Oscia (gens)


The gens Oscia was an obscure plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in imperial times, when a few of them appear among the Roman aristocracy. None of them are known to have held any magistracies, but an Oscia Modesta was the wife of a Roman consul during the time of Severus Alexander. A number of Oscii appear in inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen Oscius appears to be derived from the cognomen Oscus, referring to one of the Osci, an Italic people closely related to the Sabines and the Samnites, who gave their name to the Oscan language. This is supported by the fact that some of the Oscii known from inscriptions lived in Sabinum and neighboring parts of Latium, and by the fact that one of the Oscii bore the praenomen Statius, a common name among the Oscan-speaking peoples of Italy.

Members