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{{Short description|Ancient Roman noble family}}
[[File:
The '''gens Sergia''' was a [[patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] family at [[ancient Rome]], which held the highest offices of the Roman state from the first century of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]] until [[Roman Empire|imperial times]]. The first of the Sergii to obtain the consulship was [[Lucius Sergius Fidenas]] in 437 BC. Despite long and distinguished service, toward the end of the Republic the reputation of this [[gens]] suffered as a result of [[second Catilinarian Conspiracy|the conspiracy]] of [[Catiline]].<ref name="DGRBM Sergia Gens">''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 787 ("Sergia Gens").</ref>
==Origin==
The Sergii claimed descent from [[Sergestus]], one of the [[Troy|Trojans]] who came to Italy with [[Aeneas]], a tradition mentioned by [[Virgil|Vergil]] in the [[Aeneid]].<ref>Vergil, ''Aeneid'', v. 121.</ref><ref name="DGRBM Sergia Gens"/> The etymology of the [[Roman naming conventions#Nomen|nomen]] ''Sergius'' is problematic. Chase hesitantly suggests a connection with the [[praenomen]] ''[[Servius (praenomen)|Servius]]'', probably from an old [[Latin]] root meaning to preserve or keep safe. He classifies the nomen with other gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.<ref>Chase, pp. 131, 154, 155.</ref> However, the [[cognomen]] ''Fidenas'', borne by the first branch of this gens appearing in history, may indicate that they originally came from [[Fidenae]], where Roman [[Colonia (Roman)|colonies]] had been planted for centuries.<ref name="DGRBM Fidenas">''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 149 ("Fidenas")</ref>
==Praenomina==
The main [[praenomen]] of the Sergia gens was ''[[Lucius (praenomen)|Lucius]]'', which was used by all branches of the family at all periods. ''[[Gaius (praenomen)|Gaius]]'' was also used from the earliest times, while ''[[Marcus (praenomen)|Marcus]]'' was favoured by the Sergii Sili. All of these were among the most common praenomina throughout Roman history. The only other name regularly used by the Sergii was ''[[Manius (praenomen)|Manius]]'', a relatively distinctive praenomen favoured by a few gentes, which belonged to one of the most illustrious of the Sergii of the early Republic, and was still in use after the [[Second Punic War]]. Other praenomina appear infrequently.
==Branches and cognomina==
The cognomina of the Sergii during the Republic were ''Catilina'', ''Esquilinus'', ''Fidenas'', ''Orata'', ''Paulus'', ''Plancus'', and ''Silus''. Some of the Sergii who appear in history had no surname.<ref name="DGRBM Sergia Gens"/>
''Fidenas'', the surname of the oldest distinct family of the Sergii, is said to have been obtained by Lucius Sergius Fidenas, the consul of 437 BC. The year before his consulship, the Romans had put down a revolt at Fidenae, an ancient [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latin]] city about five miles north of Rome; the implication perhaps being that Sergius had participated in the recovery of the city. However, it may be that Sergius, or one of his ancestors, was a native of that city, where a Roman colony was said to have existed since the early [[Roman Kingdom|monarchial period]].<ref>Livy, i. 27.</ref><ref name="DGRBM Fidenas"/> One of the Fidenates bore the additional surname ''Coxo'', applied to one with prominent hips.<ref name="Chase 110">Chase, p. 110.</ref>
''Esquilinus'' originally designated someone who lived on the [[Esquiline Hill]], one of the [[Seven Hills of Rome]], may have been a personal cognomen, as only one of the Sergii is known to have borne it. This cognomen belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the place of a person's origin or residence.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 53 ("Esquilinus").</ref><ref>Chase, pp. 113, 114.</ref>
The most distinguished family of the Sergii during the latter part of the Republic bore the cognomen ''Silus'', originally describing someone with an upturned nose. The first of this branch rose to fame during the [[Second Punic War]], but by the time of Catiline, who was his great-grandson, they had fallen into poverty and obscurity.<ref>Chase, p. 109.</ref><ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 827 ("Silus", "Sergius Silus").</ref>
Of other surnames, ''Orata'' or ''Aurata'', golden, was the surname of a wealthy merchant of the Sergian gens, who is said to have obtained it either because of his substantial gold rings, or because he kept goldfish.<ref>Festus, ''s. v. Orata''.</ref> Meanwhile, ''Plancus'', referring to someone with flat or splayed feet, belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the physical characteristics of the bearer. This is amended by some scholars to ''Plautus'', although the meaning is nearly identical.<ref name="Chase 110"/><ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 226 (note 2).</ref>
==Members==
{{
===Sergii Fidenates===
* [[Lucius Sergius Fidenas|Lucius Sergius C. f. C. n. Fidenas]], consul in 437 and 429 BC, and [[tribuni militum consulari potestate|consular tribune]] in 433, 424, and 418.<ref>Livy, iv. 17, 25, 30, 35, 45.</ref><ref>Diodorus Siculus, xii. 43, 58, 73, 82, xiii. 2.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 58, 62, 65, 68, 72.</ref>
* [[Manius Sergius Fidenas|Manius Sergius L. f. L. n. Fidenas]], consular tribune in 404 BC, during which year he and his colleagues captured and destroyed the [[Volsci]]an town of [[Artena]]. Consular tribune for the second time in 402 BC, personal enmity between Sergius and his colleague, Lucius Verginius, led to a Roman defeat and the evacuation of one of the Roman fortifications in the siege of [[Veii]]. The following year, Sergius and Verginius were prosecuted by the [[Tribune of the Plebs|tribunes of the plebs]], and fined ten thousand [[as (Roman coin)|asses]] apiece.<ref>Livy, iv. 61, v. 8, 9, 11, 12.</ref><ref>Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 19, 38.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 81, 83, 84.</ref>
* Lucius Sergius M'. f. L. n. Fidenas, consular tribune in 397 BC.<ref>Livy, v. 16.</ref><ref>Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 85.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 87.</ref>
* Gaius Sergius Fidenas,{{efn-lr|Livy gives his praenomen as ''Gaius'', but a fragment of the ''Fasti Capitolini'' appears to give ''Gnaeus''.}} surnamed ''Coxo'', consular tribune in 387, 385, and 380 BC.<ref>Livy, vi. 5, 11, 27.</ref><ref name="Fasti Capitolini"/><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 99, 101, 105.</ref>
===Sergii Sili===
* [[Marcus Sergius|Marcus Sergius Silus]], praetor ''urbanus'' in 197 BC, had displayed great courage during the Second Punic War, serving in several campaigns and sustaining numerous wounds, including the loss of his right hand, after which he continued to fight using his left hand.<ref>Pliny the Elder, vii. 28. s. 29.</ref><ref>Livy, xxxii. 27, 28, 31, xxxiii. 21.</ref><ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 40.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 332.</ref>
* Marcus Sergius M. f. Silus, a [[legatus|legate]] under [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]] during the [[Third Macedonian War]].<ref>Livy, xliv. 40.</ref><ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 41.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 431.</ref>
* Marcus Sergius (M. f. M. n.) Silus, probably the uncle of Catiline, was [[quaestor]] in an uncertain year, and minted a number of [[Denarius|denarii]] between 94 and 90 BC.<ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 42.</ref>
* Gnaeus Sergius Silus, accused by one Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer<!--probably not the consul Metellus Celer--> of attempting to seduce a Roman matron by the promise of money, and condemned.<ref>Valerius Maximus, vi. 1. § 8.</ref><ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 38.</ref>{{sfn|Broughton|loc=vol. II, pp. 41, 45 (note 5); vol. III, p. 37}}
* Lucius Sergius M. f. M. n. Silus, the father of Catiline, does not seem to have had a public career, and he left no legacy for his son.<ref>Quintus Tullius Cicero, ''De Petitione Consulatus'', 2.</ref><ref>Sallust, ''Bellum Catilinae'', 5.</ref><ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 39.</ref>
* [[Catiline|Lucius Sergius L. f. M. n. Catilina]], better known as ''Catiline'', had been a fierce partisan of [[Sulla]], and earned a reputation for savageness and cruelty, but was still able to attain political office. He was praetor in 68 BC, and afterward governor of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]]. After being frustrated in his attempts to gain the consulship, he formed a plot to overthrow the Republic in 63, but [[Second Catilinarian Conspiracy|the plot]] was exposed by [[Cicero]]. Catiline fled the city and attempted to rally his forces, but was intercepted and fell in battle.<ref>Sallust, ''Bellum Catilinae''.</ref><ref>Cassius Dio, xxxvi. 27, xxxvii. 10, 29–42.</ref><ref>Livy, ''Epitome'', 101, 102.</ref><ref>Cicero, ''In Catilinam'', ''passim'', ''Pro Murena'', 25, 26, ''In Pisonem'', 2, ''Pro Flacco'', 40, ''Pro Plancio'', 37, ''Epistulae ad Atticum'', i. 19, ii. 1, xii. 21, xvi. 14, ''Epistulae ad Familiares'', i. 9.</ref><ref>Suetonius, "The Life of Caesar", 14.</ref><ref>Plutarch, "The Life of Cicero", 10–22, "The Life of Cato the Younger", 23.</ref><ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 629–634 ("[[s:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology/Catilina|Catilina]]").</ref><ref>Winningham, ''Catiline''.</ref>
* Sergia L. f. M. n., the sister of Catiline, and widow of the [[equites|eques]] Quintus Caecilius, who had perished in [[Sulla]]'s proscriptions.<ref>Quintus Tullius Cicero, ''De Petitione Consulatus'', 2.</ref><ref>Asconius Pedianus, ''In Ciceronis in Toga Candida'', p. 84 (ed. [[Johann Caspar von Orelli|Orelli]]).</ref><ref>''PW'', "Sergius", No. 50.</ref>
===Sergii Paulli===
* [[Sergius Paulus|Lucius Sergius Paullus]], [[proconsul]] of [[Roman Cyprus|Cyprus]] in the time of [[Claudius]], said to have been converted to [[Christianity]] by the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]. Perhaps the same Paullus mentioned as curator of the banks of the Tiber.<ref>''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', "Sergius Paulus".</ref><ref>''Acts of the Apostles'', xiii. 7.</ref><ref>{{CIL|6|31545}}.</ref>
* Lucius Sergius Paullus, consul ''suffectus'' in an uncertain year, around AD 70.<ref>Bekker-Nielsen, p. 160.</ref>
* Sergia Paulla, daughter of the proconsul and wife of [[Gaius Caristanius Fronto]].<ref>Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'', p. 234</ref><ref>Cheesman, "The Family of the Caristanii", p. 265.</ref>
* Sergius Paullus, a senator mentioned by [[Martial]], who indicates he was ''consul ordinarius designatus'' around 95.<ref>Martial, v. 22, vii. 22, viii. 33, ix. 85, x. 10, xii. 69.</ref><ref>Jones, "Martial's Paullus", pp. 841–844.</ref>
* Sergia L.f. Paullina, wife of Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Severus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 112.<ref>Jones, "Martial's Paullus", p. 843</ref>
* [[Lucius Sergius Paullus (consul 168)|Lucius Sergius Paullus]], consul ''suffectus'' ''circa'' AD 151, and consul ''ordinarius'' in 168.<ref>Alföldy, ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'', pp. 161, 185.</ref>
===Sergii Plauti===
* Lucius Sergius L. f. Plautus, named in a ''senatus consultum'' from 39 BC.
* Lucius Sergius Regis f. Plautus, one of the [[Salii]] Palatini, was presumably adopted from the [[Marcii Reges]].<ref>''Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome'', vol. 16, p. 140.</ref>
* Sergia, the wife of Gaius Rubellius Blandus, proconsul of Crete and Cyrene. Their grandson was [[Rubellius Plautus]].<ref name=Syme182>Syme, ''Roman Papers: Volume IV'', p. 182.</ref>
* Sergius Plautus, praetor in AD 2.
* Sergia, the wife of Gaius Octavius Laenas, the consul ''suffectus'' in AD 33. Their grandson was the emperor [[Nerva]].<ref name=Syme182/>
===Others===
* [[Lucius Sergius Esquilinus]],{{efn-lr|Esquilinus' praenomen is very uncertain. [[Livy]] first calls the decemvir ''Marcus'', then later refers to him as ''Lucius''. [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysius]] gives ''Marcus'', but [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] has ''Gaius''. His praenomen has not been preserved in the ''[[Fasti Capitolini]]''.}} a member of the [[decemviri|second decemvirate]] in 450 and 449 BC.<ref>Livy, iii. 35, 41.</ref><ref>Dionysius, xi. 23.</ref><ref>Diodorus Siculus, xii. 24.</ref><ref name="Fasti Capitolini">''[[Fasti Capitolini]]'', {{AE|1900|83}}; 1904, 114; {{AE|1927|101}}; 1940, 59, 60.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 46, 47 (note 3).</ref>
* Sergia, one of a group of Roman matrons accused of mass poisonings in 331 BC, the year of a deadly pestilence at Rome. [[Livy]] reports confusion in his sources, but records that Sergia and Cornelia, claiming that certain preparations in their houses were medicines, were obliged to drink them to prove their innocence, and perished as a result.<ref>Livy, viii. 18.</ref>
* Marcus Sergius, a military tribune sent to [[Reggio Calabria|Rhegium]] by [[Scipio Africanus]] in 205 BC. There he was murdered by the [[promagistrate|propraetor]] [[Quintus Pleminius]].<ref>Livy, xxix. 6, 9.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, p. 304.</ref>
* Lucius Sergius, one of the ambassadors sent to [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] by Scipio Africanus in 203 BC.<ref>Livy, xxx. 25.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 313, 315 (note 9).</ref>
* Gaius Sergius Plancus, [[praetor]] ''urbanus'' in 200 BC; the following year he was appointed propraetor for distributing land to the veterans of the war in [[Hispania]], [[Corsica and Sardinia|Sardinia]], and [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]].<ref>Livy, xxxi. 4, 6, xxxii. 1.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 323, 326 (note 2).</ref>
* Manius Sergius M'. f., a senator in 170 BC. He was also ambassador in Greece and Asia in 164.<ref>''SIG'', 636.</ref><ref>Broughton, vol. I, pp. 439, 440.</ref>
* [[Sergius Orata|Gaius Sergius Orata]], a wealthy merchant and inventor who flourished around the beginning of the first century BC. He pioneered the use of the [[hypocaust]] to heat [[Thermae|Roman baths]]. He was also known for the farming of oysters at [[Baiae]], and promoting the shellfish of the [[Lucrinus Lacus|Lucrine Lake]].<ref>Cicero, ''De Officiis'', iii. 16, ''De Finibus'', ii. 22, ''De Oratore'', i. 39.</ref><ref>Valerius Maximus, ix. 1. § 1.</ref><ref>Pliny the Elder, ix. 54. § 79.</ref><ref>Varro, ''Rerum Rusticarum'', ii. 3. § 10.</ref><ref>Columella, ''De Re Rustica'', viii. 16. § 5.</ref><ref>Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'', ii. 11.</ref>
* Quintus Sergius, a [[Roman Senate|senator]] who lived at the time of the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]], was condemned ''inter sicarios''; that is, by a court of inquiry into those accused of being assassins.<ref>Cicero, ''Pro Cluentio'', 7.</ref>
* Lucius Sergius, one of Catiline's accomplices, who supplied him with weaponry. He later fell in with [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]].<ref>Cicero, ''De Domo Sua'', 5, 33.</ref>
* Sergius, one of those proscribed by the [[Second Triumvirate|triumvirs]], sought the assistance of [[Mark Antony|Marcus Antonius]], who was able to procure his pardon.<ref>Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', iv. 45.</ref>
* Sergius, the son of Aphthonius, is described in the [[Suda]] as a consular who served as [[praetorian prefect]]. He was a native of [[Zeugma, Commagene|Zeugma]], and had a brother, Sabinus. Sergius wrote a treatise in opposition to [[Aelius Aristides]].<ref>Suda.</ref>
* Sergius, a [[Latin]] grammarian, and the author of ''In Primam Donati Editionem Commentarium'' and ''In Secundam Donati Editionem Commentaria''.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 788 ("Sergius").</ref>
* Lucius Sergius Salvidienus Scipio Orfitus, consul in AD 149.
* Publius Martius Sergius Saturninus, consul in AD 198.
* Flavius Sergius, consul in AD 350.
==See also==
* [[Arch of the Sergii]]
* [[List of Roman gentes]]
==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|group=lower-roman}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* [[Cicero|Marcus Tullius Cicero]], ''De Domo Sua'', '[[De Finibus|De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum]]'', ''[[De Officiis]]'', ''[[De Oratore]]'', ''[[Epistulae ad Atticum]]'', ''[[Epistulae ad Familiares]]'', ''[[In Catilinam]]'', ''In Pisonem'', ''[[Pro Cluentio]]'', ''Pro Flacco'', ''Pro Murena'', ''Pro Plancio''.
* [[Quintus Tullius Cicero]], ''[[Commentariolum Petitionis|De Petitione Consulatus]]'' (attributed).
* Gaius Sallustius Crispus ([[Sallust]]), ''Bellum Catilinae'' (The Conspiracy of Catiline).
* [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica|Bibliotheca Historica]]'' (Library of History).
* [[Marcus Terentius Varro]], ''Rerum Rusticarum'' (Rural Matters).
* Publius Vergilius Maro ([[Virgil|Vergil]]), ''Aeneid''.
* [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities).
* Titus Livius ([[Livy]]), ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|History of Rome]]''.
* [[Valerius Maximus]], ''Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings).
* [[Asconius Pedianus|Quintus Asconius Pedianus]], ''Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis [[In Toga Candida]]'' (Commentary on Cicero's Oration ''In Toga Candida'').
* [[Columella|Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella]], ''De Re Rustica''.
* Gaius Plinius Secundus ([[Pliny the Elder]]), ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' (Natural History).
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ([[Plutarch]]), ''[[Parallel Lives|Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans]]''.
* [[Suetonius|Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus]], ''[[The Twelve Caesars|De Vita Caesarum]]'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars).
* Appianus Alexandrinus ([[Appian]]), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War).
* [[Sextus Pompeius Festus]], ''Epitome de M. Verrio Flacco de Verborum Significatu'' (Epitome of [[Marcus Verrius Flaccus]]' ''On the Meaning of Words'').
* ''[[Suda]]''.
* ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
* [[Theodor Mommsen]] ''et alii'', ''[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum]]'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
* [[Wilhelm Dittenberger]], ''Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum'' (Collection of Greek Inscriptions, abbreviated ''SIG''), Leipzig (1883).
* René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''[[L'Année épigraphique]]'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
* [[August Pauly]], [[Georg Wissowa]], ''et alii'', ''[[Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'' (Scientific Encyclopedia of the Knowledge of Classical Antiquities, abbreviated ''RE'' or ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897).
* G. L. Cheesman, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/296229 "The Family of the Caristanii at Antioch in Pisidia"], in ''[[Journal of Roman Studies]]'', No. 3 (1913).
* {{cite book |last=Broughton |first=T. Robert S. |author-link=Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton |title=The Magistrates of the Roman Republic |publisher=American Philological Association |date=1952–1986 |ref={{harvid|Broughton}}}}
* ''Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome'', vol. 16 (1955).
* [[Géza Alföldy]], ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand unter der Antonien'' (The Consulate and Senatorial State under the Antonines), Rudolf Habelt, Bonn (1977).
* Anthony Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1981).
* Brian W. Jones, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41532692 "Martial's Paullus"], in ''Latomus'', No. 41 (1982).
* Ronald Syme, ''Roman Papers: Volume IV'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1988) {{ISBN|9780198148739}}.
* Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen, in ''[[Classica et Mediaevalia]]'', vol. 57 (2006).
* Brandon Winningham, ''Catiline'', iUniverse (2007).
{{Refend}}
[[Category:Sergii| ]]
[[Category:Roman gentes]]
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