Thegens Pompeia was aplebeian family atancient Rome, first appearing in history during the second century BC, and frequently occupying the highest offices of the Roman state from then untilimperial times. The first of the Pompeii to obtain theconsulship wasQuintus Pompeius in 141 BC, but by far the most illustrious of thegens wasGnaeus Pompeius, surnamedMagnus, a distinguished general under thedictatorSulla, who became a member of theFirst Triumvirate, together withCaesar andCrassus. After the death of Crassus, the rivalry between Caesar and Pompeius led to theCivil War, one of the defining events of the final years of theRoman Republic.[1]
ThenomenPompeius (frequently anglicized asPompey) is generally believed to be derived from theOscanpraenomenPompo, equivalent to theLatinQuintus, and thus a patronymic surname. The gentiliciaPompilius andPomponius, with whichPompeius is frequently confounded, were also derived fromPompo. The gentile-forming suffix-eius was typical of Sabine families, suggesting that the Pompeii were of Sabine or Oscan extraction.[2] Cicero describes Quintus Pompeius, the consul of 141 BC, as a man of "humble and obscure origin".[3][1]
Chase posits an alternative etymology: thatPompeius and similar names were instead derived frompompa, a procession, or a derived cognomenPompo, meaning not "fifth", but a participant in a procession; but he concludes that all of these hypotheses are uncertain.[2]
The main praenomina of the Pompeii wereGnaeus,Quintus, andSextus, each of which was used by the two main branches of the family under the Republic, as well as by other members. Individual families made use ofAulus andMarcus. All of these were common names throughout Roman history. A few Pompeii not associated with any of the major families of this gens used other praenomina.
According toVelleius Paterculus, the Pompeii of the Republic were divided into two or three distinct families, of which two can be reconstructed with a high degree of probability. How they were related is not known. They used almost entirely different sets of praenomina, which was unusual, since as a rule certain ancestral praenomina would be used by all of the branches of a gens, although others might be unique to individual stirpes.[4][5]
Denarius of Sextus Pompeius, paternal grandfather of Pompey the Great.
The first branch to appear at Rome acquired the surnameRufus, signifying someone with red hair,[6] but it was only passed down through one line. The surnameBithynicus is also thought to have belonged to a branch of this family, although it is not certain how the name, a reference toBithynia, was acquired, or precisely when.[5][1]
The other branch, which played a conspicuous role in the final decades of the Republic and under the early Empire, mainly used personalcognomina, such asStrabo,Magnus,Pius, andFaustulus.[5][1]Strabo, referring to someone with a pronounced squint,[7] belonged to the father of the triumvir, and is said to have been the nickname of his cook, whose proper name was Menogenes; but it then became a nickname of Pompeius, because he resembled the cook.[8][9]
Magnus, or "great", was originally an epithet of the triumvir, who won renown as a general under Sulla's command, and later on his own; his sons and some of their descendants also used the name to signify their connection to him.Pius, or "faithful", was assumed by the general's son, Sextus, to signify his filial devotion to pursue vengeance on behalf of his father and brother.Faustulus, found as a surname on the coins of a Sextus Pompeius, presumably a member of the same family, is a diminutive ofFaustus, meaning "fortunate" or "lucky".[1][10]
Various surnames were borne by other Pompeii, including a number of freedmen and their descendants, but the majority of the Pompeii who lived in the time of the Republic bore no cognomen.[1]
Quintus Pompeius Macula, a friend of Cicero, and the rival of Fulvius for the hand ofFausta Cornelia, the daughter of Sulla, who ultimately marriedGaius Memmius.[15]
Pompeius Cn. l. Lenaeus, a learnedAthenian, granted his freedom by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Like Theophanes, Lenaeus became one of his former master's traveling companions, and later kept a school at Rome.[16][17]
Pompeius Cn. l. Vindullus, a freedman of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. He died atLaodicea in 50 BC.[18]
Pompeia, the wife ofPublius Vatinius, tribune of the plebs in 59 BC. Cicero mentions her in a letter from 45.[19]
Pompeius Varus, a companion of Horace, alongside whom he fought at the battle ofPhilippi. He was proscribed by thetriumvirs, but later allowed to return home, perhaps as early as thePact of Misenum, but more likely after theBattle of Actium, whenOctavian pardoned some of those who had fought underMarcus Antonius.[23][24]
Aulus Pompeius, father of the consul of 141 BC, was described as a flute-player, probably as a means of disparaging his son, who was anovus homo.[25]
Quintus Pompeius A. f., rose from humble origins to become consul in 141 BC. He secured election through duplicity, and received the province ofHispania Citerior. After suffering several military setbacks, he made a treaty on favourable terms to theNumantines, which he subsequently disavowed. He deftly avoided punishment for this and a charge of extortion made against him, and wascensor in 131.[26][27][28][29][30][31]
(Quintus) Pompeius (Q. f. A. n.), an enemy ofTiberius Gracchus, who in 133 BC accused Gracchus of receiving the emblems of royalty from Eudemus of Pergamum, and threatened to bring him to trial. Drumann makes him the son of the consul of 141 BC, and identifies him with the Pompeius who was tribune of the plebs in 132, but this identification is very uncertain.[32][33][5]
Pompeia Q. f. A. n., the wife of Gaius Sicinius.[34]
Aulus Pompeius (Q. f. Q. n.), tribune of the plebs in 102 BC, denounced Battaces, who claimed to be the priest of theMagna Mater atPessinus, and that the Romans had profaned her temple. Pompeius attempted to prevent him speaking from therostra, but fell ill from aquinsy, which deprived him of speech; when he died soon thereafter, the people took it as a sign of the Magna Mater's displeasure.[35][36][37]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Rufus, son of the consul of 88 BC, and Sulla's son-in-law, was murdered at theForum in a riot instigated by the tribuneSulpicius.[45][43]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Rufus, praetor in 63 BC, was sent toCapua in order to prevent a feared rebellion by the slaves ofCampania andApula in support of theconspiracy of Catiline. The following year, he was appointed governor ofAfrica, with the title ofproconsul, and according to Cicero, carried out his office with great integrity.[46][47][48][49]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Rufus, grandson of Sulla, was tribune of the plebs in 52 BC, and a supporter of the triumvir Pompeius. He stoked feelings of panic at Rome, hoping to drive public support toward the triumvir, preventing the election of magistrates, and leading to a confrontation with the senate, following which the triumvir was appointed consulsine collega. He helped bring about the exile ofTitus Annius Milo, but once he left office, Rufus was himself condemned and exiled.[54][55][56][57][58]
Quintus Pompeius A. f. (Q. n.) Bithynicus,[iv] a close friend of Cicero, who describes him as an able orator, but criticizes his delivery. During theCivil War, he was a supporter of his cousin, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whom he accompanied to Egypt after theBattle of Pharsalus. There, he was slain together with other supporters of Pompeius.[59][60]
Aulus Pompeius Q. f. A. n. Bithynicus, governor ofSicily at the time of Caesar's death in 44 BC. He wavered in his support of the various factions during the following months, and besought the help ofCicero. He initially opposedSextus Pompeius' attempt to take possession ofMessana, before agreeing to share the government of Sicily; but soon afterward, Sextus betrayed and murdered his cousin.[61][62][63][64][65]
Gnaeus Pompeius, grandfather of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo.[68][69]
Gnaeus Pompeius Cn. f., a senator in 129 BC. He was likely the uncle of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, the consul of 89 BC.[70][71]
Sextus Pompeius, praetor circa 120 andpropraetor in Macedonia the following year, died in battle against the Celts. He was perhaps the same as the father of Pompeius Strabo.[72][73]
Sextus Pompeius Sex. f. Cn. n., probably the elder brother of the consul Strabo, is described by Cicero as a man of great learning, but he does not appear to have pursued a political career.[76]
Gnaeus Pompeius Sex. f. Cn. n. Strabo, the father of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. As consul in 89 BC, during theSocial War, he gained a number of important victories and received atriumph. During the civil war between Marius and Sulla, he instigated the murder of his commander, and his own cousin, the consul Quintus Pompeius. He was struck and killed by lightning in 87.[77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84]
Sextus Pompeius Sex. f. Sex. n., father of the consul of 35 BC.[85]
Quintus Pompeus Sex. f. Sex. n., known only from a letter of Cicero, in which he recommends Pompeius to a proconsul named Curius.[86]
Gnaeus Pompeius Cn. f. Sex. n. Magnus, also known as "Pompey the Great", rose to prominence in his youth as one of the generals of Sulla, and distinguished himself in Numidia and Spain, bringing an end to the civil war fought between the allies of Marius and Sulla. He cleared the Mediterranean of pirates, defeatedMithridates, and brought Asia Minor and Syria under Roman control. As members of theFirst Triumvirate, Pompeius, Caesar, and Crassus divided the Roman world between them. He was consul in 70, 55, and consulsine collega in 52, but his lack of foresight and prudence allowed his defeat by Caesar during the Civil War, in 48 BC.[87][5][88]
Pompeia Cn. f. Sex. n., sister of the triumvir, married Gaius Memmius, who served under Pompeius in Sicily in 81 BC, then to Spain, where he was killed during the war againstSertorius, in 75.[89][90][91]
Gnaeus Pompeius Cn. f. Cn. n. Magnus, elder son of the triumvir, commanded a fleet of fifty ships during the Civil War. After his father's death, he repaired to Spain, where he collected a substantial army. He was defeated at theBattle of Munda in 45 BC, and finally captured by soldiers under the command of Caesar's legate, Gaius Didius, who had him put to death.[94][95][96][97]
Sextus Pompeius Cn. f. Cn. n. Magnus Pius, younger son of the triumvir, accompanied his father to Egypt, where the elder Pompeius was murdered in 48 BC. Sextus commanded the remaining Pompeian forces in Africa until defeated at theBattle of Thapsus in 46. He avoided capture after the Battle of Munda. After Caesar's murder, he became associated with the republicans, and was proscribed by thenew triumvirs. Despite gathering a substantial fleet, he was decisively defeated byAgrippa at theBattle of Naulochus in 36, and fled to the east, where he was captured and put to death.[98][99][100][101][102][103]
Pompeia Sex. f. Cn. n., granddaughter of the triumvir, was betrothed to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the nephew of Augustus, but never married him.[107][108][109]
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, probably the son of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the consul of AD 29, and Scribonia, the daughter of Lucius Scribonius Libo. He marriedClaudia Antonia, daughter of the emperorClaudius, but was brought down through the intrigues of the empress Messalina, and put to death.[116][117][118][119]
Marcus Pompeius Cn. f. Macer Theophanes, appointed procurator of Asia by Augustus. He was a friend of Tiberius, but in AD 33, facing condemnation by that emperor, Theophanes' son and grandson took their own lives, reportedly because of the people ofLesbos paid divine honours to their family.[128][126][129]
Marcus Pompeius M. f. Cn. n. Macer, a respectedeques, who, foreseeing condemnation and death at the hands of Tiberius, took his own life in AD 33.[126][129]
Quintus Pompeius M. f. M. n. Macer,praetor in AD 15, toward the beginning of the reign of Tiberius, suggested extending thelex Maiestatis, a law forbidding insult to the emperor. Toward the end of Tiberius' reign, Macer and his family found themselves facing condemnation, due to the divine honours paid to their ancestor, Gnaeus Pompeius Theophanes. He and his father took their own lives in AD 33.[130][131][132][129]
Pompeia M. f. M. n. Macrina, sister of the praetor, married Julius Argolicus, the son of Julius Laco. Her husband and father-in-law were put to death by Tiberius, and Pompeia was exiled in AD 33, as one of the descendants of Gnaeus Pompeius Theophanes.[126][133]
Marcus Pompeius Q. f. M. n. Macrinus Theophanes, perhaps the same Macrinus who was proconsul of Asia in AD 53.[134]
Gnaeus Pompeius, a member of theGallic tribe of theVocontii, who fought alongside Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus during the war againstSertorius in Spain, and was rewarded with Roman citizenship. The historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus was his grandson.[136][137]
Pompeius Cn. f., uncle of the historian Trogus, led a cavalry squadron under Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus during theThird Mithridatic War.[136][137]
Pompeius Cn. f., father of the historian Trogus, served under the dictatorCaesar, to whom he became secretary.[136][137]
Gnaeus Pompeius Cn. n. Trogus, the author of a history of theMacedonian kings, known as theLiber Historiarum Philippicarum, which formed the basis for theHistoriarum Philippicarum ofJustinus. He lived during the time ofAugustus, since his history alludes to the recovery of the standards of Crassus from theParthians, which occurred in 20 BC.[138][137]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Senecio Sosius Priscus, consul in AD 169. He had a distinguished career, and after his consulship was proconsul of Asia, like his father and grandfather before him. He is also remembered for having the longest attested name of the Roman aristocracy, including thirty-eight individual names.[viii][139]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Sosius Falco, consul in AD 193, narrowly avoided being put to death byCommodus, when the emperor was assassinated on the last day of 192. The Praetorian Guard offered him the throne, which he declined, and he was spared byPertinax.[139]
Quintus Pompeius Q. f. Q. n. Falco Sosius Priscus, was quaestor underCaracalla. He subsequently served as pontifex, and was praetordesignatus.[139]
Pompeius Grosphus, a wealthy resident of Sicily under the early Empire. One of Horace's odes cautions Grosphus about an inordinate desire for wealth; but in one of his letters, he describes Grosphus as a man whose honourable intentions could be safely relied upon.[140]
Pompeius Silo, a renowned orator, much admired by his contemporary,Seneca the Elder.[141]
Pompeius Paulinus,praefectus annonae (c. 49–54), and father of the senator of the same name.[142]
Pompeius Urbicus, put to death byClaudius, as one of those involved in the clandestine marriage ofMessalina toGaius Silius, in AD 48.[143]
Marcus Pompeius Silvanus, consulsuffectus in AD 45, was probably the same Pompeius Silvanus who, as governor ofDalmatia at the death of Nero, threw his support toVespasian. Although he contributed little to the war, he joined the victorious emperor's generals as they entered Rome, and was consulsuffectus a second time, probably in 76.[144][145][146]
Gaius Pompeius Longus Gallus, consul in AD 49.[147][148]
Pompeius Paulinus, consulsuffectus about AD 54, and subsequently one of the Roman commanders inGermania during the reign of Nero. In 58, he helped complete a dam to restrain the flooding of theRhine. In 62, he was appointed one of the superintendents of the public revenue. He was probably the father-in-law ofSeneca the Younger.[149][150]
Pompeius Aelianus, a youthful ex-quaestor, who was exiled from Italy and Spain in AD 61 for participating in the conspiracy of Valerius Fabianus, who planned to acquire the fortune of the elderly Domitius Balbus using a forged will.[151]
Pompeia Paulina, the wife of Seneca the Younger, to whom she was deeply devoted. When Seneca received word from the emperor that he was to kill himself, Pompeia opened her veins over her husband's objections, that they might die together. Wishing to avoid the appearance of cruelty, Nero ordered that her life be preserved, and she lived some years thereafter.[152][153][154]
Pompeius Longinus, a tribune in thePraetorian Guard, was removed from his position by the emperor Nero, during the suppression of thePisonian conspiracy in AD 65. Four years later, he had regained his rank, and is mentioned by Tacitus among the friends ofGalba, at the time when many of the Praetorian soldiers were going over toOtho.[155]
Pompeius Propinquus,procurator ofGallia Belgica at the time of Nero's death, in AD 68. WhenVitellius was proclaimed emperor in the following year, Pompeius was slain by his own soldiers.[156]
Lucius Pompeius Vopiscus,[ix] consulsuffectus in AD 69.[157]
Pompeia L. f. Plotina, the wife ofTrajan, and Roman empress. She encouraged her husband to adoptHadrian, as she had no children of her own, and was honoured by the latter emperor after her death. According to most accounts, she was a woman of exemplary virtue, although Cassius Dio reports an unsavoury rumour concerning the nature of her relationship to Hadrian.[174][175][176][177]
Pomepia L. f. Marullina, the wife or mother of a consul fromNemausus inGallia Narbonensis. She was probably a relative of the empress Plotina as well as her adopted son Hadrian.[178] HistorianChristian Settipani speculated that they may have been sisters.[173]
Sextus Pompeius Festus, a grammarian who probably flourished during the later second century. His chief work is an epitome ofDe Significatu Verborum of Marcus Verrius Flaccus, a grammarian in the time of Augustus, whose work has been lost. To Flaccus' original text, Festus has added his own comments, observations, and ideas.[180]
Pompeius Catussa, a native ofSequania in Gallia Belgica, was atector, a maker of ornamental plastering for homes. He erected a monument to his wife, which is now in themuseum atLyon.[181]
Pompeius Probus, appointed consul in AD 310 by the eastern emperorsGalerius andLicinius; his authority was not recognized by the western emperors,Maxentius andConstantine. His relationship to the other Pompeii is probably through the maternal line, as he appears to have been a member of thegens Petronia.
SaintPompeius of Pavia, Bishop of Pavia from AD 339 to 353. The circumstances of his canonization are uncertain, but he is not thought to have been a martyr. His feast day is December 14.
Pompeius, a Latin grammarian, who must have flourished before the fifth century, as he appears to have been a source forServius andCassiodorus. Two of his works are extant:Commentum artis Donati, about the parts of speech, andCommentariolus in librum Donati de Barbaris et Metaplasmis, a short treatise on the development of language through the introduction of foreign words and irregular forms.[182]
Flavius Pompeius, nephew of the emperorAnastasius I, was consul of the east in AD 501. Despite his faithful service over many years, he and his brother,Hypatius were put to death byJustinian in 532, when in the course of theNika Revolt, an angry mob declared Hypatius their choice to be emperor.
^Broughton guesses that he might be a son of the consul of 141 BC, which is not impossible, despite the gap of fifty years between their consulships; Drumann makes him the grandson, and son of the Pompeius who was tribune of the plebs in 131.
^This event, recalled in the proverb, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion," attributed to Caesar, was not because Caesar himself suspected that Pompeia had intrigued with Clodius, but because, as Pontifex Maximus, the morals of his household could not be the subject of perpetual and malicious gossip.
^Since his father's name was Aulus, Drumann makes Bithynicus a son of the tribune of 102 BC.
^Velleius Paterculus erroneously calls her the mother, rather than the grandmother, of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.
^His full nomenclature wasQuintus Roscius Coelius Murena Silius Decianus Vibullius Pius Julius Eurycles Herculanus Pompeius Falco. Birley traces elements of the name to three individuals: Gaius Julius Eurycles Herculanus Lucius Vibullius Pius, the "last representative of the dynasts of Sparta, who died not long after 130"; Lucius Silius Decianus, consul in AD 94, or perhaps one of his sons; and Marcus Roscius Murena Coelius, consul in 81. To this patrimony, Falco's descendants would add the names of his father-in-law, Quintus Sosius Senecio, consul in 99 and 107, and Senecio's father-in-law, Sextus Julius Frontinus, consul in 100.
^Like his son, he had an extremely long name due to the imperial fashion for combining the nomenclature of both paternal and maternal ancestors. Part of his name is missing, but the rest was:Quintus Pompeius [...] Bellicus Sollers Julius Acer Ducenius Proculus Rutilianus Rufinus Silius Valens Valerius Niger Claudius Fuscus Saxa Amyntianus Sosius Priscus, all of which was incorporated into his son's name, althoughAcer in this name should probably be amended toAper, as given in his son's nomenclature.
^In full, his name wasQuintus Pompeius Senecio Roscius Murena Coelius Sextus Julius Frontinus Silius Decianus Gaius Julius Eurycles Herculaneus Lucius Vibullius Pius Augustanus Alpinus Bellicius Sollers Julius Aper Ducenius Proculus Rutilianus Rufinus Silius Valens Valerius Niger Claudius Fuscus Saxa Amyntianus Sosius Priscus.
^Gallivan indicates a gap between the consulship of Lucius Aelius Plautius Lamia Aelianus and Gaius Marius Marcellus Octavius Publius Cluvius Rufus, which expired at the end of June, 80, and that of Marcus Titius Frugi and Titus Vinicius Julianus, consuls in November and December of the same year. TheFasti Septempeda inserts three consuls between these pairs: Quintus Pompeius Trio, Sextus Neranius Capito, and Lucius Acilius Strabo. Trio would therefore seem to have been consul in July and August, either with Sextus Neranius Capito, or with a colleague whose name has been omitted from the Fasti.
^Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", p. 279.
^abSettipani, Christian (2000).Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale: mythe et réalité. Prosopographica et genealogica (in Italian). Vol. 2 (illustrated ed.). Unit for Prosopographical Research, Linacre College, University of Oxford. p. 407.ISBN9781900934022.
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