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Albius Tibullus ( c.  55 BC – c.  19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies . His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins.

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132-489: Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a few references to him by later writers and a short Life of doubtful authority. Neither his praenomen nor his birthplace is known, and his gentile name has been questioned. His status was probably that of a Roman eques (so the Life affirms), and he had inherited a considerable estate. Like Virgil and Propertius , he seems to have lost most of it in 41 BC in

264-413: A pseudepigraphical work written many years later. Although many scholars have criticised the style of the poem, it has also been called "brilliant, though excessively rhetorical". Among its features are two long digressions, one (lines 48–81) detailing all the wanderings of Ulysses (Odysseus) up to his arrival on the island of Phaeacia, and the other (lines 151–176) describing the five climatic zones of

396-472: A "pig from Epicurus's herd". Although J. P. Postgate challenged the identification of Albius with Tibullus, more recent scholars such as Ullman, Putnam, and Ball have argued that they are same. In Putnam's analysis, Tibullus, in Horace's view, is too much given to self-pity, and would benefit from taking a more philosophical view of life's foibles. The first book of Horace's Odes was published in 23 BC, and

528-430: A body without a heart; the gods gave you beauty, riches, and the art of enjoying them. What more could a nurse wish for in her charge than that he should be intelligent, able to speak what he feels, and have style, fame, and health in abundance?" Horace advises his friend, whatever hopes and fears and angers he has, to live each day as if it was his last. At the end he makes a joke to cheer his friend up, comparing himself to

660-431: A boy named Marathus, who tortures him with "love's delay" (1.4.81) and whom the narrator cannot conquer with his arts, causing other men to laugh at his lessons (1.4.83). The cycle is resumed in poem 1.8, in which the narrator learns that Marathus is in love with a girl. The narrator advises the girl to treat Marathus with more leniency than Marathus treated the narrator himself (1.8.49). The narrator accompanies Marathus to

792-566: A campaign against Egypt. Alexander forded the Halys River in the summer of 333 BC, ending up on the border of southeastern Phrygia and Cilicia. He knew well the writings of Xenophon , and how the Cilician Gates had been "impassable if obstructed by the enemy". Alexander reasoned that by force alone he could frighten the defenders and break through, and he gathered his men to do so. In the cover of night, they attacked, startling

924-474: A certain Albius ( Odes 1.33 and Epistles 1.4), are believed to refer to Tibullus. In the first of these poems Horace advises Albius not to be excessive in singing sad elegies in memory of the cruel "Glycera" (assumed to be the same as Nemesis). In the second poem, Horace imagines Albius, when he receives the letter, either writing poetry or wandering in the woods near Pedum . He goes on: "You were not (born as)

1056-543: A consequence of which Cilicia became a vassal of the Achaemenid empire as from c.  542 BC , and the Cilician rulers became part of the Achaemenid administration. Under early Achaemenid rule, Cilicia maintained a significant degree of autonomy and the native rulers acted as satraps (governors) for the Achaemenid administration, with their authority extending until as far west as Aspendus . Cilicia during

1188-703: A larger percentage of the Roman populace came from backgrounds that had never used traditional Roman names, the praenomen was frequently omitted, or at least ignored. In its place, an increasing number of magistrates and officials placed common nomina, frequently with praenomen-like abbreviations. The most common of these were Flavius (Fl.), Claudius (Cl.), Julius, Junius, Valerius (Val.), and Aurelius. These names appear almost arbitrarily, much like praenomina, and probably were intended to imply nobility, although ultimately they became so common as to lose any real significance. Many Oscan praenomina appear throughout Roman history, as

1320-539: A metropolitan diocese at Anazarbus and suffragan dioceses for Mopsuestia, Aegae , Epiphania , Irenopolis , Flavias , Castabala , Alexandria , Citidiopolis and Rhosus . Bishops from the various dioceses of Cilicia were well represented at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and at the later ecumenical councils. After the division of the Roman Empire, Cilicia became part of the eastern Roman Empire,

1452-434: A number of other similarities between Lygdamus and Ovid, which are examined in an article by A. G. Lee. Lee comes to the conclusion that Lygdamus must have copied Ovid, not the reverse, and that his date may have been in the late 1st century AD. F. Navarro Antolín comes to the same conclusion, citing among other reasons certain words that were not generally used in poetry of the time of Tibullus. Other scholars, however, noting

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1584-399: A promise he had made to the narrator, but soon love yields to bitterness, and he begins to express the desire that the gifts of the rival lover turn to ashes (1.9.11–12) and that the same happen to the poems that the narrator wrote to Marathus to win him over (1.9.48–49), of which he is now ashamed. He turns to the rival, taking revenge on him for having stolen his boyfriend by taunting him with

1716-440: A recent assessment of the poem, Stephen Heyworth (2021) believes that Tibullan authorship cannot be ruled out, and that it may even be a fragment from the lost ending of book 2. In this poem the poet promises his (unnamed) girlfriend that no other girl will ever take her place. He swears this by Juno, the goddess he reveres most. He will never cease to be a slave at the altar of Venus, the goddess of love. The poem appears twice in

1848-505: A set of six poems in elegiac couplets (290 verses) by a poet who calls himself " Lygdamus ", all but the fifth celebrating his love for a woman called Neaera, whom he describes as "unfaithful, but all the same beloved" (3.6.56). In one line (3.5.18) he gives his own birthdate as the equivalent of 43 BC, using the same words as Ovid used in Tristia 4.10.6 to describe his own birthdate ("the year when both consuls fell by equal fate"). There are

1980-411: A small fraction of the entire Roman populace. The Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft mentions about ten thousand individuals whose praenomina are known from surviving works of history, literature, and various inscriptions. These individuals are spread over a period of over twelve centuries, with the smallest sample coming from the early Republic, when the greatest variety of praenomina

2112-723: A small number of praenomina, probably as a means of distinguishing themselves from one another and from the plebeians, who used a wider variety of names. For example, the Cornelii used Aulus, Gnaeus, Lucius, Marcus, Publius, Servius, and Tiberius; the Julii limited themselves to Lucius, Gaius, Sextus, and Vopiscus; the Claudii were fond of Appius, Gaius, and Publius; the Postumii favored Aulus, Gaius, Lucius, Publius, and Spurius; and so on. The most prominent plebeian families also tended to limit

2244-602: A small share of the over 100 Renaissance manuscripts. There are also a number of extracts from Tibullus in Florilegium Gallicum , an anthology from various Latin writers collected in the mid-twelfth century, and a few extracts in the Excerpta frisingensia , preserved in a manuscript now at Munich . Also excerpts from the lost Fragmentum cuiacianum , made by Scaliger , and now in the library at Leiden are of importance for their independence of A. It contained

2376-616: A woman's nomen or cognomen, as if a surname, even though they were used as praenomina. The reverse was also common, especially in imperial times; a personal cognomen would be placed before a woman's nomen, in the place of a praenomen. In both cases, the name was functionally a praenomen, irrespective of its position in the name. For this reason, it is often impossible to distinguish between women's praenomina and personal cognomina. In imperial times, Roman women were more likely to have praenomina if they had several older sisters. A daughter who had been called simply by her nomen for several years

2508-552: Is a geographical region in southern Anatolia , extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea . Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain ( Turkish : Çukurova ). The region includes the provinces of Mersin , Adana , Osmaniye , Kilis and Hatay . The name of Cilicia ([Κιλικία] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |translit= ( help ) )

2640-558: Is a quiet retirement in the country with the loved one at his side. He has no ambition and not even a poet's yearning for immortality. In an age of crude materialism and gross superstition, he was religious in the old Roman way. His clear, finished and yet unaffected style made him a great favourite and placed him, in the judgment of Quintilian , ahead of other elegiac writers. For natural grace and tenderness, for exquisiteness of feeling and expression, he stands alone. He rarely overloads his lines with Alexandrian learning. However, his range

2772-911: Is a rugged mountain district formed by the spurs of Taurus, which often terminate in rocky headlands with small sheltered harbours, features which, in classical times, made the coast a string of havens for pirates and, in the Middle Ages, outposts for Genoese and Venetian traders. The district is watered by the Calycadnus and was covered in ancient times by forests that supplied timber to Phoenicia and Egypt . Cilicia lacked large cities. Plain Cilicia ( Ancient Greek : Κιλικια Πεδιας , romanized :  Kilikia Pedias ; Latin : Cilicia Campestris ; Neo-Assyrian Akkadian : 𒆳𒋡𒀀𒌑𒂊 , romanized:  Que ; Neo-Babylonian Akkadian : 𒆳𒄷𒈨𒂊 , romanized:  Ḫuwê ), to

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2904-406: Is based on a fresh collation of A. Francis Cairns regards Tibullus as "a good poet but not a great one"; Dorothea Wender similarly calls him a minor poet but argues there is "grace and polish and symmetry" to his work. Praenomen#Praenomen The praenomen ( Classical Latin : [prae̯ˈnoːmɛn] ; plural: praenomina ) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It

3036-402: Is certainly not correct belongs to Spurius, a praenomen that was amongst the most common, and favored by many leading patrician and plebeian families during the early Republic. It was later said that it was a contraction of the phrase, sine pater filius , "son without a father", and thus used for children born out of wedlock. This belief may have led to the gradual disappearance of the name during

3168-544: Is limited. Tibullus is smoother and more musical, but liable to become monotonous; Propertius, with occasional harshnesses, is more vigorous and varied. In many of Tibullus's poems a symmetrical composition can be traced. A short Vita Tibulli (Life of Tibullus) is found at the end of the Ambrosian, Vatican and inferior manuscripts. It has been much discussed. There is little in it that cannot be inferred from Tibullus himself and from what Horace says about Albius, though it

3300-449: Is markedly different from the preceding group of poems. Her syntax has been described as "convoluted" and in some parts (e.g. 3.16) the meaning is not clear. Although there are some dissenting voices, most scholars accept that these six poems are genuinely written by a female poet, Sulpicia , the only Roman female poet whose work has survived. Their frank and passionate outpourings are reminiscent of Catullus . The style and metrical handling

3432-674: Is possible that its compiler may have taken some of his statements from Suetonius's book De Poetis . The best manuscript of Tibullus is the Ambrosianus (A), which has been dated c.  1375 , whose earliest known owner was the humanist Coluccio Salutati . Two early 15th-century manuscripts are Paris lat. 7989 (written in Florence in 1423) and the Vatican MS. Ottob. lat. 1202 (also written in Florence, 1426). These form only

3564-415: Is shown by his leaving Delia to accompany Messalla to Asia), and apparently constant to his mistresses. His tenderness towards them is enhanced by a refinement and delicacy which are rare among the ancients. When treated cruelly by his love, he does not invoke curses upon her head. Instead he goes to her little sister's grave, hung so often with his garlands and wet with his tears, to bemoan his fate. His ideal

3696-470: Is similar and most scholars believe they are the work of a single author. Some scholars attribute them to Tibullus himself; but the validity of this attribution is uncertain. Cerinthus is thought to be a pseudonym, and is sometimes identified with Tibullus's friend Cornutus, who is addressed in 2.2. The next group (3.13–3.18) is a set of six very short elegiac poems (40 lines in all) apparently written to or about Cerinthus by Sulpicia herself. The style of these

3828-436: Is that a collection of scattered compositions, relating to Messalla and the members of his circle, was added as an appendix to the genuine relics of Tibullus. When this "Messalla collection" was made cannot be exactly determined; but it was definitely not till after the death of Tibullus, 19 BC, and perhaps as late as the late 1st century AD. Besides the foregoing, two pieces in the collection called Priapea (one an epigram and

3960-626: Is unknown. The earliest known ruler, and possibly the founder, of the kingdom of Cilicia was Syennesis I, who, according to the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus, mediated in 585 BC the peace treaty which followed the end of the conflict which had opposed the Lydian and Median empires. Herodotus of Halicarnassus also claimed that the Cilicians and the Lycians were

4092-592: Is watered by the three great rivers, the Cydnus (Tarsus Çay Berdan River ), the Sarus ( Seyhan ), and the Pyramus ( Ceyhan River ), each of which brings down much silt from the deforested interior and which fed extensive wetlands. The Sarus now enters the sea almost due south of Tarsus, but there are clear indications that at one period it joined the Pyramus, and that the united rivers ran to the sea west of Kara-tash. Through

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4224-475: Is written in dactylic hexameters . It is a panegyric of Messalla (consul 31 BC), 212 lines long. There is no indication of the author, although, like Tibullus (1.1.41–43), the author complains that his family was once very wealthy but that their estate has been reduced to a small farm (3.7.181–191). It is thought by some scholars that the poem itself was probably written in 31, the year of Messalla's consulship, or soon afterwards. Other scholars, however, view it as

4356-582: The Aquitanian War ( Vita Tib. and Tib. i.7, 9 seq., a poem composed for Messalla's triumph), and may have received dona militaria ( Vita Tib. ). Tibullus died prematurely, probably in 19, around the same time as Virgil or not long afterwards. His death made a deep impression in Rome, as is clear from his contemporary, Domitius Marsus , and from the elegy in which Ovid enshrined the memory of his predecessor. Two short poems by Horace , addressed to

4488-604: The Byzantine Empire . In the 7th century Cilicia was invaded by the Muslim Arabs. The area was for some time an embattled no-man's land. The Arabs succeeded in conquering the area in the early 8th century. Under the Abbasid Caliphate , Cilicia was resettled and transformed into a fortified frontier zone ( thughur ). Tarsus, re-built in 787/788, quickly became the largest settlement in the region and

4620-696: The Hellenistic era, numerous cities were established in Cilicia, which minted coins showing the badges (gods, animals, and objects) associated with each polis. Cilicia Trachea became the haunt of pirates , who were subdued by Pompey in 67 BC following a Battle of Korakesion (modern Alanya ), and Tarsus was made the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. Cilicia Pedias became Roman territory in 103 BC first conquered by Marcus Antonius Orator in his campaign against pirates, with Sulla acting as its first governor, foiling an invasion of Mithridates , and

4752-843: The Latino-Faliscan languages , including the tribes of the Latini , or Latins, who formed the core of the early Roman populace, and their neighbors, the Falisci and Hernici ; the Oscan languages , including the Sabines , who also contributed to early Roman culture, as well as the Samnites , and many other peoples of central and southern Italy; and the Umbrian languages , spoken by the Umbri of

4884-670: The Limonlu River ) and Cilicia Pedias ( Latin : Cilicia Campestris , east of the Limonlu). Salamis , the city on the east coast of Cyprus, was included in the Roman province of Cilicia from 58 BC until 27 BC. Cilicia consisted of two main contrasting regions: Rough Cilicia ( Ancient Greek : Κιλικια Τραχεια , romanized :  Kilikia Trakheia ; Latin : Cilicia Aspera ; Neo-Assyrian Akkadian : 𒆳𒄭𒋃𒆪 , romanized:  Ḫilakku ; Neo-Babylonian Akkadian : 𒆳𒉿𒊑𒅔𒁺 , romanized:  Pirindu )

5016-599: The Mediterranean coast east from Pamphylia to the Nur Mountains , which separate it from Syria . North and east of Cilicia stand the rugged Taurus Mountains , which separate it from the high central plateau of Anatolia , and which are pierced by a narrow gorge called in antiquity the Cilician Gates . Ancient Cilicia was naturally divided into Cilicia Trachea ( Latin : Cilicia Aspera , west of

5148-674: The Sibylline Books (the Quindecimviri sacris faciundis ). In poems 3–6 of the second book the place of Delia is taken by "Nemesis", which is also a fictitious name. Nemesis (like the Cynthia of Propertius ) was probably a courtesan of the higher class; and she had other admirers besides Tibullus. He complains bitterly of his bondage, and of her rapacity and hard-heartedness. In spite of all, however, she seems to have retained her hold on him until his death. Ovid, writing at

5280-581: The pretorian prefecture also called Oriens ('the East', also including the dioceses of Asiana and Pontica , both in Anatolia, and Thraciae in the Balkans), the rich bulk of the eastern Roman Empire . After the division of the Roman Empire, Cilicia became part of the eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire . Cilicia was one of the most important regions of the classical world and can be considered as

5412-540: The Achaemenid Empire. The Greek designation of Kilikia extended the use of the name of the state of Ḫilakku to the territory of both Ḫilakku and its neighbour Ḫiyawa. It is however uncertain how this naming convention arose, and whether it was the result of political expansion by Ḫilakku or of Greeks first coming into contact with Ḫilakku and using its name for all the Luwian populations of eastern Anatolia

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5544-417: The Achaemenid period was inhabited by tribal populations who were led by native chieftains, and it contained fortified strongholds protecting its agricultural land and its inhabitants, as well as various native and Persian cities and towns. Nevertheless, the western pert of Cilicia, corresponding to the later Graeco-Roman Rough Cilicia, probably remained independent of Persian rule and of the administration of

5676-495: The Aegean Sea during 396 to 395 BC, and against Cyprus in the 380s BC. During the 390s BC, Camisares was appointed as satrap of Cilicia. Camisares was himself succeeded by his son, Datames , who eventually became the satrap of both Cilicia and Cappadocia until his assassination in c.  362 BC . In the 340s BC, the satrap of Cilicia was Mazaeus , who was also given authority over Syria as reward for his service in

5808-609: The Aemilii and the Pinarii, Vopiscus only by the Julii, and Decimus was not used by any patrician family (unless the Junii were, as is sometimes believed, originally patrician), although it was widely used amongst the plebeians. Throughout Roman history, the most common praenomen was Lucius, followed by Gaius, with Marcus in third place. During the most conservative periods, these three names could account for as much as fifty percent of

5940-554: The Asian and European Greeks. Under Darius I's successor, Xerxes I , Cilicia contributed both troops and ships for the Achaemenid conquest of the Aegean Sea: the Cilician ruler Syennesis II led these ships, but was killed in battle. At this time, the ruling dynasty of Cilicia had been linked by marriage bonds with Carian notables. Syennesis II was succeeded by one Xeinagoras of Halicarnassus, who had no previous ties to Cilicia and

6072-851: The Central Apennines , the rustic Picentes of the Adriatic coast, and the Volsci . In addition to the Italic peoples was the Etruscan civilization , whose language was unrelated to Indo-European, but who exerted a strong cultural influence throughout much of Italy, including early Rome. The Italic nomenclature system cannot clearly be attributed to any one of these cultures, but seems to have developed simultaneously amongst each of them, perhaps due to constant contact between them. It first appears in urban centers and thence gradually spread to

6204-660: The Etruscans, or vice versa. The best case may be for Tiberius being an Etruscan name, since that praenomen was always connected with the sacred river on the boundary of Etruria and Latium, and the Etruscan name for the Tiber was Thebris . However, it still may be that the Romans knew the river by this name when the praenomen came into existence. Many families, particularly amongst the great patrician houses, limited themselves to

6336-549: The Galatians (1:21). After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, Cilicia was included in the territories of the patriarchate of Antioch. The region was divided into two civil and ecclesiastical provinces: Cilicia Prima , with a metropolitan diocese at Tarsus and suffragan dioceses for Pompeiopolis , Sebaste , Augusta  [ cs ; de ; it ; pl ] , Corycus , Adana , Mallus and Zephyrium ; and Cilicia Secunda , with

6468-472: The Iron Age, Cilicia was dominated by two main polities: In the 6th century BC, an independent state, called Cilicia ( Ancient Greek : Κιλικια , romanized :  Kilikia ) by the ancient Greeks, was established in southeastern Anatolia under the rule of a native dynasty, with its capital of Cilicia at the city of Tarsus . Cilicia and Cilicians do not appear in any extant list of people ruled by

6600-529: The Italic peoples had its own distinctive group of praenomina. A few names were shared between cultures, and the Etruscans in particular borrowed many praenomina from Latin and Oscan. It is disputed whether some of the praenomina used by the Romans themselves were of distinctly Etruscan or Oscan origin. However, these names were in general use at Rome and other Latin towns, and were used by families that were certainly of Latin origin. Thus, irrespective of their actual etymology, these names may be regarded as Latin. In

6732-466: The Latin name closest in sound to Attius. Aulus, Publius, Spurius, and Tiberius are sometimes attributed to Etruscan, in which language they are all common, although these names were also typical of praenomina used in families of indisputably Latin origin, such as the Postumii or the Cornelii. In this instance, it cannot be determined with any certainty whether these were Latin names which were borrowed by

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6864-564: The Neolithic period onwards. Dating of the ancient settlements of the region from Neolithic to Bronze Age is as follows: Aceramic/Neolithic: 8th and 7th millennia BC; Early Chalcolithic : 5800 BC; Middle Chalcolithic (correlated with Halaf and Ubaid developments in the east): c. 5400–4500 BC; Late Chalcolithic: 4500 – c. 3400 BC; and Early Bronze Age IA: 3400–3000 BC; EBA IB: 3000–2700 BC; EBA II: 2700–2400 BC; EBA III A-B: 2400–2000 BC. The area had been known as Kizzuwatna in

6996-475: The Romans encountered both friendly and hostile tribes, and slowly absorbed the peoples of Italy into their sphere of influence. Umbrian praenomina are less well-known, but appear to have been similar to those of the Oscans. Although it is widely believed that the Latin praenomen Mamercus was of Oscan origin, since Mamers was a Sabine form of Mars, it is not clear to what extent the two cultures (which sprang from

7128-709: The Sasanian forces burnt and sacked several cities in Syria, Cilicia ( Middle Persian : 𐭪𐭫𐭪𐭩𐭠𐭩 ‎ ) and Cappadocia. Under Emperor Diocletian's Tetrarchy (c. 297), Cilicia was governed by a consularis ; with Isauria and the Syrian, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Libyan provinces, formed the Diocesis Orientis (in the late 4th century the African component was split off as Diocese of Egypt ), part of

7260-479: The Younger , resulting in the kingdom of Cilicia being abolished and fully integrated into the Achaemenid empire as a province ruled by and appointed by the Achaemenid king of kings, which it would remain until the end of the Achaemenid Empire in 333 BC. Once the revolt of Cyrus the Younger had been suppressed, Cilicia was again used as an assembly point for Achaemenid forces in preparation for military action in

7392-710: The adult male population. At some distance were Publius and Quintus, only about half as common as Lucius, distantly followed by Titus. Aulus, Gnaeus, Spurius, Sextus, and Servius were less common, followed by Manius, Tiberius, Caeso, Numerius, and Decimus, which were decidedly uncommon (at least amongst the patricians) during the Republic. Throughout Republican times, the number of praenomina in general use declined, but older names were occasionally revived by noble families, and occasionally anomalous names such as Ancus, Iulus, or Kanus were given. Some of these may have been ancient praenomina that had already passed out of common use by

7524-401: The affair that the rival's wife is herself having with another young man (1.9.54–58 and 65–74). Finally, the poet addresses the boy himself, telling him that he will cry when he sees the poet fall in love with another capricious lad (1.9.79–80), but declaring himself, for the time being, finally released from unfaithful love. About the second book, scholars can only say that in all likelihood it

7656-572: The birthplace of Christianity . Roman Cilicia exported the goats-hair cloth, Cilicium , which was used to make tents. Tarsus was also the birthplace of the early Christian missionary and author St. Paul , likely writer of 13 of the 27 books included in the New Testament . Cilicia had numerous Christian communities and is mentioned six times in the Book of Acts and once in the Epistle to

7788-412: The circumstances of a child's birth; for instance, Agrippa was said to refer to a child who was born feet-first; Caeso to a child born by the operation known today as a Caesarean section ; Lucius to one born at dawn; Manius to one born in the morning; Numerius to one born easily; Opiter to one whose father had died, leaving his grandfather as head of the family; Postumus to a last-born child (whether or not

7920-468: The confiscations of Mark Antony and Octavian . Tibullus's chief friend and patron was Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus , himself an orator and poet as well as a statesman and a commander. Messalla, like Gaius Maecenas , was at the centre of a literary circle in Rome . This circle had no relationship with the court, and the name of Augustus is found nowhere in the writings of Tibullus. About 30 BC Messalla

8052-423: The country life. The loss of Tibullus's landed property is attested by himself (i.1, 19), as a farmer felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri ("of a once fruitful, now impoverished field"; cf. 41, 42). Its cause is only an inference, though a very probable one. That he was allowed to retain a portion of his estate with the family mansion is clear from ii.4, 53. Tibullus may have been Messalla's contubernalis in

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8184-567: The countryside. The tria nomina , consisting of praenomen, nomen and cognomen , which are today regarded as a distinguishing feature of Roman culture, first developed and spread throughout Italy in pre-Roman times. Most of the people of Italy spoke languages belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family ; the three major groups within the Italian peninsula were

8316-404: The countryside. In the earliest period, each person was known by a single name, or nomen. These nomina were monothematic ; that is, they expressed a single concept or idea. As populations grew, many individuals might be known by the same name. Unlike the other cultures of Europe, which dealt with this problem by adopting dithematic names (names expressing two ideas), the peoples of Italy developed

8448-528: The death of Murshili around 1595 BC, Hurrians wrested control from the Hitties, and Cilicia was free for two centuries. The first king of free Cilicia, Išputahšu , son of Pariyawatri , was recorded as a "great king" in both cuneiform and Hittite hieroglyphs . Another record of Hittite origins, a treaty between Išputahšu and Telipinu , king of the Hittites, is recorded in both Hittite and Akkadian . In

8580-600: The earlier Hittite era ( 2nd millennium BC ). The region was divided into two parts, "plain" Cilicia (Uru Adaniya), a well-watered plain, and "rough" Cilicia (Tarza), in the mountainous west. There exists evidence that circa 1650 BC both Hittite kings Hattusili I and Mursili I enjoyed the freedom of movement along the Pyramus River (now the Ceyhan River in southern Turkey ), proving they exerted strong control over Cilicia in their battles with Syria . After

8712-452: The earliest period, both men and women used praenomina. However, with the adoption of hereditary surnames, the praenomen lost much of its original importance. The number of praenomina in general use declined steadily throughout Roman history, and as most families used the same praenomina from one generation to the next, the praenomen became less useful for distinguishing between individuals. Women's praenomina gradually fell into disuse, and by

8844-732: The early Republic. As they vanished from use as personal names, many older praenomina, such as Agrippa, Faustus, Mamercus, Paullus, Postumus, Proculus, and Vopiscus were revived as cognomina. Other examples of names that may once have been praenomina include Fusus, an early cognomen of gens Furia , and Cossus, a cognomen of gens Cornelia . By the first century BC, the praenomina remaining in general use at Rome were: Appius, Aulus, Caeso, Decimus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Mamercus, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Spurius, Titus, and Tiberius. However, older names continued to be revived from time to time, especially in noble families, and they probably continued to be used outside Rome. By

8976-428: The early centuries of the Roman Republic, about three dozen praenomina seem to have been in general use at Rome, of which about half were common. This number gradually dwindled to about eighteen praenomina by the first century BC, of which perhaps a dozen were common. Notes: Some of the praenomina in this list are known from only a few examples. However, the overall sample from which they have been taken represents only

9108-411: The east, included the rugged spurs of Taurus and a large coastal plain , with rich loamy soil, known to Greeks such as Xenophon (who passed through with his mercenary group of the Ten Thousand , ) for its abundance ( euthemia ), filled with sesame and millet and olives and pasturage for the horses imported into ancient Israel by King Solomon . Many of its high places were fortified. The plain

9240-409: The father was dead); Proculus to one whose father was far away; Vopiscus to the survivor of twins, the other of whom was born dead. Most of these are not based on credible etymology, although the meanings assigned to Lucius, Manius, and Postumus are probably reasonable. Amongst other credible meanings assigned to praenomina, Faustus certainly means "fortunate" in Latin; Gaius is thought to derive from

9372-490: The feminine form of Caeso , and the personal cognomen Agrippina probably represents the feminine form of Agrippa . Two notable exceptions to the usual formation are Marcia and Titia , both of which regularly formed as "i-stem" nouns, instead of the expected Marca and Tita (although those forms are also found). Feminine praenomina were usually abbreviated in the same manner as their masculine counterparts, but were often written in full. One notable exception occurs in

9504-566: The filiations of liberti , where the abbreviation "C." for Gaia was frequently reversed to indicate a woman. Here the name "Gaia" seems to have been used generically to represent any woman, although in some instances an inverted "M." for Marcia seems to have been used as well. The following list includes feminine praenomina which are known or reasonably certain from extant sources and inscriptions, and which were clearly used as praenomina, rather than nicknames or inverted cognomina. Several variations are known for some praenomina, of which only

9636-476: The first book of the Epistles (Horace) in 20 BC, making the time-frame plausible, if Albius is Tibullus. Tibullus's first book consists of poems written at various times between 30 and 26. His first love, the subject of book i., is called Delia in the poems, but Apuleius reveals that her real name was Plania. It appears that she was not entitled to wear the stola , the dress of Roman matrons (i. 6, 68), and so

9768-487: The first century AD. Appius is sometimes said to be of Oscan origin, since it is known chiefly from the descendants of Appius Claudius , a Sabine from the town of Cures, who came to Rome in the early years of the Republic, and was admitted to the Patriciate. His original name was said to be Attius Clausus, which he then Romanized. However, the praenomen Appius is known from other Latin sources, and may simply represent

9900-407: The first century the majority of Roman women either did not have or did not use praenomina. A similar process occurred throughout Italy, except amongst the Etruscans, for whom feminine praenomina were the rule. The abandonment of women's praenomina over time was more the result of practical usage than a deliberate process. Because Latin names had both masculine and feminine forms, the nomen itself

10032-419: The first true surnames, or cognomina. At first these were generally personal names, and might refer to any number of things, including a person's occupation, town of origin, the name of his or her father, or some physical feature or characteristic. But gradually an increasing number of them became hereditary, until they could be used to distinguish whole families from one generation to another. As this happened,

10164-457: The girl's house, carrying a torch to light the path at night, bribes her so that she meets Marathus, and talks the boy up to the girl (this is described in more detail the next poem, 1.9, lines 41–44). This poem can be seen as part of the narrator's efforts to win Marathus' goodwill by performing a series of humiliating tasks for him, exceeding the god's counsel to perform hard physical labors for

10296-492: The great overlap in vocabulary and stylistic features between Lygdamus and Ovid, have argued that the Lygdamus poems were written anonymously by the youthful Ovid himself. Unlike Tibullus's Delia and Nemesis, or Propertius's Cynthia, Lygdamus's Neaera appears not to have been a prostitute but is described as Lygdamus's "wife" ( coniunx ) with respectable parents whom the poet knows. Radford and others take this as representing

10428-469: The grounds that they had plotted to restore the king to power. Another legend relates that after Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was condemned for treason, the Roman Senate decreed that no member of gens Manlia should bear the praenomen Marcus, a tradition that seems to have been followed until the first century. However, normally such matters were left to the discretion of the family. In most instances,

10560-547: The guards and sending them and their satrap into full flight, setting their crops aflame as they made for Tarsus . This good fortune allowed Alexander and his army to pass unharmed through the Gates and into Cilicia. During Alexander III's invasion, a lesser officer named Arsames who had fled to Cilicia from the northwest to organise new resistance there defended it against the Macedonian forces. After Alexander's death it

10692-555: The highest average temperature in Cilicia. Mersin also has high annual precipitation (1096 mm) and 85 rainy days in a year. The mountains of Cilicia are formed from ancient limestones, conglomerate , marlstone, and similar materials. The Taurus Mountains are composed of karstic limestone, while its soil is also limestone-derived, with pockets of volcanic soil. The lower plain is the largest alluvial plain in Turkey. Expansion of limestone formations and fourth-era alluvials brought by

10824-464: The husband and during Delia's double infidelity. It is impossible to give an exact account of the intimacy. The poems which refer to her are arranged in no chronological order. Sometimes she appears as single, sometimes as married; but we hear nothing either of her marriage or of her husband's death. Yet it is clear that it was the absence of her husband on military service in Cilicia which gave Tibullus

10956-600: The importance of the praenomen in everyday life declined considerably, together with the number of praenomina in common use. By the first century they were occasionally omitted from public records, and by the middle of the fourth century they were seldom recorded. As the Roman Empire expanded, much of the populace came from cultures with different naming conventions, and the formal structure of the tria nomina became neglected. Various names that were originally nomina or cognomina came to be treated as praenomina, and some individuals used several of them at once. However, some vestiges of

11088-440: The lad, by also helping him carry on an affair with someone else. In the poem that ends the cycle, 1.9, Marathus is not named, but it is usually assumed that it is about the same boy. In this poem the narrator reveals that Marathus is in a relationship with a much older married man who buys the young man's affections through expensive gifts. Initially, the narrator asks the gods for compassion towards Marathus (1.9.5–6), who betrayed

11220-417: The land, particularly, the eastern plains, fertile. In the coldest month (January), the average temperature is 9 °C, and in the warmest month (August), the average temperature is 28 °C. The mountains of Cilicia have an inland climate with snowy winters. The average annual precipitation in the region is 647 mm and the average number of rainy days in a year is 76. Mersin and surrounding areas have

11352-405: The longest poetic project in Roman literature having homosexual love as theme. The first of these poems, 1.4, begins with an imprecation of the poet to the god Priapus , asking for advice on how to win over beautiful boys. The god advises patience and that the man in love yield to the beloved boy's every whim and perform a series of services if the boy demands it (1.4.15–53). At first the narrator of

11484-409: The main manuscript, the 14th-century Ambrosianus, once after 3.6 and again after 3.18. 3.20 is a four-line epigram with nothing to determine its authorship. It complains about a rumour that the author's girlfriend has been unfaithful, but he tells the rumour to be quiet. The word tacē! "be quiet!" appropriately brings the collection of poems to a close. At the end of the book comes the epigram of

11616-420: The meanings popularly assigned to various praenomina appear to have been no more than "folk etymology". The names derived from numbers are the most certain. The masculine names Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius and Decimus, and the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, Septima, Octavia, Nona and Decima are all based on ordinal numerals . There may also have been a praenomen Nonus, as there

11748-645: The modern Latin alphabet . However, the cultural interchange was not all one-way. With respect to personal names, the Etruscans borrowed a large number of praenomina from Latin and Oscan, adding them to their own unique names. The Etruscan language is still imperfectly known, and the number of inscriptions are limited, so this list of Etruscan praenomina encompasses what has been discovered to this point. Included are names that are certainly praenomina, no matter their linguistic origin. Names that might be nomina or cognomina have not been included. Notes: Notes: Cilicia Cilicia ( / s ɪ ˈ l ɪ ʃ ə / )

11880-430: The most regular are given in this table. The abbreviations are usually the same as for the corresponding masculine praenomina; where variation exists, only the most common abbreviation has been provided. A few of these names were normally written in full, or have not been found with regular abbreviations. Notes: Philologists have debated the origin and meaning of these names since classical antiquity. However, many of

12012-412: The names of which they made regular use, although amongst both social classes, there must have been exceptions whenever a family had a large number of sons. Many families avoided certain names, although the reasons varied. According to legend, the Junii avoided the names Titus and Tiberius because they were the names of two sons of Lucius Junius Brutus , the founder of the Republic, who were executed on

12144-405: The next century, the Cilician king Pilliya finalized treaties with both King Zidanta II of the Hittites and Idrimi of Alalakh , in which Idrimi mentions that he had assaulted several military targets throughout Eastern Cilicia. Niqmepa , who succeeded Idrimi as king of Alalakh, went so far as to ask for help from a Hurrian rival, Shaushtatar of Mitanni , to try and reduce Cilicia's power in

12276-399: The nomen or cognomen; if there were more than two, the eldest might be called Maxima , and the younger sisters assigned numerical cognomina. Many of the cognomina used by women originated as praenomina, and for much of Roman history there seems to have been a fashion for "inverting" women's praenomina and cognomina; names that were traditionally regarded as praenomina were often placed after

12408-434: The numbers five through ten: Quintilis (July), Sextilis (August), September, October, November, and December. However, this hypothesis is nuanced, requiring that the feminine praenomina Prima, Secunda, Tertia, and Quarta be explained by birth order and that Septimus, Octavius, and perhaps Nonus fell into disuse as praenomina over time, whilst continuing as gentilician names. Several other praenomina were believed to refer to

12540-566: The only peoples of Anatolia who had not been conquered by the Lydian king Croesus . However, it is unknown whether this means that the Cilicians and Lycians were able to resist the Lydian conquest, or whether Croesus did not find any interest in annexing them. In the mid-6th century BC, the kingdom of Cilicia supported the founding king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire , Cyrus II , in his wars against Croesus of Lydia, as

12672-494: The opportunity to see her, and he continued to do so when the husband returned. Delia was clever in deception — too clever, as Tibullus saw when he found that he was not the only lover. His entreaties and appeals were of no avail; and after the first book no more is heard of Delia. In addition, three elegies in Book I (1.4, 1.8, and 1.9) concern themselves with Tibullus's love for a boy, who is named Marathus. The three poems constitute

12804-428: The original system survived, and many of the original praenomina have continued into modern times. Most common praenomina were regularly abbreviated in writing (in speech the full name would always be used). Although some names could be abbreviated multiple ways, the following tables include only the most usual abbreviation, if any, for each name. These abbreviations continue to be used by classical scholars. Each of

12936-418: The other a longer piece in iambics) have been attributed to Tibullus; but there is little external and no internal evidence of his authorship. Though the character of Tibullus the historical man is unclear, the character of his poetic persona is reflected in his works. In Postgate's view, he was an amiable man of generous impulses and unselfish disposition, loyal to his friends to the verge of self-sacrifice (as

13068-453: The part from 3.4.65 to the end, useful as fragments go as the other manuscripts lack 3.4.65. The Codex cuiacianus , a late manuscript containing the works of Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius, is still extant. Tibullus was first printed with Catullus, Propertius, and the Silvae of Statius by Vindelinus de Spira (Venice, 1472), and separately by Florentius de Argentina , probably in

13200-416: The poem presents himself as someone who is simply asking for advice from the god on behalf of a friend Titius who has fallen in love with a boy but whose wife forbids such affairs (1.4.73). He later portrays himself as a teacher in the affairs of love, declaring that the doors of his house are open for other men in love with boys to ask his advice (1.4.78). In the last four lines, however, he confesses to loving

13332-428: The poet Domitius Marsus , a contemporary of Tibullus, commemorating the fact that both Tibullus and Virgil died about the same time (19 BC), Tibullus being only a young man at the time. To sum up: the third and fourth books appear in the oldest tradition as a single book, and they comprise pieces by different authors in different styles, none of which can be assigned to Tibullus with any certainty. The natural conclusion

13464-617: The reason why certain praenomina were preferred and others avoided probably arose from the desire to pass on family names. Several names were used by only a few patrician families, although they were more widespread amongst the plebeians. For example: Appius was used only by the Claudii, Caeso by the Fabii and the Quinctii, Agrippa by the Furii and the Menenii, Numerius by the Fabii, Mamercus by

13596-423: The region. It was soon apparent, however, that increased Hittite power would soon prove Niqmepa's efforts to be futile, as the city of Kizzuwatna soon fell to the Hittites, threatening all of Cilicia. Soon after, King Sunassura II was forced to accept vassalization under the Hittites, becoming the last king of ancient Cilicia. After the death of Mursili I , which led to a power struggle among rival claimants to

13728-428: The rich plain of Issus ran the great highway that linked east and west, on which stood the cities of Tarsus (Tarsa) on the Cydnus, Adana (Adanija) on the Sarus, and Mopsuestia (Missis) on the Pyramus. The climate of Cilicia shows significant differences between the mountains and the lower plains. At the lower plains, the climate reflects a typical Mediterranean style; summers are hot while winters are mild, making

13860-414: The rivers Seyhan and Ceyhan formed the plains of the region over the course of time. Akyatan , Akyayan, Salt Lake, Seven lakes at Aladağ, and Karstik Dipsiz lake near Karaisalı are the lakes of the region. The reservoirs in the region are Seyhan, Çatalan, Yedigöze, Kozan and Mehmetli. The major rivers in Cilicia are Seyhan , Ceyhan , Berdan (Tarsus) , Asi and Göksu . Cilicia was settled from

13992-443: The same origin) borrowed praenomina from one another, and to what extent they shared names based on roots common to each language. It is impossible to provide a complete list of Oscan praenomina, but these names are clearly identifiable in extant histories and inscriptions. Abbreviations do exist for some of them, but they were less regular, and less regularly employed, than the Latin abbreviations. Notes: The Etruscan language

14124-401: The same root as gaudere , "to rejoice"; Gnaeus refers to a birthmark; Marcus and Mamercus refer to the gods Mars and Mamers (perhaps an Oscan manifestation of Mars); Paullus means "small"; Servius appears to be derived from the same root as servare , to save or "to keep safe"; Volusus (also found as Volesus and Volero) seems to come from valere , "to be strong". One popular etymology that

14256-610: The same year. Amongst other editions are those by Scaliger (with Catullus and Propertius, 1577, etc.), Broukhusius (1708), Vulpius (1749), Heyne (1817, 4th ed. by Wunderlich , with supplement by Dissen, 1819), Huschke (1819), Lachmann (1829), Dissen (1835), Lucian Müller (1870), Emil Baehrens (1878), Heinrich Dittrich (1881), Edward Hiller (1885) and John Percival Postgate (1905). Among more recent commentaries are those by Kirby Flower Smith (1913), Paul Murgatroyd (1980/1994), and Robert Maltby (2002/2021). Guy Lee 's edition and translation of books 1-2 (Cambridge, 1975)

14388-498: The satrap of Tarsus except for the narrow strip of flat land along its coast, due to which the imperial authorities often led repressive measures against these inhabitants of the hilly regions. During the reign of the Achaemenid king of kings Darius I , Cilicia was used as an assembly point for the military forces which Mardonius used to campaign in Europe as well as those which Datis and Artaphernes used to campaign against both

14520-426: The second century, several of these names had also passed out of general use at Rome, leaving Aulus, Decimus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Sextus, Titus, and Tiberius. Under the empire, confusion seems to have developed as to precisely what constituted a praenomen and how it should be used. A number of emperors considered Imperator as a praenomen, and thus part of their names. As

14652-464: The situation of Ovid himself, whose second wife apparently divorced him. According to one theory, the six poems of Lygdamus were originally added by booksellers to book 2, to make up the very short length of that book, and only later transferred to book 3. This would have made book 1 and 2 of almost equal length (820 lines + 718 lines). Poem 3.7, unlike all the other poems in the Tibullan collection,

14784-410: The source of Tibullus's reputation. The third book of the collection contains a miscellaneous collection of poems, and most scholars today believe that none of them are by Tibullus (even though one of them 3.19, seems to claim Tibullus as author). Sometime in the 15th century the book was split into two parts, so that poems 3.8 to 3.20 are sometimes referred to as 4.1 to 4.14. The third book opens with

14916-528: The throne, eventually leading to the collapse of Hittite supremacy, Cilicia appeared to have regained its independence. In the 13th century BC a major population shift occurred as the Sea Peoples overran Cilicia. The Hurrians that resided there deserted the area and moved northeast towards the Taurus Mountains , where they settled in the area of Cappadocia . During the early and middle of

15048-413: The time of Tibullus's death, says: " Sic Nemesis longum, sic Delia nomen habebunt, / altera cura recens, altera primus amor ." ("Thus Nemesis and Delia will be long remembered: one Tibullus' recent love, the other his first."). Nemesis is the subject of the last four poems of book 2. The connection had lasted a year when 2.5 was written (see ver. 109). It is worth noticing that Martial selects Nemesis as

15180-628: The western district was left independent under native kings or priest-dynasts, and a small kingdom, under Tarcondimotus I , was left in the east; but these were finally united to the province by Vespasian , AD 72. Containing 47 known cities, it had been deemed important enough to be governed by a proconsul . In 259 or 250, the Persian Sasanian king of kings Shapur I defeated the Roman Emperor Valerian , whose army included Cilician soldiers. After Valerian's defeat,

15312-539: The whole was organized by Pompey , 64 BC, into a province which, for a short time, extended to and included part of Phrygia . In 51 BC, the Parthian Empire was able to take advantage of the weakness of the Roman Republic to invade Cilicia ( Parthian : 𐭊𐭉𐭋𐭊𐭉𐭀 ‎ ). It was reorganized by Julius Caesar , 47 BC, and about 27 BC became part of the province Syria-Cilicia Phoenice. At first,

15444-400: The word nomen came to be applied to these surnames, and the original personal name came to be called the praenomen, or "forename", as it was usually recited first. Cognomen came to refer to any other personal or hereditary surnames coming after the family name, and used to distinguish individuals or branches of large families from one another. As the tria nomina developed throughout Italy,

15576-648: The world. F. S. Bright demonstrates how these two digressions are in fact related and how both have relevance to Messalla. There follow five short elegiac poems (94 lines in all) concerning the love of Sulpicia for a certain Cerinthus. These are often known as the Garland of Sulpicia or the Cerinthus-Sulpicia cycle. Three of them (3.8, 3.10, 3.12) are composed in the voice of the poet; the other two (3.9 and 3.11) are replies by Sulpicia. The style of all them

15708-429: Was a gens with the apparently patronymic name of Nonius, although no examples of its use as a praenomen have survived. It has historically been held that these names originally referred to the order of a child's birth, but some scholars have argued that they in fact referred to the month of the Roman calendar in which a child was born. Like the masculine praenomina, the months of the old Roman Calendar had names based on

15840-405: Was appointed as satrap of Cilicia by Xerxes I as reward for his service. Cilicia remained under efficient administration, and it would continue to provide troops for the Achaemenid wars in Anatolia, Egypt and Cyprus. In 401 BC, the Achaemenid king of kings Artaxerxes II abolished the autonomy of Cilicia in reaction to the local Cilician ruler Syennesis III's support for the rebellion of Cyrus

15972-702: Was derived from Ḫilakku ( 𒆳𒄭𒋃𒆪 ), which was the name used by the Neo-Assyrian Empire to designate the western part of what would become Cilicia. The English spelling Cilicia is the same as the Latin, as it was transliterated directly from the Greek form Κιλικία. The palatalization of c occurring in Western Europe in later Vulgar Latin ( c.  500–700 ) accounts for its modern pronunciation in English. Cilicia extends along

16104-580: Was dispatched by Augustus to Gaul to quell a rising in Aquitania and restore order in the country, and Tibullus may have been in his retinue. On a later occasion, probably in 28, he would have accompanied his friend who had been sent on a mission to the East, but he fell sick and had to stay behind in Corcyra . Tibullus had no liking for war, and though his life seems to have been divided between Rome and his country estate, his own preferences were wholly for

16236-411: Was doubtless a courtesan. Her husband is mentioned as absent (i. 2, 67 seq.). She eludes the guards placed over her (i. 2, 15 and 6, 7). Tibullus's suit was favoured by Delia's mother, of whom he speaks in very affectionate terms (i. 6, 57 seq.). For Tibullus's illness at Corcyra, see i. 3, I seq., 55 seq. The fifth elegy was written during an estrangement ( discidium ), and the sixth after the return of

16368-865: Was first bestowed on the dies lustricus (day of lustration ), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred a second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the toga virilis upon reaching manhood. Although it was the oldest of the tria nomina commonly used in Roman naming conventions , by the late republic, most praenomina were so common that most people were called by their praenomina only by family or close friends. For this reason, although they continued to be used, praenomina gradually disappeared from public records during imperial times. Although both men and women received praenomina, women's praenomina were frequently ignored, and they were gradually abandoned by many Roman families, though they continued to be used in some families and in

16500-432: Was in use. During that same period, the sample consists almost entirely of Roman men belonging to the leading patrician families. Many of the names which were uncommon amongst the patricians appear to have been more widespread amongst the plebeians, and the appearance of rare names in Latin inscriptions outside of Rome suggests that many names which were uncommon at Rome were much more common in other parts of Latium. In

16632-516: Was less likely to receive a praenomen than her younger sisters, and because it was usually easy to distinguish between two daughters without using praenomina, the need for traditional personal names did not become acute until there were at least three sisters in a family. Tertia and Quarta were common praenomina, while Secunda was less common, and Prima rarer still. Maxima, Maio , and Mino were also used as praenomina, although it may be debated whether they represent true personal names. Paulla

16764-493: Was long a battleground of the rival Hellenistic monarchs and kingdoms, and for a time fell under Ptolemaic dominion (i.e., Egypt), but finally came to the Seleucids , who, however, never held effectually more than the eastern half. Although no later Persian empire ever regained control of Cilicia, one Seleucid officer named Aribazus and attested as administrator of Cilicia in 246 BC was possibly of Persian descent. During

16896-581: Was originally understood to be that of a novice, or a male poet appropriating female form. Later analysis has concluded that Sulpicia is an adept poet with a very high level of skill, playing upon gender norms in the celebration of her erotic relationship and play upon her fama as a poet and a woman of high status. Poem 3.19 (24 lines) claims to be by Tibullus, but its authorship has been doubted. Radford (1923) believed it to be by Ovid, calling it an "exquisite 'imitation' of Tibullus which has itself been imitated and admired by so many English poets." However, in

17028-473: Was probably given to younger daughters, and was one of the most common praenomina. Most other women's praenomina were simply the feminine forms of familiar masculine praenomina. Examples are known of all common praenomina, as well as a number of less-common ones. Only in the case of praenomina which had irregular masculine forms is there some uncertainty; but these probably became feminine by taking diminutive forms. Caesula or Caesilla appears to have been

17160-466: Was published before the poet's death in 19 BC. It is very short, containing only 6 poems (428 verses), but apparently complete. The first poem, of 90 lines, describes an idealised life in the country; the second, of 22 lines, celebrates the birthday of a certain Cornutus. The fifth poem is a hymn to Apollo celebrating the installation of Messalla's son as one of the fifteen priests who were guardians of

17292-434: Was sufficient to distinguish a Roman woman from her father and brothers. Roman women did not change their names when they married, so a Roman wife usually did not share her nomen with any other members of her family. Diminutives, nicknames, and personal cognomina could be used to differentiate between sisters. When there were two sisters, they were frequently referred to as Major and Minor , with these terms appearing after

17424-540: Was unrelated to the other languages spoken in Italy, and accordingly it contains many names which have no equivalents in the Latin or Oscan languages. The Etruscan civilization , the most advanced of its time in that region, was a strong influence on the other peoples of Italy. The Etruscan alphabet (itself based on an early version of the Western or "Red" Greek alphabet ) was the source for later Italian alphabets, including

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