Pacuvia (gens)


The gens Pacuvia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned during the second century BC, and from then down to the first century of the Empire Pacuvii are occasionally encountered in the historians. The first of the Pacuvii to achieve prominence at Rome, and certainly the most illustrious of the family, was the tragic poet Marcus Pacuvius.

Origin

As a nomen, Pacuvius is evidently derived from a common Oscan praenomen, also rendered Pacuvius. The first certain instance of the name as a gentilicium occurs with the tragedian Marcus Pacuvius, a native of Brundisium in Calabria, who was born circa 220 BC, and was active at Rome for many years before his death, circa 130.

Members