Vipsania gens explained

The gens Vipsania or Vipsana was an obscure plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, although a number are known from inscriptions. By far the most illustrious of the family was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close friend and adviser of Augustus, whom the emperor intended to make his heir. After Agrippa died, Augustus adopted his friend's sons, each of whom was considered a possible heir to the Empire, but when each of them died or proved unsuitable, Augustus chose another heir, the future emperor Tiberius.[1]

Origin

The Vipsanii are not mentioned in history until the very end of the Republic. Their nomen, Vipsanius, resembles other Latin: [[Nomen gentilicium|gentilicia]] ending in -anius, which were typically derived from place names or cognomina ending in -anus. Several inscriptions give the name as Vipsanus, perhaps the original form of the nomen. According to some scholars, the gens Vipsania was originally from Pisae in Etruria.[2] [3]

Praenomina

The only praenomina associated with the main family of the Vipsanii were Lucius and Marcus, two of the most common names throughout Roman history. Vipsanii named Gaius, Publius, Quintus, Sextus, and Titus are known from inscriptions and coins.[4]

Branches and cognomina

Only one distinct family of the Vipsanii appears in history, with the cognomen Agrippa. This was originally a praenomen, used by a few families of the early Republic, including the patrician Furii and Menenii, but by the end of the Republic it seems to have been used exclusively as a cognomen. Its origin and meaning were obscure even in antiquity; the most familiar explanation was that it was one of many praenomina derived from the circumstances of childbirth, and referred to a child delivered feet-first.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Members

Vipsanii Agrippae

Vipsanii from inscriptions

Undated Vipsanii

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 78–80 ("Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa").
  2. Hall, Etruscan Italy, p. 188.
  3. Ridgway, The World of the Early Etruscans, p. 37.
  4. Book: Reinhold, Meyer . Marcus Agrippa: A Biography . 1933 . W. F. Humphrey Press . Geneva . 9788870624144. 11.
  5. Pliny the Elder, vii. 6. § 1.
  6. Chase, pp. 146, 147.
  7. Nonius, 557.
  8. Gellius xvi. 16.
  9. Solinus, i. 65.
  10. Servius, viii. 682.
  11. Cassius Dio, lv. 8.
  12. Reinhold, Marcus Agrippa, p. 71.
  13. Tacitus, Annales, xiii. 30.
  14. Cassius Dio, xlv–liv.
  15. Livy, Epitome, cxvii–cxxxvi.
  16. Appian, Bellum Civile, v.
  17. Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus".
  18. Cassius Dio, liv. 31, lvii. 2.
  19. Suetonius, "The Life of Tiberius", 7.
  20. Tacitus, Annales, i. 12, iii. 19.
  21. Cassius Dio, liv. 8, 18, 25, lv. 6, 9, 11, 12.
  22. Zonaras, x. p. 539.
  23. Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus", 26, 56, 64, 65, "The Life of Tiberius", 12.
  24. Velleius Paterculus, ii. 101, 102.
  25. Tacitus, Annales, i. 3, ii. 4.
  26. Florus, iv. 12. § 42.
  27. Cassius Dio, lix. 11.
  28. Suetonius, "The Life of Caligula", 24, "The Life of Claudius", 26, "The Life of Augustus", 64, 65, 101.
  29. Tacitus, Annales, iii. 24, iv. 71.
  30. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 642 ("Julia", No. 7).
  31. Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus", 64, "The Life of Caligula", 8, "The Life of Tiberius", 53.
  32. Tacitus, Annales, i–vi.
  33. Cassius Dio, lvii. 5, 6, lviii. 22.
  34. Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus", 64, 65, "The Life of Tiberius", 22.
  35. Cassius Dio, liv. 29, lv. 22, 32, lvii. 3.
  36. Tacitus, Annales, i. 3–6, ii. 39, 40.
  37. Velleius Paterculus, ii. 104, 112.
  38. Reinhold, Marcus Agrippa, p. 137.
  39. BCAR, 1923-132,260.
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  56. Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie, ii. 1, 1087a.
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  69. Camodeca, Campania, p. 34.
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  71. Inscriptiones Latinae quae in Iugoslavia, iii. 2198.
  72. NSA, 1922-424.
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  81. Väänänen, Necropoli dell'autoparco Vaticano, 18.
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  83. Atti del quarantesimo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia, p. 890.
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  115. Christol, "Les procurateurs équestres de la province d’Asie sous Caracalla", pp. 189–193.
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  144. Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie, ii. 2, 6016.
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  150. Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie, ii. 2, 6012.
  151. Bulletin Archéologique, 1926, LXVII, 6.
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  155. Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie, ii. 2, 6013.
  156. Gsell, Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie, ii. 2, 6014.