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The ''gens Pomponia'' was a plebeian family at Rome throughout the period of the Republic and into imperial times. The first of the ''gens'' to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC.〔''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', William Smith, Editor.〕 ==Origin of the gens== Towards the end of the Republic, the Pomponii claimed to be descended from Pompo, one of the sons of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, whose image appears on some of their coins. At least four other gentes made such claims; the Aemilii claimed descent from Mamercus; the Calpurnii claimed descent from Calpus, and the Pinarii claimed descent from Pinus, all allegedly sons of Numa; the Marcii, meanwhile, claimed descent from Numa's daughter, the mother of Ancus Marcius, the fourth King of Rome.〔〔Titus Livius, ''Ab Urbe Condita'', i. 20.〕〔Plutarchus, ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', "Numa", 21.〕〔Herbert A. Grueber, ''Catalogue of Roman Coins in the British Museum (Republic)'' (1910). ii. p. 311, no. 733; p. 361, no. 62.〕 Of these it may be mentioned that Mamercus was indeed an ancient praenomen, perhaps of Sabine origin, as the Aemilii claimed to be. Although their claim was likewise ancient, there were several variations of it. Some of the Pinarii originally bore the praenomen ''Mamercus'', although this gens had previously claimed even greater antiquity, dating to pre-Roman times, and ''Pinus'' is not otherwise attested as a praenomen. Nor does ''Calpus'' appear to have been a praenomen. The tradition asserting that Ancus Marcius was the grandson of Numa was quite old. Ironically, the ''gens Pompilia'', which certainly had grounds to claim a similar descent, does not appear ever to have done so.〔George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).〕〔Titus Livius, ''Ab Urbe Condita'', i. 7, 20, 32.〕 ''Pompo'', asserted as the name of the ancestor of the Pompilii, does indeed appear to have been an ancient praenomen of Sabine origin. It was the Sabine equivalent of ''Quintus'', a very common name. Numa's father is said to have been named ''Pompo Pompilius'', and it is evident that the ''nomen Pompilius'' was itself a patronymic surname based on ''Pompo. Pomponius'' appears to be derived from an adjectival form of that name, and the equivalent of the Latin nomen ''Quinctilius''. Thus, it seems probable that the ancestor of the Pomponii was indeed named ''Pompo'', although the claim that he was the son of Numa may be a later addition.〔〔Michael Grant, ''Roman Myths'' (1971), 123, 139.〕 An alternative explanation, dating at least to the early 19th century, is that the name might be derived from or connected with an Etruscan root, and that its original form would have been ''Pumpu'' or ''Pumpili''. In her ''History of Etruria'', Mrs. Hamilton Gray supposed ''Pumpu'' to have been the name of Numa's mother, adopted as a surname according to a tradition common to the Etruscan and Sabine cultures.〔Karl Otfried Müller, ''Etrüsker Hypogeum''.〕〔Mrs. Hamilton Gray, ''History of Etruria'', Part II (1844).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pomponia (gens)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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