spittle Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Gaius Octavius to Gaius OctaviANus. what is the relevance of the added 'an'? I also seem to remember that Sejanus had the 'an' added? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publius Nonius Severus Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Gaius Octavius to Gaius OctaviANus. what is the relevance of the added 'an'? I also seem to remember that Sejanus had the 'an' added? Good question, per William Smith: If a person by adoption passed from one gens into another, he assumed the praenomen, nomen, and cognomen of his adoptive father, and added to these the name of his former gens, with the termination anus. Thus C. Octavius, after being adopted by his great-uncle C. Julius Caesar, was called C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, and the son of L. Aemilius Paullus, when adopted by P. Cornelius Scipio, was called P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Manicus Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Very interesting. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spittle Posted September 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Likewise, P N S, very informative. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Yes, excellent information, PNS. Just as an added note... Not all Roman cognomina or agnomina terminating in "-anus" are an indication of the name-bearer having been adopted. There are cognomina terminating in "-anus" which indicate the family's origins from a particular town in Italy, as in the case of Trebulanus ("from the town of Trebula") and Fundanus ("from the town of Fundi"). But since most Roman gens names ended in "-ius", then the termination of "-ianus" (particularly on an already known gens name) would generally indicate adoption. -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Thanks N. & PNS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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