The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family of ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.Drumann, Geschichte Roms.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 782 ("Licinia Gens").
Origin The nomen Licinius is derived from the cognomen Licinus, or "upturned", found in a number of Roman gentes.Chase, p. 109. 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.Lanzi, vol. II, p. 342. 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.Livy, vii. 2. 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.
Praenomina 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.
Branches and 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.
The surname Calvus was originally given to a person who was bald,Chase, p. 110 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.Chase, pp. 113, 114. 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.Chase, pp. 112 (Stola), 113 (Stolo).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 586 ("Calvus"). 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.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 586 ("Calvus", "Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus").Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary.
Another family of the Licinii bore the cognomen Varus, which means "crooked, bent," or "knock-kneed." 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.
The surname Dives, meaning "rich" or "wealthy," was borne by some of the Licinii Crassi.Chase, p. 111. 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.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 872, 873 ("Crassus").Marshall, "Crassus and the Cognomen Dives."Drumann, vol. IV, pp. 71–115.
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.Chase, p. 113.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 830, 831 ("Lucullus").
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.Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, ix. 54.Macrobius, Saturnalia, ii. 11.Drumann, vol. IV, p. 183 ff.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 1121 ("Murena").
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"; Geta, perhaps the name of a Thracian people, to whom one of the Licinii might have been compared;The New College Latin & English Dictionary, "Geta". and Sacerdos, a priest, one of a number of cognomina derived from occupations.Chase, pp. 111, 112.The New College Latin & English Dictionary, "sacerdos".
Members
Early Licinii Gaius Licinius, one of the first tribunes of the plebs elected, in 493 BC. He and his colleague, Lucius Albinius Paterculus, are said to have elected three others, although according to Dionysius, all five were elected by the people.Livy, ii. 33.Dionysius, vi. 89. Publius Licinius, one of the first tribuni plebis in 493 BC. According to Dionysius he was elected by the people, although according to Livy he was one of three chosen by his colleagues. Spurius Licinius, according to Livius tribunus plebis in 481 BC, although Dionysius gives his nomen as Icilius. Dionysius may be correct, as the praenomen Spurius was not used by any other members of the gens Licinia.Livy, ii. 43.Dionysius, ix. 1.
Licinii Calvi Publius Licinius P. f. Calvus, father of the elder Esquilinus. Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus Esquilinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 400 BC; according to Livius, one of the first plebeians elected to this office, although some of the consular tribunes in 444 and 422 may also have been plebeians.Livy, v. 12.Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, "Licinius" no. 43.Mommsen, Römische Forschungen, vol. I, p. 95. Publius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus Esquilinus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 396 BC, substituted for his father, who had been elected for the second time, but declined the office on account of his advanced age.Livy, v. 18.Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 90.The Fasti Capitolini mention only the father, elected for the second time.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 87, 88. Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus, the father of Stolo, was probably a brother of the younger Esquilinus. Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Calvus, the first plebeian appointed magister equitum in 368 BC; he had previously served as consular tribune, but the year is uncertain. He was probably consul in either 364 or 361, but he has been confused with his contemporary, Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 112, 113.Livy, vi. 39.Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 57. Gaius Licinius C. f. P. n. Calvus, surnamed Stolo, one of the two tribuni plebis who brought forward the lex Licinia Sextia, and who accordingly was elected consul in either 364 or 361 BC, or perhaps in both years.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 116, 118, 119. Licinius Calvus (Stolo), the son of Gaius Licinius Stolo, with whom he held a thousand Iugera of land, causing his father to be prosecuted for breaking his own regulations regarding land ownership.Livy, vii. 16.
Licinii Vari Publius Licinius, grandfather of the consul of 236 BC. Publius Licinius P. f., father of the consul. Gaius Licinius P. f. P. n. Varus, consul in 236 BC, carried on the war against the Corsicans and the transalpine Gauls.Zonaras, viii. 18, p. 400.Livy, xxi. 18, Epitome, 50. Publius Licinius (C. f. P. n.) Varus, praetor urbanus in 208 BC; he was instructed to refit thirty old ships and find crews for twenty others, in order to protect the coast near Rome.Livy, xxvii. 22, 23, 51. Gaius Licinius P. f. (C. n.) Varus, father of Publius and Gaius Licinius Crassus, consuls in 171 and 168 BC.
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.Livy, xli, xlii, xliii. 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.Livy, xli. 22, xlv. 17. 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.Cicero, Laelius de Amicitia, 25; Brutus, 21.Varro, Rerum Rusticarum, i. 2. Gaius Licinius (C. f. C. n.) Crassus, probably son of the tribune of 145 BC.Cassius Dio, fragmentum xcii. 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.Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, vii. 18.Cicero, De Finibus, v. 30. 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.