuffectusin an uncertain year, served as legate of theeleventh legionin the time ofHadrian,and was proconsul ofHispania Baetica.[61]
  • Oppia, described byJuvenalas an unchaste woman.[62][61]
  • Quintus Oppius, named on a coin depicting the head ofVenuson the obverse, andVictoriaon the reverse.[63]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^The former reading,LuciusOppius, has been shown to be erroneous by Camodeca.

References

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  1. ^abDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,vol. III. p. 34 ( "Oppia Gens" ).
  2. ^Chase, pp. 128, 129.
  3. ^Chase, p. 109.
  4. ^Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,vol. I, p. 857 ( "Cornicen" ).
  5. ^The New College Latin & English Dictionary,s. v. cornicen.
  6. ^Chase, p. 111.
  7. ^Livy, ii. 42.
  8. ^Dionysius, viii. 89.
  9. ^Broughton, vol. I, p. 23.
  10. ^Livy, iii. 35, 41, 49, 50, 58.
  11. ^Dionysius, x. 58, xi. 23, 44, 46.
  12. ^Broughton, vol. I, pp. 46–48.
  13. ^Livy, iii. 51.
  14. ^Dionysius, xi. 43, 44.
  15. ^Livy, iii. 54.
  16. ^Broughton, vol. I, p. 48.
  17. ^Livy, xxxiv. 1–8.
  18. ^Valerius Maximus, ix. 1. § 3.
  19. ^Tacitus,Annalesiii. 33, 34.
  20. ^Broughton, vol. I, pp. 255, 340.
  21. ^Livy, xxvi. 33, 34.
  22. ^Livy, xxxi. 2.
  23. ^Livy, xxxii. 28, xxxv. 23, 24, xxxvi. 2.
  24. ^Broughton, vol. I, p. 347.
  25. ^Broughton, vol. I, p. 466.
  26. ^Jerome,Chronicon Eusebii,p. 143.
  27. ^Livy,Epitome,78.
  28. ^Athenaeus, v. p. 123, a.
  29. ^Appian,Bella Mithridatica,17, 20, 112.
  30. ^Broughton, vol. II, p. 42.
  31. ^Pseudo-Asconius,In Ciceronis in Verrem,pp. 128, 171 (ed. Orelli).
  32. ^Broughton, vol. II, p. 111.
  33. ^Cassius Dio, xxxvi. 23.
  34. ^Quintilian, v. 10. § 69, v. 13. § 17.
  35. ^Sallust,Historiae,iii. p. 218 (ed. Gerlach).
  36. ^Cicero,Fragmenta,vol. iv. p. 444 (ed. Orelli).
  37. ^Drumann,Geschichte Roms,vol. v. p. 343.
  38. ^Broughton, vol. II, pp. 103, 111, 112.
  39. ^Cicero,Epistulae ad Familiares,xiii. 28.
  40. ^Plutarch, "The Life of Caesar", 17.
  41. ^Suetonius, "The Life of Caesar", 17, 56.
  42. ^Cicero,Epistulae ad Atticum,ix. 7, xvi. 15;Epistulae ad Familiares,vi. 8, 19.
  43. ^Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,vol. III, p. 38 ( "Oppius", No. 10).
  44. ^Cicero,Epistulae ad Familiares,xiii. 43, 73, 74,Pro Flacco,13.
  45. ^Cicero,Epistulae ad Atticum,iv. 2.
  46. ^Cicero,Philippicae,iii. 10.
  47. ^Broughton, vol. II, p. 322.
  48. ^Appian,Bellum Civile,iv. 41.
  49. ^Eckhel, vol. v. p. 264.
  50. ^abPIR,vol. II, p. 435.
  51. ^Suetonius,De Illustribus Grammaticis,3.
  52. ^Valerius Maximus, vii. 8. § 9.
  53. ^Cassius Dio, xlix 25, 44.
  54. ^Plutarch, "The Life of Marcus Antonius", 38.
  55. ^AE2002, 345.
  56. ^Camodeca, "I consoli del 43", pp. 230, 232, 233.
  57. ^Eutropius, 23.
  58. ^Suetonius, "The Life of Domitian", 6.
  59. ^Jordanes,Getica,13, 76.
  60. ^PIR,vol. II, pp. 435, 436.
  61. ^abPIR,vol. II, p. 436.
  62. ^Juvenal, x. 220, 322.
  63. ^Eckhel, vol. v. pp. 264, 265.

Bibliography

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